TicketSmarter WAC Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week Announced
DENVER – Grand Canyon's Brock Burton and California Baptist's Chris Burica have been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for April 26 to May 2.
Burton, a senior outfielder from Phoenix, led the Lopes offense in a series-win at Sacramento State, hitting .714 and slugging 1.286 with four multi-hit games and 11 total RBIs. His best game came in the opener, going 3-for-4 with two home runs, six RBIs and three runs scored in a 15-5 win. He followed that up with a 4-for-6 day, adding four RBIs and two runs scored, in a doubleheader sweep on Friday. In the series finale, he was 3-for-4 with a double. On the year, he boasts a .329 batting average with 10 doubles and 26 RBIs.
Burica, a senior left-hander from Anaheim Hills, Calif., continued to dominate WAC hitters on Friday at Seattle U. Allowing one run on five hits over nine innings, he earned his fourth complete game of the season in a 9-1 win over the Redhawks. On the year, he boasts a record of 7-3 with a 2.27 earned-run average and 60 strikeouts.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees: California Baptist's Damon Keith led the Lancer offense to a sweep at Seattle U, hitting .429 with six RBIs and seven runs scored … Dixie State's Lane Pritchard hit .533 with three multi-hit games as the Trailblazers swept past in-state rival Utah Valley … NM State's Cal Villareal drove in nine runs on the weekend as the Aggies picked up the series win at home over UT Rio Grande Valley … Sacramento State's Ryan Walstad drove in all three runs in the Hornets' 3-2 win over Grand Canyon on Sunday … Tarleton's Blake Burns went .583 at the plate with seven RBIs and four-doubles in a series-split at Northern Colorado … UT Rio Grande Valley's Coleman Grubbs posted his second-career four-hit game on Saturday, going 4-of-5 with a pair of doubles and a pair of runs in a 12-8 loss at NM State … Utah Valley's Mick Madsen hit .467 for the Wolverines as they battled in-state rival Dixie State on the road.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees: Dixie State's Ryan Hardman picked up his first collegiate victory with five strikeouts and six scoreless innings on Sunday against Utah Valley … Grand Canyon's Dawson McCarville earned the win with six scoreless innings to push his scoreless-inning streak to 29 … NM State's Chris Jefferson threw his fourth complete game of the season, striking out five and allowing one run on two hits over seven innings in a 12-1 win over UT Rio Grande Valley on Saturday … Sacramento State's Scott Randall slowed down the Grand Canyon offense on Sunday, striking out eight and allowing just one run on five hits over six innings in a 3-2 win … Tarleton's Zach Poe appeared in three games on the weekend and earned the win on Sunday in a 21-5 win at Northern Colorado … UT Rio Grande Valley's Kevin Stevens struck out seven and scattered seven hits over seven innings to earn the win on Friday at NM State.