GRAND CANYON’S DE LA GUERRA NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
Grand Canyon infielder Chad De La Guerra has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week for Feb. 9-15.
De La Guerra, a senior from Santa Maria, Calif. (Pioneer Valley HS), hit safely in all three games as the Lopes opened up 2015 with three wins at home. His biggest game came in Sunday’s 30-7 win over Bradley as De La Guerra went 5-for-6 with five runs scored and nine RBIs. On the weekend, he was 7-of-13 (.538) with three home runs, seven runs scored and 12 RBIs.
The other hitter of the week nominations: Texas-Pan American’s Victor Garcia Jr. hit a game-tying grand slam to power a seven-run eighth inning in a comeback win over Tennessee-Martin on Saturday...North Dakota’s Jeff Campbell hit his first home run of the season and the 22nd of his career in a loss on Saturday at Arkansas…Seattle U’s Sheldon Stober opened his Redhawk career with a hit in each of four games against Saint Mary’s…Sacramento State’s Scotty Burcham led the team in runs and RBIs through the first three games of a four-game series with Utah.
TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN’S JACKSON NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Texas-Pan American right-hander Ryan Jackson has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for Feb. 9-15.
Jackson, a freshman from McAllen, Texas (Nikki Rowe HS), made the most of his collegiate debut, retiring the first seven hitters he faced en route to a win over Tennessee-Martin. He struck out eight in eight innings pitched, allowing just one run on five hits. Unfortunately, the one run was enough to hand him the loss, spoiling an outstanding collegiate debut.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Grand Canyon’s Coley Bruns struck out four in six innings pitched in a win over Omaha…Sacramento State’s Sam Long pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out two in a win over Utah…Seattle U’s Will Dennis earned the win against Saint Mary’s, allowing one run on seven hits with five strikeouts in six innings pitched…New Mexico State’s Riley Barr allowed three hits in five innings pitched against Illinois.
BY THE NUMBERS
Through one weekend of regular season play, it is Grand Canyon leading the way early. Atop the standings with a 3-0 record, the Lopes also lead the WAC in team batting average (.393) and team ERA (1.67). Individually, Grand Canyon’s Garrison Schwartz is hitting .636 on the season. Teammate Chad De La Guerra leads the conference in RBIs with 12 and home runs with three. Texas-Pan American’s Victor Garcia Jr. is tied with GCU’s Brandon Smith for the WAC lead in doubles with three. On the bump, UTPA’s Ryan Jackson threw a league-high 8.0 innings while Utah Valley’s Danny Beddes struck out a WAC-best nine in his season debut.
DE LA GUERRA EARNS NATIONAL HONORS
Following his opening weekend offensive explosion, Grand Canyon senior Chad De La Guerra was named a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball.
SACRAMENTO STATE FAVORITE TO WIN WAC TITLE IN 2015
After winning its first ever WAC regular season and tournament title in 2014, Sacramento State is the favorite to win the conference crown again, earning eight first place votes in a survey of the league’s 10 head coaches. Grand Canyon earned the two remaining first place votes and will enter 2015 as the favorite to take second in the league table.
Bakersfield, the 2014 preseason favorite, was selected third with 60 points. Seattle U earned the fourth place nod by a single point over Utah Valley while New Mexico State and Texas-Pan American tied for sixth in the preseason poll. Chicago State is predicted eighth, followed by North Dakota and Northern Colorado.
DE LA GUERRA, LEITAO HIGHLIGHT PRESEASON ALL-WAC HONORS
Grand Canyon second baseman Chad De La Guerra and Sacramento State pitcher Brennan Leitao were selected as 2015 Preseason All-WAC Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year respectively. In addition to the individual honor, both players were named to the 2015 Preseason All-WAC Team, as voted upon by the 10 WAC coaches.
Sacramento State led the way with five honorees as Nathan Lukes, Sam Long, Sutter McLoughlin and Scott Burcham joined Leitao. Grand Canyon had three Lopes selected with David Walker and Andrew Naderer joining De La Guerra. Bakersfield was represented by Soloman Williams and Mylz Jones and Seattle U earned recognition from Brian Olson and Landon Cray. New Mexico State’s Derek Umphres and Utah Valley’s Mark Krueger rounded out the 14-player team.
SACRAMENTO STATE’S LEITAO NAMED PRESEAON ALL-AMERICAN
Sacramento State pitcher Brennan Leitao has been named to the Louisville Slugger Preseason All-American Third Team, as selected by Collegiate Baseball. Leitao, the all-time leader in wins at Sacramento State with 24, is a two-time First Team All-WAC performer. Last season, he helped lead the Hornets to the NCAA Tournament, starting and clinching the WAC Tournament championship game against Utah Valley. In NCAA Regional play, he started against Arizona State and allowed just one run over seven innings in a 5-4 win over the Sun Devils. He ranked second in the WAC in ERA, innings pitched, strikeouts and wins as a junior. In addition to his outstanding performance on the diamond, Leaitao is also a three-time Academic All-WAC honoree.
WAC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO HOHOKAM STADIUM
For the second straight season, the WAC Baseball Tournament will take place in a new Spring Training Complex in Mesa, Ariz. as the 2015 championship heads to the new Hohokam Stadium, preseason home of the Oakland Athletics. Improvements to Hohokam Stadium are immediately noticeable as the exterior and entrance gates has been painted and re-branded with the familiar Oakland Athletics green and gold color scheme. The stadium also features refurbished seating, a state-of-the art scoreboard and a new and expanded clubhouse. The bleachers along the left field and right field foul lines have been replaced with party decks. The top six teams from the WAC’s regular season standings will advance to the tournament.The WAC Baseball Tournament is no stranger to the state of Arizona and the City of Mesa. The league’s championship has been played in Arizona 13 times (1963, 65, 67, 69, 71, 73, 75, 76, 78, 2010, 11, 12, 14) and the event was held in Mesa in 1971, 1973, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014. Sacramento State won the 2014 tournament, earning the WAC’s automatic qualification to the NCAA Tournament.
KEY NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS
It seems fitting at that WAC schools will face off against 2014 NCAA Baseball Tournament participants, not including WAC-participant Sacramento State, 64 times this season, including 14 games against College World Series teams.
WAC vs. College World Series Teams
Feb. 24 - Texas-Pan American at Texas
Feb. 26 - Sacramento State at Texas Tech
Feb. 27 - Sacramento State at Texas Tech
Feb. 28 - Sacramento State at Texas Tech
Mar. 1 - Sacramento State at Texas Tech
Mar. 10 - New Mexico State at Texas Tech
Mar. 11 - New Mexico State at Texas Tech
Mar. 17 - Texas-Pan American at TCU
Mar. 18 - Texas-Pan American at TCU
Mar. 20 - Bakersfield at UC Irvine
Mar. 21 - Bakersfield at UC Irvine
Mar. 22 - Bakersfield at UC Irvine
Apr. 28 - Grand Canyon at Texas Tech
Apr. 29 - Grand Canyon at Texas Tech
WAC vs. Super Regional Teams
Mar. 13 - Grand Canyon at Oklahoma State
Mar. 14 - Grand Canyon at Oklahoma State
Mar. 15 - Grand Canyon at Oklahoma State
WAC vs. Regional Teams
Feb. 13 - North Dakota State at Grand Canyon
Feb. 13 - North Dakota at Arkansas
Feb. 13 - Texas-Pan American at Jackson State
Feb. 14 - North Dakota at Arkansas
Feb. 15 - Texas-Pan American at Jackson State
Feb. 15 - North Dakota at Arkansas
Feb. 17 - UNLV at Grand Canyon
Feb. 19 - New Mexico State at Oregon
Feb. 20 - New Mexico State at Oregon
Feb. 20 - Utah Valley at Long Beach State
Feb. 20 - Grand Canyon at Cal Poly
Feb. 21 - New Mexico State at Oregon
Feb. 21 - Utah Valley at Long Beach State
Feb. 21 - Grand Canyon at Cal Poly
Feb. 22 - New Mexico State at Oregon
Feb. 22 - Utah Valley at Long Beach State
Feb. 22 - Grand Canyon at Cal Poly
Feb. 24 - Bakersfield at Cal Poly
Feb. 26 - Chicago State vs. Kansas (at Clearwater, Fla.)
Feb. 26 - Bakersfield at Arizona State
Feb. 27 - North Dakota at Washington
Feb. 28 - Bakersfield at Arizona State
Feb. 28 - North Dakota at Washington
Mar. 1 - North Dakota at Washington
Mar. 3 - Kansas at Grand Canyon
Mar. 4 - Kansas at Grand Canyon
Mar. 6 - North Dakota State at Northern Colorado
Mar. 7 - North Dakota State at Northern Colorado (DH)
Mar. 8 - North Dakota State at Northern Colorado
Mar. 10 - Northern Colorado at Nebraska
Mar. 10 - Texas-Pan American at Texas A&M
Mar. 10 - Seattle U at Washington
Mar. 11 - Northern Colorado at Nebraska
Mar. 11 - Texas-Pan American at Texas A&M
Mar. 13 - Sacramento State at Cal Poly
Mar. 14 - Sacramento State at Cal Poly
Mar. 15 - Sacramento State at Cal Poly
Mar. 17 - Grand Canyon at UNLV
Mar. 18 - Bakersfield at Cal State Fullerton
Mar. 31 - New Mexico State at Arizona State
Apr. 1 - Seattle U vs. Oregon (at Hillsboro, Ore.)
Apr. 14 - Seattle U at Washington
Apr. 21 - North Dakota at North Dakota State
Apr. 21 - Washington at Seattle U
Apr. 22 - Cal State Fullerton at Bakersfield
Apr. 28 - North Dakota State at North Dakota
Apr. 28 - Cal Poly at Bakersfield