TicketSmarter WAC Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week Announced
DENVER – Sacramento State's Martin Vincelli-Simard and UT Rio Grande Valley's Kevin Stevens have been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for May 9 – May 15.
Vincelli-Simard, a junior infielder from Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada, used his bat to lead the Hornets to a 4-0 week. In the lone non-conference game, he was 3-for-5 at the dish with three RBIs and three runs scored in a 11-9 win at Fresno State. In the three-game WAC series with Utah Valley, the Québécois went 6-for-11 at the plate with a combined four RBIs, four runs scored and five extra-base hits as the Hornets earned the sweep over visiting UVU.
Stevens, a senior right-hander from Tucson, Ariz., was dominant in his start Friday against first-place Sam Houston, striking out nine and walking just one to pick up the 4-1 victory. Over 8.0 innings, he scattered three hits, two of which were infield singles. He is now 8-2 on the season with 85 strikeouts and a 2.78 earned run average.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees: California Baptist's Russell Stevenson hit .500 on the week, including a 4-for-5 performance in Saturday's series finale at Seattle U … Dixie State's Kaden Hollow hit an even .400 on the week as the Trailblazers battled tough with nationally-ranked UC Santa Barbara … Grand Canyon's Josh Buckley helped the Lopes earn the sweep at NM State, going 7-for-15 with five RBIs and four runs scored on the week … Lamar's Josh Blankenship led the team in home runs, doubles, RBIs, total bases and slugging in the Cardinals' win over Southern and three-game sweep at Abilene Christian … NM State's Edwin Martinez-Pagani was 5-for-10 at the dish as the Aggies battled nationally-ranked Grand Canyon … Sam Houston's Easton Lloyd hit .500 for the Bearkats, including a 4-for-5 day on Sunday to help the Bearkats clinch their WAC series at UTRGV … Tarleton's London Green totaled 10 RBIs on the week as the Texans swept past visiting Stephen F. Austin … UT Rio Grande Valley's Brett Cain was 2-for-4 at the dish with a pair of RBIs and a run scored in the Vaqueros' 4-1 win over first-place Sam Houston on Friday night … Utah Valley's Mick Madsen led the Wolverines with a .353 averaged and a pair of home runs in games against Portland and Sacramento State.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees: California Baptist's Drew Necochea made a pair of appearances for the Lancers, throwing 1.2 innings in a loss at San Diego before picking up the seven-inning complete game win over Seattle U on Saturday … Grand Canyon's Daniel Avitia struck out eight in a win at NM State to set a new school record for strikeouts by a freshman … Sacramento State's Colin Hunter, struck out nine and allowed just two runs on six hits over 6.1 innings to earn the win on Saturday against Utah Valley … Tarleton's Riley Boyd threw a career-high five shutout innings with five strikeouts and three hits allowed on Saturday against Stephen F. Austin … Utah Valley's Luke McCollough surrendered just one run on three hits in appearances against Portland and Sacramento State.