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SACRAMENTO STATE'S LEWIS NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
Sacramento State's Chris Lewis has been named WAC Hitter of the Week for April 11 Through April 17. Lewis, a senior outfielder from Newark, Calif. (Junipero Serra HS), was the sparkplug for the Hornet offense, hitting .647 to lead Sacramento State to a 4-0 week. Recording multiple hits in each game played, he was 3-for-4 in each of the final two games with Chicago State, finishing the week with eight RBIs and five runs scored with an .824 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage. On Sunday, he drove in all four runs to help secure the sweep. Over the last eight games, he has seven multi-hit performances and is hitting .545 with 10 RBIs.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees: CSU Bakersfield outfielder Dustin Frailey recorded his 16th, 17th and 18th multi-hit games of the year in losses to UC Irvine and Northern Colorado … NM State outfielder Dan Hetzel hit a three-run home run on Monday tat Grand Canyon to give the Aggies the series sweep … North Dakota outfielder Ellery Bresnahan hit safely in all four games this week, hitting .462 with three runs and a pair of RBIs … Northern Colorado infielder Ryan Yamane was 5-for-7 in a doubleheader sweep over CSU Bakersfield on Friday … Seattle U's Sheldon Stober was 7-for-16 as the Redhawks won a WAC series over Grand Canyon at home … UT Rio Grande Valley infielder Scott Mercer had a career day on Saturday, driving in five runs and scoring three more in a 12-2 win over North Dakota … Utah Valley catcher/designated hitter Zac Willis played in both of UVU's win this week, hitting .600 with a home run and three RBIs.
UTAH VALLEY'S BEDDES NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley's Danny Beddes has been named Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week for April 11 Through April 17. Beddes, a senior left-hander from American Fork, Utah (American Fork HS), finished one out shy of the complete game in a 7-4 win over NM State on Saturday. Over eight and two-third innings, he struck out nine and walked just one. He allowed four runs, three earned, while facing 36 hitters to give the Wolverines the win to tie the series with the then first-place Aggies. Beddes pitched Aggie hitters into six fly outs and nine ground outs in his fourth win of the season.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees: NM State's Matthew McHugh allowed three hits over six and two-third innings to earn the win for the Aggies on Friday … North Dakota's Zach Muckenhirn threw a complete game and didn't allow an earned run despite taking the loss in a 2-1 game at UTRGV … Sacramento State's Max Karnos recorded his first career complete game shutout, allowing just three hits in a 10-0 win over Chicago State … UT Rio Grande Valley's Robert Quinonez earned a complete game win, striking out five with one walk, in an 8-4 win over North Dakota.
BY THE NUMBERS
Nearing the halfway point of the conference schedule, Seattle U leads the WAC in hitting (.305 team batting average) and pitching (3.38 staff ERA). Sacramento State is the top fielding team with a .970 fielding percentage. Individually, CSU Bakersfield Dustin Frailey is hitting .407 to lead all hitters. Seattle U's Nick Meservery holds a WAC-low 1.39 ERA. SU's Sheldon Stober leads the WAC in hits (52) while teammate Brock Carpenter is the leader in RBIs (33). NM State's Daniel Johnson is the leader in runs scored (37) while Utah Valley's Greyson Bogden is tied with Stober for the lead in doubles (14). Frailey and Johnson are tied for the lead in triples (4). Northern Colorado teammate's Brett Minnick and Cole Maltese hold the home run lead with five each. On the mound, Utah Valley's Danny Beddes took over the strikeout lead with 60 in 63.1 innings pitched.
In WAC-only play, Seattle U is hitting .348 to lead the league. Sacramento State has the low staff ERA at 2.36 while UT Rio Grande Valley is the top defensive team with a .977 fielding percentage. Utah Valley's Kyle Valgardson and Northern Colorado's Allen Cook each hold a 0.00 ERA in WAC play while NC's Nick Tanner leads the league in hitting with a .471 average in WAC play.
WINNING WAYS
Seattle U is the only team in the WAC this season that has won all four series they have played, having defeated CSU Bakersfield, Chicago State, North Dakota and Grand Canyon.
SACRAMENTO SWEEPS
Sacramento State has also been dominent early this season, having swept home series against North Dakota, Northern Colorado and Chicago State.
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.