UTAH VALLEY’S KRUEGER NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley’s Mark Krueger has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week for Mar. 2 - Mar. 8.
Krueger, a junior outfielder from Draper, Utah (Jordan HS), was a hitting machine against Saint Mary’s, going 8-for-17 for a .471 clip. He scored six runs in the four-game series and drove home three RBIS, also adding five doubles to his season total. His best game game in the finale on Sunday as he went 4-for-5 with two RBIs, two runs scored and three doubles.
The other hitter of the week nominations: Bakersfield’s Joey Sanchez hit .500 in the three-game series with Wagner, recording four walks and two RBIs…Northern Colorado’s Jensen Park was 7-for-15 from the plate with a double and a home run as the Bears lost three of four to North Dakota State…Sacramento State’s Nathan Lukes hit .385 on the week and has reached base in all 13 games this season…North Dakota’s Tyler Follis extended his hitting streak to 26 games with six hits in a three-game series at Omaha.
BAKERSFIELD’S ROGOWSKI NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Bakersfield’s Nick Rogowski has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for Feb. 23 - Mar. 1.
Rogowski, a senior right-hander from Woodbridge, Va. (Cypress College), recorded a complete game six-hitter as Bakersfield completed a three-game series sweep of Wagner. He tied his career high with nine strikeouts and walked just two on 126 pitches.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Seattle U’s Will Dennis followed up a scoreless inning of work against Portland with a seven inning win over UC Davis on Friday...Northern Colorado’s Chase Cleary earned a no-decision on Saturday after striking out five and allowing just one earned run over seven innings against North Dakota State…Sacramento State’s Ty Nichols allowed just one earned run over eight innings of relief work for the Hornets.
BY THE NUMBERS
Grand Canyon leads the WAC in batting, hitting .286 through 17 games with a league-best 166 hits. Sacramento State is the top pitching team with a 3.06 ERA while Texas-Pan American is the top fielding team with a .978 fielding percentage. Individually, Northern Colorado’s Ryan Yamane leads the hitting chart, batting .500 through 28 at-bats. Texas-Pan American’s Parker Gallegos holds the lowest ERA in the WAC (min. 1.0 IP/game) at 0.68.
Grand Canyon’s Chad De La Guerra leads the league with 24 hits, 19 RBIs, four home runs and is tied with several others for the lead with five doubles. Teammates David Walker and Paul Panaccione lead the WAC with 18 runs scored. Seattle U’s Skyler Genger holds the strikeout lead with 28 in 26.0 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 PRESEASON 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