Fresno State Athletics
Mendonca, Benny Earn WAC Honors
3/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 30, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State third baseman Tom Mendonca and right-handed pitcher Derek Benny have been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week for Mar. 23-29.
Mendonca, a junior from Turlock, Calif. (Turlock HS), led the team in batting over the weekend after hitting .533 with two doubles, three home runs and eight RBIs. The junior's third home run of the weekend was a three-run home run that tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning.
With his three home runs last week, Mendonca now ranks second all-time at Fresno State with 40 career home runs. He needs just four more home runs to break Fresno State's all-time record.
Benny, a freshman from Roseville, Calif. (Roseville HS), pitched a complete game shutout in a 10-0 victory over Lipscomb. He became the first Fresno State pitcher in 42 years to face the minimum 27 batters in nine innings . He is the second pitcher in Fresno State history to face the minimum and the last time it was done was in 1967.
Benny threw a career-high nine innings for his first complete shutout game in his third start of the season. The righty struck out a career-high eight batters and didn't give up any walks. Lipscomb had been averaging 17.5 hits a game and Benny allowed only two hits in game three. He posted a 0.00 ERA on the weekend improving his overall record to 2-1.
It is the first time Benny has been named Pitcher of the Week and the first time Mendonca has been named Hitter of the Week.
The Bulldogs play UC Davis tomorrow on the road at 2:30 p.m. The game can be followed on gobulldogs.com.
