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 Mar. 9 - Mar. 15.
Landon, a senior outfielder from Sioux Falls, S.D. (Lincoln HS), hit .556 on the week, going 10-for-18 in games against Texas A&M and Arlington Baptist. Landon, who has reached base in all 16 games this year and is currently riding a 13-game hitting streak, had his best game in the opener with fourth-ranked Texas A&M, going 4-for-4 in a 4-1 loss. He recorded seven RBIs on the week and scored seven times as the Broncs went 3-2.
The other hitter of the week nominations: New Mexico State’s Joseph Koerper hit .556 in five games, including three doubles and three RBIs…Sacramento State’s Nathan Lukes was 6-of-17 on the week and has reached base in all 18 games this season…Seattle U’s Sheldon Stober led Seattle U at the plate, going 6-for-13 with a triple and a home run in games against Washington and Northwestern…Northern Colorado’s Payton Tapia hit his first career home run in a 9-2 loss at Nebraska.
SEATTLE U’S GENGER NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Seattle U’s Skyler Genger has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for Mar. 9 - Mar. 15.
Genger, a junior right-hander from Kent, Wash. (Kentwood HS), pitched a gem against Northwestern, striking out 11 and allowing just one run on three hits in a complete game win on Friday. The 11 strikeouts was the most by a Redhawk pitcher since the program returned to varsity status in 2010. He retired the first nine batters in order and allowed no more than one runner on base in any inning.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Texas-Pan American’s Robert Quinonez earned a complete-game shutout with eight strikeouts against Arlington Baptist…Grand Canyon’s Coley Bruns allowed just one run on six hits over seven innings in a loss at Oklahoma State…Sacramento State’s Sam Long earned his third career shutout in a 2-0 win over Cal Poly…New Mexico State’s Trey Higginbotham made two appearances on the week, striking out five at Texas Tech and four against Bakersfield.
BY THE NUMBERS
Grand Canyon continues to lead the WAC in batting, hitting at a .282 average. Sacramento State holds the top team ERA at 2.97 while the Hornets are also the top defensive team with a .980 fielding percentage.
Individually, WAC Hitter of the Week Logan Landon of Texas-Pan American leads the conference with a .473 batting average. Teammate Parker Gallegos continues to hold the top ERA at 1.50. Sacramento State’s Nathan Lukes leads the WAC with 29 hits while Grand Canyon’s Paul Panaccione and David Walker are tied for the lead in runs at 19. GCU’s Chad De La Guerra is the league leader in RBIs (19) and home runs (4). New Mexico State’s Quinnton Mack and Utah Valley’s Mark Krueger share the lead in doubles with six while five players are tied for the lead in triples with three. Seattle U’s Skyler Genger, the reigning WAC Pitcher of the Week, leads the conference in strikeouts with 39 in 33.0 innings pitched.
WIN, LOSE AND DRAW
The first WAC baseball series of the season resulted in a win, a loss and a tie for both Bakersfield and New Mexico State as the Roadrunners and Aggies earned the rare three-game series split with a 6-6 tie on Sunday due to Bakersfield travel plans. It was the first tie in WAC conference play since April 11, 2010 when Nevada and New Mexico State played to a 10-10 tie, also in Las Cruces. BYU and Hawai’i played to ties in WAC games in 1988 and 1990 for the only other ties in WAC play.
TRIPLE THE FUN
Texas-Pan American turned the first triple play of the season in the top of the third of the series finale with Arlington Baptist. New Mexico State turned a triple play in 2014 in a 2-0 loss at Arizona State for the last WAC defensive trifecta.
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