DENVER - Fresno State and Hawaii each received three first place votes and tied for the top spot in the 2007 Western Athletic Conference preseason baseball poll as voted upon by the seven head coaches. The coaches also voted on a preseason all-WAC team, and Hawaii placed six players on the team while Fresno State had four. Fresno State junior outfielder Ozzie Lewis was named the preseason player of the year while Hawaii senior Ian Harrington was selected as the preseason pitcher of the year.
Fresno State received 33 points in the poll after a 45-18 season last year in which it won both the WAC regular season and tournament titles. Hawaii finished a half game back in the standings last season and was 45-17 overall. Both teams advanced to the NCAA tournament regional finals. Louisiana Tech was picked third with 25 points followed by Nevada with 21, San Jose State with 17, New Mexico State with 10 and Sacramento State with eight.
The preseason all-WAC team included six Hawaii players: junior outfielder Derek Dupree, senior shortstop Eli Christensen, senior third baseman Justin Frash, sophomore catcher Landon Hernandez, senior reliever Tyler Davis and senior pitcher Ian Harrington. Harrington was selected the preseason pitcher of the year after posting a 9-3 record with a 3.99 ERA last season.
Fresno State had four players on the team: junior outfielder Ozzie Lewis, junior outfielder Brian Lapin, sophomore second baseman Eric Wetzel and junior pitcher Brandon Burke. Lewis was picked as the preseason player of the year after hitting .331 last year with 23 RBI, six home runs and eight doubles. He was named the MPV of last year's WAC Tournament.
Nevada placed two on the team in junior designated hitter Terry Walsh and senior pitcher Ryan Rodriguez. San Jose State placed one on the team in senior outfielder Ryan Angel while Sacramento State sophomore first baseman Gabe Jacobo rounded out the team.
The 45th year of WAC baseball begins Friday, January 26 when Nevada travels to Saint Mary's and Hawaii hosts Santa Clara for a pair of three-game series. The WAC Tournament will be held in Reno at Nevada's Peccole Park, May 24-27. The top six teams will advance to the tournament.
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2007 WAC Baseball Coaches’ Poll
(Points awarded on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 basis as coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams)
Rk. Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total
1. Fresno St. 3 3 33
Hawaii 3 3 33
3. Louisiana Tech 1 1 3 1 25
4. Nevada 4 1 1 21
5. San Jose St. 5 1 17
6. New Mexico St. 1 2 3 10
7. Sacramento St. 2 4 8
Preseason All-WAC Team
OF Ozzie Lewis, Jr., Fresno State
OF Brian Lapin, Jr., Fresno State
OF Ryan Angel, Sr., San Jose State
OF Derek Dupree, Jr., Hawaii
1B Gabe Jacobo, So., Sacramento State
2B Eric Wetzel, So., Fresno State
SS Eli Christensen, Sr., Hawaii
3B Justin Frash, Sr., Hawaii
C Landon Hernandez, So., Hawaii
DH Terry Walsh, Jr., Nevada
SP Ian Harrington, Sr., Hawaii
SP Ryan Rodriguez, Sr., Nevada
SP Brandon Burke, Jr., Fresno State
RP Tyler Davis, Sr., Hawaii
Player of the Year
Ozzie Lewis, Jr., OF, Fresno State
Pitcher of the Year
Ian Harrington, Sr., Hawaii
