This Week In WAC Baseball - March 30
This Week In WAC Baseball - March 30
SAM HOUSTON REMAINS AT THE TOP OF THE WAC
Sam Houston was knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten but remained atop the WAC after the third full week of conference play. The Bearkats picked up a third straight league series after taking two of three games at No. 25 Grand Canyon last weekend, claiming game two 12-11 in 12 innings before taking the rubber match by a 4-2 final. Abilene Christian remained a game back in the conference standings at 7-2 in WAC games entering the next weekend of league matchups on March 30.
SFA CATCHING FIRE IN CONFERENCE PLAY
Stephen F. Austin entered its league showdown with Sacramento State on March 30 with the longest active winning streak in the WAC, taking five straight contests to pull to withing one game of .500 (11-12) for the season and 5-4 in the WAC. The Lumberjacks won the final two games of a league series at home against California Baptist before sweeping Utah Tech last weekend to extend their winning string.
OFFENSE CONTINUES TO POWER THE WAC
As of March 30, 11 of the 13 WAC baseball members were averaging more than 5.5 runs scored per game across all starts this season. Tarleton paced the conference with 9.4 runs per contest, followed by Grand Canyon at 7.7 runs per game and Stephen F. Austin at a 7.6 runs average. Tarleton’s 7.9 RBI per game was also best among WAC teams.
THE WAC IN THE NCAA RPI
In the latest release of the NCAA RPI on March 29, Sam Houston led all WAC teams ranked 76th. Grand Canyon followed at number 82 in the latest RPI. UT Arlington checked in 91st in the RPI with the 34th-ranked strength of schedule in the nation this season.
THE WAC IN THE NCAA STATISTICS RANKINGS
In the NCAA DI baseball statistics rankings that were released on March 29, Abilene Christian was second in the nation with a .988 team fielding percentage and California Baptist was fifth in double plays turned (26). Individually, Sacramento State’s Jack Zalasky was first in saves (7). Grand Canyon’s Jacob Wilson checked in second in batting average (.479), fourth in hits (45) and ranked fourth as the hardest hitter to strike out (23.5). UTRGV’s Kade York was second in sacrifice bunts (8) and fourth in sac bunts per game (0.33). UT Arlington’s Connery Peters was third in saves (3).