DENVER -NM State's Austin Botello and Sacramento State's Justin Dillon have been named Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for Feb. 20 - Feb. 26.
Botello, a senior outfielder from Galveston, Texas (Clear Springs HS), was the catalyst of a potent NM State offense that combined for 73 runs in a four-game sweep of Mount St. Mary's. He was 15-of-23 at the plate on the week, hitting for a WAC-best .652 average with a 1.043 slugging percentage and .678 on-base percentage. His best game came in the series finale with Mount St. Mary's on Sunday as he was 6-for-7 from the plate with five RBIs and two runs scores. He finished the week with three doubles, two home runs, nine runs scored and 12 RBIs.
Dillon, a senior from Placerville, Calif. (El Dorado HS), threw the first no-hitter in Sacramento State's Division I history and the first in the WAC since 2010. The right-hander struck out 13 and walked just one, also allowing a base-runner on an error, to complete the third no-hitter in NCAA Division I this season. The 13 strikeouts was also a career-best for the Hornet.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Jake Ortega had a .545 average as the ‘Runners went undefeated on the week with a win over nationally-ranked UC Santa Barbara and a four-game sweep of Portland … Grand Canyon's Griffin Barnes recorded his first career home run in the series finale at Wichita State … Northern Colorado's Cole Maltese had a pair of home runs and hit for a .389 average in five games … Sacramento State outfielder Ian Dawkins had a hit and scored in each of the Hornets' four games on the week … UT Rio Grande Valley shortstop Ivan Estrella had five RBIs in Sunday's series finale with Prairie View A&M as the Vaqueros improved to 8-0 on the season … Utah Valley first baseman Trevor Peterson was 7-for-13 with four runs scored in three games at UC Davis.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Naithen Dewsnap did not allow a run in three appearances to earn a win and two saves for the ‘Runners … Grand Canyon's Jake Wong struck out four and held Wichita State to just one run in the series opener … NM State's Johnathan Groff earned the win with eight strikeouts and just two runs allowed in Friday's 13-2 win over Mount St. Mary's … Northern Colorado's Aaron Hamilton earned the win with a school-record 14 strikeouts in a 1-0 win over San José State … UT Rio Grande Valley's Carter Johnson retried the first 12 and last 11 batters he faced, striking out 13 and allowing just one run on two hits in a complete-game win over Prairie View A&M … Utah Valley's Jackson Cofer earned the Wolverines first win of the season, allowing two runs over 6.2 innings for the decision.