Lone Star Conference Baseball weekly release (03/10/10)

LSC Baseball Quick Notes
Lone Star Conference action continued last week with Cameron and Abilene Christian sweeping their four-game series, while Southeastern Oklahoma, Angelo State and Texas A&M-Kingsville each won three of four games.

LSC Baseball teams are 121-104 overall this season. In the NCAA South Central Region, the LSC is currently 6-1 combined versus Heartland Conference squads and 5-1 against the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA).

Teams are competing for one of six spots in the Lone Star Conference Championship to be held in Abilene, Texas, May 1-2-3-4.

Diamond Players of the Week
HITTER
Zak Leonhardt, Angelo State, Jr., Third baseman, Houston, Texas/Langham Creek
Leonhardt appeared in all four games at West Texas A&M, helping the Rams to a 3-1 series win, but it was the series finale that Leonhardt had his shining moment. The junior third baseman from Houston tied an ASU record with three home runs in the game and was one RBI short of tying that record. Leonhardt began his onslaught with a grand slam in the first inning to highlight a five-run outburst. He led off the third inning with his second bomb of the game and capped off his day with a solo shot in the fourth which followed Keith Towne’s two run blast. For the week, Leonhardt hit .600 with nine hits in 15 at bats with two doubles, three home runs and 12 RBI.

Willie Uechi, Abilene Christian, Sr., shortstop, San Antonio, Texas/San Antonio Marshall
Uechi had a record breaking weekend against East Central - his seven hits pushed him past former teammate Jordan Schmitt as the all-time hit leader - currently 288 - at ACU and in the Lone Star Conference - during the four game series Uechi hit .467 with three doubles including his record breaking hit in game one of the series, a double that squeezed inside the left field line for hit No. 282 - he added two RBIs and five runs scored moving him into third all-time on ACU’s list for runs - he sits just 43 behind Matt Davidson. He also moved into fifth for doubles all-time just 20 behind the leader Schmitt.

Clifton Thomas, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Sr., Centerfield, San Diego, Calif./El Cajon Valley HS
Thomas flashed his power stroke this week as he had seven extra base hits in a four game series with Eastern New Mexico. After driving in one run and scoring another in the series opener he caught fire. He went 3-for-6 in Game 2 with three runs and two RBI’s. He missed hitting for the cycle by a single. In Saturday’s first game he went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple, two runs and two RBI’s. He finished the series with a 2-for-5 performance that included two runs, an RBI and a triple. He went 1-for-5 with a run scored on Tuesday against A&M-International. He finished the week with three doubles, three triples and a home run. He is on a seven-game hitting streak and has scored a run in each of the last six games.

PITCHER
Anthony Smith, Eastern New Mexico, Jr., Pitcher, Palms, Calif./Cal State-Stanislaus
Smith turned in another strong week, recording saves in both of his appearances. His first save came against 22nd-ranked New Mexico Highlands, with him retiring three of the four batters he faced. The Javelinas loaded the bases in the sixth inning with one out, before he struck out the final two batters, including a 12-pitch battle for the final out of the inning. Smith faced five batters in the seventh, before recording his fifth save of the season.

Heath Wyatt, Southeastern Oklahoma, Jr., P, Searcy, Ark./Searcy HS
Wyatt was instrumental in Southeastern’s series win over Tarleton State, earning a pair of wins and a save as the Storm won three our of four on the weekend. Wyatt’s 2-0 record with one save improves him to 4-1 on the season and gives him his conference leading eighth save. He pitched 8.0 innings in the series against TSU, making three appearances. One of his wins was a combined shutout with fellow pitcher Jimmy Johnson. He allowed his first earned run of the season over the weekend, but still held opponents to a .192 batting average with no extra-base hits.