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JOHNSON NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
NM State's Daniel Johnson has been named WAC Hitter of the Week for Feb. 15 through Feb. 21. Johnson, a junior outfielder from Vallejo, Calif. (Jesse Bethell HS), hit .600 on the week as the Aggies opened up the season 3-0 with a sweep over visiting Towson. His best game came in the middle game of the series, going 3-for-3 with two home runs, three runs scored and five RBIs. Through the first weekend of the season, he leads the conference in batting average, slugging percentage (1.400), on base percentage (.688), runs scored (6), RBIs (8) and home runs (2).
Other Hitter of the Week nominees: CSU Bakersfield catcher Cody White hit .455 on the week with three doubles as the Roadrunners took two of three from CSUN in an away-home-away series … Chicago State's Andy Gertonson led the Cougars with a .571 batting average in a three-game series at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi … Grand Canyon outfielder Brandon Smith went 8-for-14 with two doubles, a home run and five RBIs as the Lopes split the series with Gonzaga … North Dakota catcher Brett Harrison extended his hitting streak to 14 game as UND took two of three from nationally-ranked Southern California … Northern Colorado infielder Tyler Yamaguchi hit three doubles in a loss at Wichita State on Saturday, the first UNC player to notch three doubles in a game since 2012 … Sacramento State designated hitter Matt Smith scored the winning run in both of the Hornets' wins at Auburn, hitting .545 in three games against the Tigers … Utah Valley outfielder Mark Krueger earned a hit in each of the Wolverines' four games, scoring twice in Saturday's win over nationally-ranked Oregon State.
MUCKENHIRN NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
North Dakota's Zach Muckenhirn has been named Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week for Feb. 15 - Feb. 21. Muckenhirn, a junior from Delano, Minn. (Delano HS), pitched a gem to open the 2016 season, holding nationally-ranked Southern California to just three hits, retiring the last 15 batters in order, in a complete game shutout. He struck out nine and walked just one as the Fighting Hawks upset the Trojans, 1-0.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees: Chicago State's Jake Perkins recorded a career-high eight strikeouts and held Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to just one unearned run on three hits to earn the 7-1 win … Grand Canyon's Jake Repavich tossed seven scoreless innings, striking out four, in Saturday's 3-0 win over Gonzaga … NM State's Kyle Bradish didn't allow an earned run in six innings of work during Friday night's 8-5 win over Towson … Sacramento State's Tyler Beardsley pitched the eighth and ninth innings on just 11 pitches for the save on Saturday and returned to throw three inning in Sunday's extra inning win at Auburn … Seattle U's Tarik Skubal set a new school record with 13 strikeouts, allowing just three hits over seven innings, in Sunday's 4-1 win at Saint Mary's … UT Rio Grande Valley's Ryan Jackson struck out six Abilene Christian batters over seven innings, allowing just one earned run in a 7-3 loss … Utah Valley's Danny Beddes allowed just one unearned run and struck out five in Friday's season-opening win over Ball State.
BY THE NUMBERS
After the first weekend of 2016, NM State is the early statistical leader, hitting .410 as a team and holding a 2.00 staff ERA. Utah Valley host the top defensive mark, making just three errors for a .979 fielding percentage.
Individually, NM State's Daniel Johnson holds the top batting average (.600),slugging percentage (1.400), on base percentage (.688), runs scored (6), RBIs (8) and home runs (2). Nine pitchers currently hold a 0.00 ERA, including Seattle U's Tarik Skubal, who leads the conference with 13 strikeouts in his 2016 debut.
TROJAN HORSE
North Dakota's Zach Muckenhirn seemed to play the role of Odysseus on opening night, shutting down the Southern California Trojans from 60 feet, 6 inches away. The junior from Delano, Minn. struck out nine and walked just one as USC, ranked as high as 12th in the national polls, was held scoreless for Muckenhirn's second career shutout. He was named a National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball News.
SKKKKKKKKKKKKKUBIL
Seattle U sophomore Tarik Skubal opened up 2016 in spectacular fashion, setting a new school record for strikeouts in a game with 13 in just seven innings of work. He was named a National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball News
WAR HORNET
Sacramento State opened up a two-week trip to SEC-country with a pair of wins at Auburn. After falling on opening day, the Hornets rallied for a 6-5 win on Saturday and then outlasted the Tigers, 7-6, in 12 innings on Sunday to clinch the series. After a pair of midweek games against Northwestern State, the Hornets will conclude the roadtrip next weekend against seventh-ranked LSU.
PISTOLS UP
NM State showed early that 2016 is a new season as the Aggies swept Towson to open the season 3-0. It was the first sweep for the program in nearly two years as junior Daniel Johnson hit .600 with eight RBIs and a pair of home runs on the weekend.
DAM GOOD WIN
Utah Valley picked up a signature win on opening weekend, upsetting eigth-ranked Oregon State, 12-9, on the second day of the season. The Wolverines picked up 13 hits against the Beavers, including two from left fielder Ryne Edmondson, who led UVU with four RBIs on the game.
WAC COACHES SELECT GCU, PANACCIONE, LONG AS PRESEASON FAVORITES
Grand Canyon is the preseason favorite to win the 2016 Western Athletic Conference baseball title and Lopes' shortstop Paul Panaccione and Sacramento State pitcher Sam Long were selected WAC Preseason Player and Pitcher of the Year respectively in a vote of the league's 10 head coaches, who could not vote for their own team or players.
The Lopes received five of 10 first place votes to edge out Sacramento State, who received four first place votes. Seattle U grabbed the remaining first place vote to take third in the preseason poll, followed closely by 2015 WAC Tournament champion CSU Bakersfield in fourth. NM State was selected fifth and Utah Valley earned the sixth position. UT Rio Grande Valley was selected seventh, followed by Northern Colorado, North Dakota and Chicago State.
Panaccione and Long highlighted the Preseason All-WAC squad. Grand Canyon led the way with five honorees as Garrison Schwartz, Brandon Smith, Jake Repavich and Mick Vorhof joined Panaccione. Sacramento State had two Hornets selected as Vinny Esposito joined Long. Seattle U and CSU Bakersfield each had two honorees as well with Tarik Skubal and Dalton Hurd representing the Redhawks and David Metzgar and Joey Sanchez representing the Roadrunners. Chicago State catcher Cody Freund earned selection, as did Utah Valley outfielder Mark Krueger and UT Rio Grande Valley outfielder Cole Loncar.
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.