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NM STATE's JOHNSON NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
NM State's Daniel Johnson has been named WAC Hitter of the Week for March 21 through March 27. Johnson, a junior outfielder from Vallejo, Calif. (Jesse Bethel HS/Northeast Oklahoma A&M), helped lead the Aggies to the WAC-opening sweep over Chicago State, going 7-for-13 with five runs scored. His best game came in the series finale, going 3-for-4 with a home run as the Aggies won 8-2. He also stole three bases and leads the WAC in stolen bases with 14 in 15 attempts. This is the second honor of the year for Johnson, who earned player of the week recognition following the opening weekend of the season.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees: Grand Canyon outfielder Thomas Lerouge had two game-winning RBIs against UNLC and Utah Valley … North Dakota outfielder Miles Lewis went 5-for-12 in the three game series at Sacramento State … Northern Colorado infielder Dean Lawson was 3-for-4 in the Bears lone game of the week, a win against Regis … Sacramento State designated hitter Matt Smith hit .385 and has recorded a hit in each of the first 16 games of his collegiate career … Seattle U outfielder Max Modeste hit his first career home run in walk-off fashion on Saturday against CSU Bakersfield … UT Rio Grande Valley outfielder Cole Loncar went 3-for-5 with two runs scored as the Vaqueros knocked off Texas State, 4-3, in extra innings … Utah Valley outfielder Mark Kruger hit .353 as the Wolverines went 2-2 in Arizona, including a series win at Grand Canyon.
SACRAMENTO STATE'S LONG NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Sacramento States's Sam Long has been named Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week for March 21 through March 27. Long, a junior right-hander from Sacramento, Calif. (Del Campo HS), allowed just four singles and two walks over seven innings to come up on the winning end of a pitchers' duel on Friday against North Dakota. The WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year struck out seven batters and faced just 25 hitters to earn his second win of the season.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees: Grand Canyon's Cameron Brendel went eight innings in his first start of the season before leaving with the no-decision in an extra-inning win against Utah Valley … Seattle U's Austin Hansen earned his second career save on Friday and his first career win on Saturday as the Redhawks swept CSU Bakersfield … UT Rio Grande Valley's Robert Quinonez went 6.1 scoreless innings, striking out six and allowing just six hits, in an eventual 4-3 extra-inning win over Texas State … Utah Valley's Jake Meyer earned his first career save in series-clinching win at preseason favorite Grand Canyon.
BY THE NUMBERS
NM State used a weekend sweep to jump over Seattle U for the lead in team batting, hitting .291 through 25 games. Seattle U is the still the top pitching team with a 2.92 staff ERA while Grand Canyon is the top defensive team with a .971 fielding percentage. Sacramento State's Matt Smith leads the WAC with a .421 batting average and SU's Tarik Skubal leads the league with a 0.97 ERA. Utah Valley's Greyson Bogden is the leader in hits (37) and doubles (12). NM State's Daniel Johnson leads the WAC in runs scored (27), triples (4) and is tied with Northern Colorado's Brett Minnick for the lead in home runs (4). Aggie teammates Austin Botello, Dan Hetzel and Trey Stine lead the league in RBIs with 21 each.
GETTING REVENGE
In a rematch of last year's WAC title game series, Seattle U earned a series sweep over CSU Bakersfield to start the 2016 WAC schedule.
ONE RUN, LOTS OF FUN
Sacramento State is currently 8-0 in one-run games, including 4-0 last week in a three-game sweep of North Dakota and an extra-inning win over San Francisco.
SNOW MEANS NO GO
After a blizzard shut down Denver International Airport for just the third time ever, the WAC series between UT Rio Grande Valley and Northern Colorado was cancelled after the Vaqueros were unable to secure a flight to Colorado for the tilt in Greeley.
ON THE ROAD (AGAIN)
North Dakota is still a week away from its home opener, which is scheduled to take place on April 8 when the Fighting Hawks host Seattle U.
HOME SWEET HOME
Sacramento State is in the midst of a school-record 13 game homestand. It is also the longest in the WAC this season.
GEAUX HORNETS
When Sacramento State defeated fifth-ranked LSU, 5-4, on Feb. 27, it was the Hornets' second win over a top-five opponent in the last three years. They earned a 7-6 win over fourth-ranked Oregon in 2014.
BREAK OUT THE BROOMS
Seattle U swept Bowling Green for the Redhawks' first four-game sweep over an opponent since returning to intercollegiate action in 2010. SU outscored the Falcons, 26-3, and picked up three shutouts over the weekend.
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 NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week, as well as a National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball News.
SKKKKKKKKKKKKKUBAL
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
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 third straight season, the WAC Baseball Tournament will take place in Mesa, Ariz. as the 2016 championship returns to renovated 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 14 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, 2014 and 2015. CSU Bakersfield won the 2015 tournament, earning the WAC's automatic qualification to the NCAA Tournament.