FRESNO, Calif. – Sacramento State baseball players Buddy Morales and David Flores received all-Western Athletic Conference honors, it was announced today.
Morales, the team’s starting catcher, was named to the first team after hitting .349 in conference play with 30 hits, 13 RBIs, five doubles, 22 runs scored and three homers. In his third year with the Hornets, after returning from shoulder surgery in 2005, Morales has produced 18 multiple-hit games, batting mostly in the third spot of the lineup.
The West Covina, Calif., native has made 50 starts in 2006 and is second on the team with a .330 average overall, 59 hits and 35 runs scored. He also has 21 RBIs and 13 doubles with a team-leading .420 on-base percentage. Morales has been a menace for opposing pitchers, as the WAC’s hardest player to strike out. He has also been hit on a team-high 19 occasions.
In just his second season out of James Logan High School, Flores received second-team honors. He currently leads the team and is fourth in the WAC, batting .395 against conference competition.
Overall, the Hornets’ starting third baseman leads the team with a .340 average, and also tops the team with 28 RBIs, 16 doubles, a .500 slugging percentage and 11 multiple-RBI games. A Union City, Calif., native, Flores has recorded 53 hits, 29 runs and three home runs this year – all career highs.
Earlier in the season on April 10, Flores was named WAC Hitter of the Week after leading the Hornets to a three-game sweep of New Mexico State. Flores hit .857 (12-of-14) against the Aggies, and led the team with eight runs scored, five doubles, a 1.429 slugging percentage and an .824 on-base percentage.
He also recorded seven RBIs and one home run during the series, after starting out with a 5-for-5 performance in a 15-5 victory on April 7. It was the first time in two years a Hornet player tallied five hits in a single game.
Flores is not only known for his offense, holding the WAC’s single-game record this season with 10 assists at Hawai’i on April 28.
Sacramento State (20-35;8-16) is set to begin play in the WAC postseason tournament at 7 p.m. on Thursday, playing No. 1 seed Fresno State (39-16;18-6). The Hornets have the sixth seed in the double-elimination tourney and depending on Thursday’s outcome will play at 11 a.m. or 3 p.m. on Friday.
The Hornets tournament games can be heard on www.hornetsports.com with Dylan McKenzie and Brian Berger providing the play-by-play. Live video streaming will also be available on www.wacsports.com.
