TicketSmarter WAC Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week Announced
DENVER – NM State's Nick Gonzales and Sacramento State's Parker Brahms have been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for Feb. 17 – Feb. 23.
Gonzales, a junior infielder from Vail, Ariz., wins the honor for the second time in as many weeks after hitting .563 with a 1.313 slugging percentage in a four-game sweep of Iona. With pitchers around the country aware of his dangerous bat, the Gaels' pitchers didn't give him a lot to hit over the first three games, walking him four times but still allowing him to score four runs and drive in a pair. The first-round prospect was given plenty in Sunday's finale and he took advantage, hitting for the cycle with an additional home run, five runs scored and seven RBIs in an 18-4 win. Holding a 74-game on-base streak dating back to the 2018 season, he is hitting .567 on the season with seven home runs, 26 RBIs and a 1.433 slugging percentage.
Brahms, a senior right-hander from Calabasas, Calif., became the Hornets' all-time strikeout king on Friday night, striking out 10 with no walks and allowing just five hits over six scoreless innings in a 4-0 shutout win. A 27th-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers last June, he now has 280 career strikeouts at Sacramento State. On the season, he is 2-0 with a 0.77 earned-run average, having posted 17 strikeouts with no walks over 11.2 innings pitched.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees: California Baptist's John Glenn led CBU's offense by hitting .400 with six RBIs in a close loss at Pacific and a weekend split against UC Riverside … CSU Bakersfield's Damian Henderson hit .438 for the 'Runners to help CSUB earn the series win over San Francisco … Grand Canyon's Dominic Grissom had a pair of home runs and six RBIs as the Lopes earned wins over Oregon and Fordham to go 3-2 on the week … Northern Colorado's Sam Leach had four RBIs in a three-game series at New Mexico ... Sacramento State's Matt Smith had a pair of home runs and five RBIs as the Hornets picked up a four-game sweep over visiting Milwaukee … Seattle U's Justin Mazzone hit a team-best .533 as the Redhawks with 2-2 in California with wins over UC Riverside and Southern Illinois … UT Rio Grande Valley's Andy Atwood went 4-for-5 with a double and a home run in a high-scoring 11-7 loss at 17th-ranked Oklahoma State on Saturday … Utah Valley's Mitch Moralez was 9-for-17 from the plate with three doubles as the Wolverines took the series opener before dropping the series at Portland.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees: California Baptist's Chris Burica led CBU to its first home win of the season, allowing one run on five hits with four strikeouts in a 3-1 win over UC Riverside … CSU Bakersfield's Davonte Butler had a career-high eight strikeouts over six scoreless innings to earn the 2-0 win over San Francisco on Sunday … Chicago State's Vinnie Venturi pitched 7.1 scoreless innings with just two hits allowed and six strikeouts to lead the Cougars to a 3-0 win over Indiana State … Grand Canyon's Kade Mechals struck out six and allowed just one earned run over six innings but took the loss on Friday against CSUN … NM State's Chris Jefferson sealed the series sweep for the Aggies, allowing four hits with six strikeouts and a walk over six scoreless innings in an 18-4 win over Iona … Seattle U's Josh Thompson didn't allow a hit over four innings of work to earn the win in a 7-1 victory at UC Riverside … UT Rio Grande Valley's Ricky Gerik Jr. made three appearances on the week, allowing just one hit over three scoreless innings with five strikeouts and just one walk … Utah Valley's Jesse Schmit struck out four and scattered three hits over six scoreless innings to earn the win at Portland on Thursday.