TicketSmarter WAC Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week Announced
DENVER – California Baptist's Jake Skipworth and Grand Canyon's Connor Markl have been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for Feb. 21 – Feb. 27.
Skipworth, a sophomore first baseman from Eastvale, Calif., recorded a pair of hits in each of the Lancers' four wins over visiting Purdue Fort Wayne, hitting .615 with a 1.154 slugging percentage on the weekend. On the week, he finished with eight hits, four doubles, a home run, five runs scored and nine RBIs. He has a hit in all seven CBU games this season, including six multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games this season.
Markl, a sophomore left-hander from Scottsdale, Ariz., faced off against a pair of NCAA tournament teams and shut them both down, picking up wins over both 11th-ranked Arizona and UC Irvine. Against in-state rival Arizona on Tuesday, Markl earned the start and fanned eight Wildcat hitters while allowing just one run on three hits over five innings to earn the win. He returned to the mound on Sunday, throwing five innings of relief and holding UC Irvine to one run on two hits with three strikeouts and no walks for his second victory of the week.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees: Abilene Christian's Colton Eager recorded his first multi-home run game of the season, hitting a pair out of the park in the Wildcats' 10-1 win over Michigan State on Sunday … Dixie State's Shane Taylor batted .467 out of the lead-off spot, finishing with seven hits and five RBIs as the Trailblazers took three-of-four from visiting North Dakota State … Grand Canyon's Elijah Buries had multiple hits in three-of-four Lopes games this week, including a 4-for-6 night in the Lopes' 19-3 drubbing of 11th-ranked Arizona … Lamar's Josh Blakenship led the team in hits, extra base hits and walks as the Cardinals took two-of-three from Rice … NM State's Edwin Martinez-Pagani notched a .625 batting average with five hits, two doubles and an RBI as the Aggies swept a three-game series at home against Oakland … Sacramento State's Cesar Valero had a hit in each of the Hornets' three games as they earned a sweep on the road at nationally-ranked Long Beach State … UT Rio Grande Valley's Freddy Rojas Jr. was 3-for-5 with a three-run home run, a double and a season-high three-RBIs in a 16-10 loss at Houston on Sunday … Utah Valley's Mitch Moralez was 7-for-16 with a pair of doubles and a pair of RBIs in UVU's four-game series at San Francisco.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees: Abilene Christian's Breck Eichelberge posted the Wildcats' longest outing from a starter this season, striking out eight with just one run allowed over six innings pitched to earn the victory in a 12-4 win over Michigan State … California Baptist's CJ Culpepper improved to 2-0 on the young season with 10 strikeouts and just one hit allowed over six innings pitched to earn the win on Friday night against Purdue Fort Wayne … Dixie State's Dillon Holliday earned the win in his home debut, striking out six and scattering four hits over seven innings in a 4-1 win over North Dakota State … Lamar's Daniel Cole appeared in two games in relief, combining for seven strikeouts and just one hit allowed over three innings pitched against Texas A&M and Rice … NM State's Rorik Maltrud worked 6.0 innings against Oakland on Friday, striking out six and allowing two runs on two hits to earn the victory in a 13-7 Aggie win … Sacramento State's Jack Zalasky entered in relief twice against Long Beach State and twice earned the win in relief, combining for three strikeouts and just four hits scattered over 4.1 innings … UT Rio Grande Valley's Colten Davis racked up a career-high seven strikeouts in 6.0 innings of two-hit, no-walk ball … Utah Valley's Nick Sims had a strong relief outing for the Wolverines, allowing one hits with four strikeouts over three innings to earn the save on Saturday at San Francisco.