TicketSmarter WAC Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week Announced
DENVER – Sam Houston's Carlos Contreras and California Baptist's Brandon Downer have been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for March 21 – March 27.
Contreras, a junior outfielder from El Paso, Texas, set a new school record for RBIs in a game with nine in the WAC series finale against Stephen F. Austin. Going 5-for-5 from the plate during that game, he had a pair of home runs and a double in the Bearkats' 10-4 win. On the week, he had multiple hits in all four games SHSU played and finished the week 11-for-17 from the plate for a .647 average and 1.588 slugging percentage.
Downer, a freshman right-hander from Corona, Calif., turned in a great start in the Lancers' 9-4 win at NM State on Saturday. Taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning, he finished the game with nine strikeouts over 7.1 innings while allowing three runs, two of them earned, on four hits with a pair of walks given up.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees: Abilene Christian's Tommy Cruz recorded his first career triple on Saturday against Tarleton as one of two extra-base hits on the week … California Baptist's David Martin hit .462 on the week to help the Lancers earn a three-game sweep at NM State … Dixie State's Zach Thomas hit 4-for-5 with four RBIs in the Trailblazers' 11-9 series-clinching win at Seattle U on Sunday … Grand Canyon's Juan Colato had three hits in Tuesday's win over Arizona State and then hit a pair of home runs in a win at Sacramento State on Saturday … Lamar's Chase Kemp hit .600 on the week and also drew four walks as the Cardinals went 2-2 on the week … NM State's Logan Gallina hit safely in all three games on the week, finishing the series against California Baptist with three extra-base hits and three RBIs … UT Rio Grande Valley's Brett Cain recorded his fifth and sixth multi-hit games of the season as the Vaqueros earned a WAC series win over Lamar … Utah Valley's Mick Madsen was 7-for-17 on the week with his best game coming on Saturday at CSU Bakersfield, going 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and three runs scored.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees: Abilene Christian's Genner Cervantes struck out a career-high eight in just four innings to earn the win on Sunday against Tarleton … Dixie State's Brett Porthan struck out three and allowed just one run on five hits over five innings to earn his fifth win of the season in a 9-1 decision at Seattle U … Grand Canyon's Nick Hull struck out seven and allowed five hits over six scoreless innings but took the no-decision on Friday at Sacramento State … NM State's Hayden Johns appeared twice on the week, combining for two strikeouts and just one hit allowed in 1.2 innings of work against California Baptist … Sam Houston's Matt Dillard recorded a career-high nine strikeouts over 7.0 innings to earn the win on Sunday at Stephen F. Austin … UT Rio Grande Valley's Colten Davis allowed one run on seven hits with six strikeouts over seven innings to improve to 4-0 on the season with the victory in a 5-2 win over Lamar … Utah Valley's Carson Brown made a pair of appearances for the Wolverines, combining for nine strikeouts in 6.1 innings with just two runs on five hits and two walks issued.