DENVER - Sacramento State's Ian Dawkins and Utah Valley's Kaden Schmitt have been named Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for May 7 - May 13.
Dawkins, a senior outfielder from San Lorenzo, Calif. (Arroyo HS/Chabot College), led the WAC in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, hits and total bases in a strong week at the plate. He finished the week 11-of-17 from the plate for a .647 batting average to go along with a .667 on-base percentage and a 1.235 slugging percentage. In the series-opener at Grand Canyon, he was 4-of-5 with a double and a home run and somehow managed to get better the next day, going 4-for-4 with two doubles, a triple and a home run. His .416 batting average in conference play leads the WAC and his 11 doubles against WAC opponents in also a league best.
Schmitt, a senior right-hander from Shelley, Idaho (Shelley HS), earned his second complete-game win of the season on Sunday against Seattle U. Facing 38 batters, he allowed two runs on five hits with 10 strikeouts and just one walk to earn the win. His other complete game win also came in WAC play, earning a 6-1 victory over UT Rio Grande Valley on March 31.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Jassen Oliver was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and drove in the winning run in Sunday's 3-2 win at Northern Colorado … Chicago State's Tyler Lowe led the Cougars to a winning week, going 10-for-19 from the plate, including 6-of-11 in the weekend series win over UT Rio Grande Valley … Grand Canyon's Preston Pavlica was 7-for-13 on the week and had his first multi-double game of the season with two in Saturday's win over Sacramento State … Northern Colorado's Brett Minnick was 5-for-9 from the plate as the Bears took 2-of-3 from CSU Bakersfield to clinch a trip to the WAC Tournament … UT Rio Grande Valley's Anthony Gomez had his second-career three-RBI game on Saturday in a win over Chicago State … Utah Valley's David Modler was 6- for-11 from the plate for a .545 batting average as the Wolverines dropped 2-of-3 to Seattle U.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Naithen Dewsnap went back to the bullpen this week and allowed just two hits in 7.2 innings pitched, earning the win on Sunday at Northern Colorado … Chicago State's Yunis Halim earned a save and a win as the Cougars took 2-of-3 from UT Rio Grande Valley to keep postseason hopes alive … Grand Canyon's Ethan Evanko was the winning pitcher in his final home start, striking out nine and allowing one walk to go with two runs on seven hits in six innings on the mound … NM State's Jonathan Groff struck out six and allowed just one run over seven innings to earn the win on Saturday at Gonzaga … Northern Colorado's Keenan Lum allowed two runs on eight hits in seven innings on the hill to earn the win on Saturday against CSU Bakersfield … Seattle U's Tarik Skubal struck out 10 and walked two while allowing one run on four hits over seven innings to earn the win on Saturday afternoon against Utah Valley.