Fresno State Athletics
WAC Tournament Day One Recap
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 20, 1999
Fresno, Calif. - The 1999 Western Athletic Conference Tournament got underway today at Beiden Field on the campus of Fresno State. Number one ranked Rice, TCU and San Jose State were all victorious during the first day of play.
In the first game the number seed Rice Owls went up against New Mexico, the sixth seed. The Lobos got on the board first with a run in the first inning, but the Owls picked a run in second, then one in the sixth for the 2-1 victory.
Rice's Mario Ramos and New Mexico's Mike Albers both pitched complete games. The two pitchers threw almost identical games, with Ramos taking the advantage in the strikeout department, 8-6. Third baseman Jacob Baker picked two hits for Rice and New Mexico's Chris Armstrong had two hits as well.
The 3 p.m. game featured TCU versus Hawai'i. The second seed Horned Frogs jumped on the Hawai'i pitchers in the third and fourth innings as they mounted a 6-1 lead. TCU would added three more runs before the fifth seeded Rainbows scored four runs in the ninth, but TCU held on for the 9-5 victory.
TCU was led by the offensive attack of Shaun Wooley who had a team-high three hits. Two Rainbows, designated hitter Scooter Martines and shortstop Corey Miller each had three hits. Hawai'i went to the bullpen often as it used eight pitchers in the game. Starter Rich Snider logged the most innings at two and a third.
In the nightcap San Jose State built up a big lead early, but let UNLV back in the game before securing the 8-7 victory. The Spartans scored seven of their runs in the first and second innings. Three of those runs came on back-to-back home runs by third baseman Tony Tognetti and first baseman Dan Winterberg. After falling behind the Rebels came back to within one run by getting two in the eighth, but San Jose State's Chris Sherman closed the game out with his fourth save of the year.
Tomorrow New Mexico meets Hawai'i at 11 a.m. with the loser being eliminated. Rice and UNLV will meet at 3 p.m. tomorrow and TCU and San Jose State battle in the 7 p.m. game.
