DENVER - Sacramento State's Chris Lewis and Utah Valley's Danny Beddes have been named Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for April 11 - 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.
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 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.
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.