TicketSmarter WAC Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week Announced
DENVER – California Baptist's Chad Castillo and Sacramento State's Colin Hunter have been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for Feb. 14 – Feb. 20.
Castillo, a junior outfielder from Santa Ana, Calif., led the Lancers to a series sweep over Coppin State, going 8-for-13 from the plate with seven runs scored, five RBIs and three extra-base hits. He saved his best for last, going 4-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBIs in Sunday's 9-4 win. He also added five stolen bases on the week to get in scoring position all weekend long.
Hunter, a freshman right-hander from Scottsdale, Ariz., had a memorable collegiate debut, tossing a seven-inning no-hitter against visiting Northern Illinois. After facing the minimum through the first four innings before an error let a runner on, the true freshman finished with nine strikeouts and no walks in the 8-0 victory.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees: Dixie State's Shane Taylor batted .455 with three RBIs in the Trailblazers' opening weekend series at Arizona State … Grand Canyon's Tayler Aguilar was 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs as the Lopes salvaged the weekend with a 15-4 win over Nevada on Sunday … Lamar's Josh Blakenship hit .583 on the week with four RBIs as the Cardinals took two of three from Binghamton … NM State's Gunner Antillon was 3-for-3 in the Aggies' series finale against UIC as NMSU took two-of-three from the Flames … Sacramento State's Dawsen Bacho led the Hornets on opening weekend, hitting .692 in a series sweep over Northern Illinois … Sam Houston's Justin Wishkoski recorded a hit in each of the Kats' four games in a series win over Nebraska, finishing the week 7-for-14 with three extra-base hits and four RBIs … Tarleton's Carter Dobrinski was 6-for-10 at the dish with three walks as the Texans battled UTSA on opening weekend … UT Rio Grande Valley's Brandon Pimentel hit a pair of three-run home runs in Sunday's 23-3 win over George Washington … Utah Valley's Mitch Moralez recorded a hit in all four games and led the Wolverines with a .357 averaged as UVU dropped a series at Texas State.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees: California Baptist's CJ Culpepper opened the season with a two-hit win, striking out seven with no walks over five scoreless innings in an 8-1 win over Coppin State … Dixie State's Ryan Hardman picked up the win for the Trailblazers in Saturday's 7-6 win over Arizona State, allowing one run on six hits with four strikeouts and a walk … Grand Canyon's Nick Hull struck out eight and walked just one while scattering one run and three hits over five innings in a no-decision against Nevada on Friday night … Lamar's Braxton Douthit through six innings of no-hit baseball, finishing with 13 strikeouts but taking a no-decision in Friday's 2-1 win over Binghamton … NM State's Sammy Natera struck out a league-high 14 on Saturday, allowing just two hits over seven innings in a 6-3 win over UIC … Sam Houston's Steven Beard picked up the win over Nebraska on Sunday, scattering three hits over six innings with eight strikeouts and one walk in the 6-3 win … Tarleton's Aiden Adams earned the win in his first collegiate start, allowing two hits over four innings, in a 12-1 win over UTSA … UT Rio Grande Valley's Kevin Stevens retired the first 12 batters he faced and finished with 13 strikeouts and just one hit allowed over six innings pitched in a 3-0 win over George Washington on Friday … Utah Valley's Mason Gray tossed five scoreless innings, striking out two, walking one and allowing just one hit in the Wolverines' 5-3 win over Texas State on Saturday.