DENVER - Grand Canyon's Garrison Schwartz and Sacramento State's Parker Brahms have been named Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for April 17 - April 23.
Schwartz, a junior outfielder from Chandler, Ariz. (Desert Vista HS), had multiple hits in all three games and hit .615 as the Lopes swept UT Rio Grande Valley to remain atop the WAC standings. The WAC Preseason Player of the Year saved his best at-bats for the finale, hitting a pair of doubles and then finishing with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning to give GCU a 9-8 win.
Brahms, a freshman right-hander from Calabasas, Calif. (Calabasas HS), allowed just three hits, all of them singles, as he earned the win at Seattle U. He finished with six strikeouts and two walks over six scoreless innings to earn his third win in WAC play. Over his last four starts, he holds a 1.01 ERA and a .168 opponent's batting average with 20 strikeouts over 26.2 innings.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Mahlik Jones was 7-for-14 with five RBIs at Arizona State and also earned the win on the hill on Sunday … Chicago State's Matt Sullivan hit .467 over four games for the Cougars … NM State's Mason Fishback was 8-for-15 from the plate as the Aggies dropped a close game to nationally-ranked Texas Tech before sweeping Northern Colorado at home … Northern Colorado's Tyler Yamaguchi was 5-for-13 on the week … Sacramento State's Vinny Esposito had multiple hits in four of five games for the Hornets on the week … UT Rio Grande Valley's Ivan Estrella hit his first career grand slam and finished with a career-high five RBIs on Sunday at Grand Canyon … Utah Valley's Jake Berry batted .545 in three games against Chicago State.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees: Chicago State's Joe Baier earned the win in Saturday's victory at Utah Valley, allowing three hits over 2.1 scoreless innings … Grand Canyon's AJ Franks earned the win in relief on Sunday and still hasn't allowed a run in conference play … NM State's Marcel Renteria struck out nine and allowed just one run on four hits over seven innings to earn the win against Northern Colorado … Northern Colorado's Connor Leedholm struck out four over five innings in a no-decision at NM State … UT Rio Grande Valley's Austin Kufrovich didn't allow a run in 4.2 innings pitched … Utah Valley's Patrick Wolfe earned a pair of saves against Chicago State to bring his season total to nine.