DENVER - New Mexico State's Kyle Graf and Seattle U's Tarik Skubal have been named Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for May 4 - May 10.
Graf, a senior from Pomerene, Ariz. (Benson HS), went 12-for-19 on the week with 11 RBIs, posting consistent numbers to help the Aggies beat rival New Mexico and take two-of-three from Texas-Pan American. Against UNM, he went 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored in the 22-8 victory. He followed that up with three hits in each of NM State's wins over UTPA and a 2-for-5 day with three RBIs in the lone loss on the weekend.
Skubal, a freshman from Kingman, Ariz. (Kingman Academy), overcame a leadoff home run by Chicago state to help the Redhawks to an 11-1 victory, striking out 11 and walking just two over seven innings pitched to earn the complete game win in the run-rule-shortened game. The 11 strikeouts tied the Seattle U modern single-game record and he is now tied for second on the team with five victories in his first collegiate season.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees: Seattle U's Brock Carpenter hit .462 on the week, including a 3-for-4 afternoon in Sunday's win over Chicago State…North Dakota's Jeff Campbell set a new career-high with seven RBIs in Friday's 7-2 win over Utah Valley…Bakersfield's Kris Cayton hit .500 on the week, including a 3-for-4 day on Sunday at Grand Canyon…Sacramento State's Scotty Burcham went .438 on the week, going 7-for-16 with seven RBIs as the Hornets went 4-0…Utah Valley's Mark Krueger was 9-for-18 from the plate, putting together multiple hits in all four UVU games this week…Grand Canyon's Brian Kraft was 6-for-8 on the week, including a perfect 3-for-3 in Sunday's 6-4 win over Bakersfield…Texas-Pan American's Cole Loncar was 10-for-14 on the week for a .714 average, including 5-for-6 in Sunday's win at New Mexico State…Northern Colorado's Jensen Park pushed his hit streak to 12 games, going 5-for-10 on the week.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees: North Dakota's Andrew Thome struck out a career-best 13 hitters to earn the win in Friday's 7-2 win against Utah Valley…Bakersfield's Hayden Carter earned the complete game win in Friday's 4-2 win over Grand Canyon, striking out three and walking none…Sacramento State's Ty Nichols earned the win on Saturday against Northern Colorado, striking out five and allowing just three hits over six innings pitched…Utah Valley's Jackson Cofer recorded his first career win, going six innings in a 7-5 win on Saturday against North Dakota to help the Wolverines clinch a spot in the WAC tournament…Grand Canyon's Andrew Naderer snapped a six-decision losing streak with a complete game win over Bakersfield, striking out five and allowing just five hits.