TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN’S LANDON NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
Texas-Pan American’s Logan Landon has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week for Feb. 16-22.
Landon, a senior outfielder from Sioux Falls, S.D. (Lincoln HS), recorded two hits in each of the Broncs games this weekend as UTPA earned a three-game sweep over visiting Abilene Christian. Moving to outfield for his senior season after pitching, Landon was involved in all the scoring in a 3-1 win on Friday, tripling and scoring the game-tying run in the third before hitting a go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth. He followed that up by going 2-for-3 on Saturday and 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored on Sunday.
The other hitter of the week nominations: New Mexico State’s Quinton Mack hit. .429 with two doubles and a home run in a four-game series at Oregon…Bakersfield’s Mylz Jones hit safely in all four games with Northern Kentucky, posting a double, a triple and five walks…Utah Valley’s Seth Rhineer hit .444 in a three-game series at Long Beach State, including a double and two RBIs…Sacramento State’s Nathan Lukes hit safely in all five games played, including a 4-for-5 outing in the nightcap of a doubleheader with Portland on Saturday.
SEATTLE U’s DENNIS NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Seattle U’s Will Dennis has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for Feb. 16-22.
Dennis, a junior left-hander from Saratoga, Calif. (Saratoga HS), pitched a gem on Friday night, allowing just one run on four hits with seven strikeouts in a complete game. Unfortunately for Dennis, the Redhawks couldn’t manage any runs as he was the hard-luck loser in a 1-0 loss to CSUN. He never allowed more than one baserunner in an inning and threw 77.5-percent of his 98 pitches for strikes.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Texas-Pan American’s Blake English allowed one run on five hits with nine strikeouts and two walks over eight innings in a 3-1 win over Abilene Christian…Sacramento State’s Brennan Leitao earned the win in a 3-2 decision over Portland, allowing one run on seven hits with five strikeouts in seven innings pitched...Utah Valley’s Patrick Wolfe went five innings in an 8-3 win at Long Beach State, allowing just one earned run on one hit to get the win…Northern Colorado’s Nick Tanner led the Bears to their first win of 2015, allowing one run on two hits with five strikeouts in eight innings pitched...Grand Canyon’s Cameron Brendel picked up his second win of the season in an 8-1 win at Cal Poly, allowing two runs on four hits over eight innings…Bakersfield’s James Barragan went six innings against Northern Kentucky, allowing one run on four hits with six strikeouts…New Mexico State’s Riley Barr pitched six strong innings at Oregon, allowing just one run on three hits with two strikeouts in a 3-1 loss to the Ducks.
BY THE NUMBERS
Sitting atop the standings, Grand Canyon also leads the WAC in both team batting (.332) and team pitching (1.71 ERA). Individually, Grand Canyon’s Garrison Schwartz is hitting .500 on the season in 28 at-bats. Sacramento State’s Nathan Lukes leads the WAC with 15 hits while Grand Canyon’s Chad De La Guerra has a conference-best 16 RBIs and three home runs on the season. New Mexico State’s Quinnton Mack and Seattle U’s Sheldon Stober are tied for the lead in doubles at four each, while Bakersfield’s Chance Gusbeth and GCU’s Schwartz each have two triples.
On the mount, New Mexico State’s Riley Barr has a 0.82 ERA through 11 innings and two apperances. Utah Valley’s Danny Beddes has a WAC-high 14 strikeouts in 12 innings pitched.
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.