DENVER -UT Rio Grande Valley's Jose Garcia and Grand Canyon's Jake Wong have been named Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for Feb. 13 - Feb. 19.
Garcia, a senior outfielder from San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico (Galveston CC), hit for the cycle in his first four at-bats on Saturday and finished the weekend hitting .588 with a 1.235 slugging percentage. His best game came on Saturday, going 5-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, his first career home run, three runs scored and three RBIs. In a four-game sweep of Texas Southern, his had two home runs, seven runs scored and six RBIs.
Wong, a sophomore from Chandler, Ariz. (Hamilton HS), limited nationally-ranked Oklahoma State to just one hit over six shutout innings to earn the victory in Friday's season-opening 6-1 win. The right-hander struck out seven and walked three against a Cowboy team that made the 2016 College World Series.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Ryan Grotjohn led the WAC with a .636 average in three games against Utah … Grand Canyon's Ian Evans hit .375 as the Lopes split a pair of games with nationally-ranked Oklahoma State … NM State's Brent Sakurai was 3-for-4 in the Aggies first win of the season, a 4-3 decision over Bryant on Saturday night … Sacramento State's Devin Lehman hit .429 on the week, also drawing five walks, against Washington State … Seattle U's Aaron Stroosma was 6-for-15 as the Redhawks split a four-game series with SIUE.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees: Chicago State's Jake Perkins limited Northern Ilinois to just one run over seven innings to earn the win in the Cougars' season opener … NM State's Marcel Renteria struck out five and walked one over six innings to earn the Sunday afternoon win over Bryant … Sacramento State's Justin Dillon allowed one run on one hit over seven innings in a no-decision against Washington State … UT Rio Grande Valley's Connor Grant allowed just one hit over six innings to earn the win against Texas Southern.