DENVER - UT Rio Grande Valley's Scott Mercer and Andrew Garcia have been named Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for April 4 - April 10.
Mercer, a senior third-baseman from San Jose, Calif. (Cabrillo College), posted a .700 on-base percentage and led the Vaqueros to a 3-1 week. In UTRGV's lone non-conference game of the week, he collected his third-career three-hit game, going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs in a 4-3 win against Incarnate Word. In the Vaqueros' WAC series at Chicago State, he drew a career-high four walks, scoring twice in the opener, before going 3-for-8 the rest of the series to finish at 6-for-12 on the week.
Garcia, a senior right-hander from Peoria, Ariz. (Paradise Valley CC), earned a pair of wins on the week. Against Incarnate Word, he made his first relief appearance, striking out two and allowing just one hit over 1.1 innings to earn the victory. He returned to the mound on Saturday for his regularly-schedule weekend start, throwing a three-hit complete game, striking out six, in a 7-1 win at Chicago State. He carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning against the Cougars, throwing 61.4-percent of his pitches for strikes in the conference win.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees: CSU Bakersfield outfielder Dustin Frailey recorded three-multi hit games as the Roadrunners took a WAC series from Sacramento State … Grand Canyon outfielder Garrison Schwartz was 6-for-10 on the week as the Lopes struggled against UNLV and NM State … NM State designated hitter/outfielder Austin Botello hit home runs in each of the Aggies' wins at Grand Canyon, including a three-run blast on Friday … North Dakota outfielder Miles Lewis was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs score in the Fighting Hawks win over Seattle U on Sunday … Northern Colorado outfielder Nick Tanner went 7-for-15 at the plate, also throwing 5.1 innings on Friday, as the Bears earned their first WAC win on Sunday at Utah Valley …. Sacramento State outfielder Andrew McWilliam was 8-for-16 on the week as the Hornets went 1-3 against State Route 99 rivals Fresno State and CSU Bakersfield … Seattle U infielder Sean Sutton led the Redhawks with a .545 average on the week, going 6-for-11 from the plate … Utah Valley outfielder Craig Brinkerhoff hit a walk-off home run on Saturday to clinch a series win over Northern Colorado …
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees: CSU Bakersfield's AJ Monarrez threw a complete game, striking out six and retiring the final 10 batters in order, to earn the win on Sunday against Sacramento State … Grand Canyon's AJ Franks had a pair of no-hit relief appearances in losses to NM State … Northern Colorado's Luke Haynes kept the Bears in the game on Sunday, throwing four scoreless innings before UNC won the game in the 12th inning … Utah Valley's Jake Meyer picked up two wins in three relief appearances, including four strikeouts and just one hit against Northern Colorado on Friday.