TicketSmarter WAC Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week Announced
DENVER – Sacramento State's Matt Smith and California Baptist's Chris Burica have been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for March 8 to March 14.
Smith, a senior outfielder from Placerville, Calif., recorded hits in all four games at Tarleton as the Hornets opened conference play with a series win over the Texans. After going 4-of-13 in the firs three games, he finished the series with a four-for-four game, driving in four runs and scoring five runs with a pair of home runs as well. On the week, he hit .471 from the dish with a .571 on-base percentage and a 1.059 slugging percentage.
Burica, a senior left-hander from Anaheim Hills, Calif., picked up a win on Saturday against Northern Colorado. Over 6.2 scoreless innings, he scattered two hits and recorded six strikeouts. It marked the third-straight start that he has pitched into the seventh inning.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees: California Baptist's John Glenn was 6-for-13 from the plate as the Lancers swept Northern Colorado … Dixie State's Jake Engel was 2-for-three with five RBIs and two runs scored in the Trailblazers' first Division I win on Sunday against NM State …. Grand Canyon's Elijah Buries had four RBIs in the Lopes' 8-4 win over UT Rio Grande Valley on Saturday … NM State's Brandon Dieter drove in 12 runs last week, including a pair of bombs to lead an Aggie offense that piled up 63 runs in just four games … Northern Colorado's Sam Leach extended his hitting streak to 12 games with hits in all four games at California Baptist … Seattle U's Justin Mazzone drove in three runs in Saturday's 6-4 loss at Washington … Tarleton's London Green was 4-for-4 at the plate in the Texans' mid-week win against future WAC member Lamar … UT Rio Grande Valley's Andy Atwood had multi-hit games in each of the Vaqueros' wins in a split at Grand Canyon … Utah Valley's Mitch Moralez went 4-for-5 in the Wolverines' series-opener at Portland.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees: Grand Canyon's Coen Wynne struck out a pair in 3.2 innings on Sunday against UT Rio Grande Valley … NM State's Josh Laukkanen earned his first win of the year as he struck out five in five innings on the mound against Dixie State … Northern Colorado's Dylan Bowers recorded six strikeouts over 6.1 innings of work on Saturday against California Baptist … Sacramento State's Scott Randall struck out seven Tarleton hitters and allowed just two hits over seven innings to earn the victory in a 6-0 win on Friday … UT Rio Grande Valley's Kevin Stevens threw a career-high 6.2 innings, earning the win on Friday night at Grand Canyon … Utah Valley's Mason Gray had a career-high nine strikeouts but took the loss on Sunday at Portland.