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Okano and Cooper Help New Mexico Sweep McLeodUSA Mtn. West Baseball Weekly Honors Pair help Lobos move into first-place in the league. (4/4)
April 4, 2000 Colorado Springs, Colo. New Mexico¹s Mark Okano and Chris Cooper are the McLeodUSA Mountain West Conference Baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. This is the second consecutive week that the Lobos have swept the conference weekly awards in baseball.
Okano, a junior outfielder from Aiea, Hawai`i (Aiea HS), hit 9-for-19 (.474)
with seven RBI, five runs, one double and a home run in the Lobos four
victories this past week.. On Saturday, Okano connected on 2-of-5 at-bats
with a double, three RBI and one run. He hammered a three-run home run in
the eighth that helped fuel a 12-run inning for UNM and erased the Utah 11-0
lead. The Lobos added two runs in the ninth to pull out the 14-11 victory.
In the series opener at Utah on Friday, he went 1-for-4 at the plate with a
single and scored the third New Mexico run of the game in the 3-0 shutout.
In the series finale, Okano tied his career-high for hits in a game after
going 4-for-5 with two RBI, one run and a stolen base in the UNM 7-3 win. In
the lone home game of the week, a 17-8 win over the College of the
Southwest, Okano went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI, two runs and a stolen
base.
Cooper, a junior left-handed pitcher from Sewickley, Pa. (Delaware Tech CC), became the first pitcher to claim the Mtn. West weekly honor in back-to-back weeks. In the Lobos¹ 3-0 blanking of Utah this past Friday, Cooper scattered four hits, walked two and struck out eight as he became the first New Mexico hurler to throw a nine-inning complete game shutout since Emilio Montes accomplished the feat vs. Creighton in 1996. Cooper escaped a two-on, one-out jam with a double-play in the first inning to hold the Lobo lead at 1-0. After two baserunners were aboard again in the second frame, he battled back and did not allow a run, thanks in part to a caught stealing. Over the next four innings, Cooper retired 12 consecutive batters and allowed just one hit in the final seven frames. This was his second straight complete game victory and he has now won five in a row. Cooper has a 2.30 ERA in 47 overall innings of work this season and leads the league with 63 strikeouts. New Mexico is currently 22-12 overall, has won nine straight and sits atop the conference with a 10-1 record. This is the first Player of the Week honor in Okano¹s career and the fifth for New Mexico this season. Cooper grabbed the second Pitcher of the Week of his career as well as the second for the Lobos this season. McLeodUSA Mountain West Conference Baseball Players of the Week: Feb. 1 Chad Chop (So., 1B), SDSU, Feb. 8 Paul Lockhart (Sr., OF), SDSU, Feb. 16 Tony DeMarco (Sr., 1B), UNLV, Feb. 22 Gerremy Goldsberry (Jr., OF), AFA, Feb. 29 Aaron Sisk (Jr., 3B), New Mexico Mar. 8 Aaron Sisk (Jr., 3B), New Mexico, Mar. 14 Matt Carson (Fr., OF), BYU, Mar. 21 Donny Sevieri (So., OF), New Mexico, Mar. 28 Donny Sevieri (So., OF), New Mexico, Apr. 4 Mark Okano (Jr., OF) New Mexico. McLeodUSA Mountain West Conference Baseball Pitchers of the Week: Feb. 1 Luke Anderson (Fr., RHP), UNLV, Feb. 8 Micah Mangrum (Sr., RHP), BYU, Feb. 16 Erik Fisher (So., RHP), AFA, Feb. 22 Mike Tufte (Jr., RHP), AFA, Feb. 29 Erik Fisher (So., RHP), Air Force, Mar. 8 Matt Kaercher (So., RHP), Air Force, Mar. 14 John Skinner (Jr., RHP), San Diego State, Mar. 21 Jeff Stone (So., LHP), BYU, Mar. 28 Chris Cooper (Jr., LHP), New Mexico, Apr. 4 Chris Cooper (Jr., LHP), New Mexico. |
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