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UTRGV'S MERCER NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
UT Rio Grande Valley's Scott Mercer has been named WAC Hitter of the Week for April 4 Through April 11. 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.
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.
UTRGV'S GARCIA NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
UT Rio Grande Valley's Andrew Garcia has been named Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week for April 4 Through April 11. 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 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.
BY THE NUMBERS
Seattle U remains the top hitting team (.310 team batting average) and top pitching team (3.19 staff ERA) in the WAC this season. Grand Canyon is the top defensive team, posting a .972 fielding percentage. CSU Bakersfield's Dustin Frailey is the top hitter with a .398 batting average while Seattle U's Nick Meservey took over the top pitching spot with a 1.52 ERA. Utah Valley's Greyson Bogden is tied with teammate Mark Krueger for most hits with 48. Bogden also leads the WAC in doubles (13) and total bases (70). NM State's Daniel Johnson is the league leader in runs scored (34) and is tied with Frailey for the lead in triples (4). Aggie teammate Austin Botello has the WAC lead in RBIs with 29 while Northern Colorado's Brett Minnick has a WAC-high five home runs this season. North Dakota's Zach Muckenhirn holds the strikeout lead with 54 in 48.2 innings pitched.
In WAC play, Seattle U leads all teams with a .371 batting average. Sacramento State holds the top ERA at 2.67 and UT Rio Grande Valley has the top fielding percentage at .978. SU's Brock Carpenter is hitting .500 in league play while Grand Canyon's AJ Franks has a 0.00 ERA in six appearances.
UNDEFEATED NO MORE
Both Seattle U and Sacramento State headed into last weekend undefeated in conference play that but didn't last as the Redhawks fell to North Dakota on Sunday and Sacramento State dropped two of three at CSU Bakersfield.
BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN
CSU Bakersfield, Chicago State and Northern Colorado picked up their first conference wins of the year. CSUB took two of three from Sacramento State, CSU won the series opener over UT Rio Grande Valley and Northern Colorado outlasted Utah Vally in 12 innings on Sunday.
LONG WAY HOME
After 20 games on the road to open the 2016 season, North Dakota finally played in Grand Forks on April 9 against Seattle U
NINE RUNS? NO PROBLEM
Utah Valley put together one of the most improbable comebacks of the season against North Dakota. Down 9-1 headed into the bottom of the ninth, the Wolverines rallied for nine runs for a 10-9 walk off win.
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.
HOME SWEET HOME
Sacramento State went 9-4 during a school-record 13 game homestand. It was 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.