SANFORD NAMED HOWSER TROPHY SEMIFINALST, HITS No. 22

By Bryan Fyalkowski

WKU Athletics

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Western Kentucky Hilltoppers junior outfielder Jake Sanford (Cole Harbour, N.S.) was named a 2019 Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist in the afternoon, then went 2-for-4 with his 22nd home run and 19th double of the season in the evening. He improved his slash line to .412/.496/.859 in 51 games, with 65 runs batted in, 61 runs scored and 171 total bases.

Sanford joined an exclusive group on along with 25 other Division I players, who are up for the annual national award for the outstanding collegiate player. Sanford is one of five outfielders to make the list and the lone player from C-USA. Thee Howser award is considered the Heisman Trophy of college ball alongside with the the Golden Spikes.

The McCook Community College transfer is the only Canadian on the list. Former Mid-Island Pirate and Vauxhall Jet Josh Burgman (Nanaimo, BC) of the University of Washington were named to the Golden Spikes liist. Burgmann was drafted in the 30th round by St. Louis out of high school.

Sanford becomes the first WKU player to earn the honor since Ryan Bicondoa in 2002, when the righty went 11-2 with five complete games in 16 starts. Bicondoa finished his senior season with a 2.56 earned run average and 150 strikeouts with only 106 hits allowed in 123 innings pitched.

The Dick Howser Trophy, is given in memory of the former Florida State University All-America shortstop and major league player and manager, who died of brain cancer in 1987. The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) votes for the recipient based on nominees’ performance, character, leadership and courage – all features to be emulated in memory of the late Dick Howser.

With Thursday’s long ball, Sanford moved into sole possession of fifth place on WKU’s single-season home run charts and became only the fifth hitter in Division I to reach the 22-dinger plateau in 2019. It marked the 12th-consecutive weekend series in which the junior has hit at least one home run.

With 104 total bases in 28 C-USA games, Sanford has set a new league record, passing Ryan Jones of East Carolina, who had 103 in 2004. With his 14th homerun in C-USA action, Sanford has tied a league record with six other players, most recently Matt Wallner of Southern Miss in 2017.

The Hilltoppers lost by a score of 15-1 to visiting Old Dominion, however, and fell to 24-26-1 overall and 15-12-1 in Conference USA play. The Monarchs out-hit WKU 23-to-4 on the day; shortstop Kevin Lambert went 2-for-2 with a walk, producing his 16th multi-hit game of the year and 32nd in his career on The Hill.

Starters Reece Calvert and Tommy Gertner went toe-to-toe for the first four innings, with Sanford’s solo home run with one out in the bottom of the fourth being the difference as the Hilltoppers took a 1-0 lead into the fifth frame. But after allowing three singles through the first four innings, Calvert gave up six straight one-base hits to start the fifth and Old Dominion took a 5-1 lead. From then on out, the Monarchs added 14 more hits and 10 more runs over the final four innings against Calvert and a trio of WKU relievers.

The Hilltoppers will have their Senior Night celebration this weekend when the team and fans will recognize five WKU elders (Calvert, Nick Brunson, Joe Filosa, Jacob Green and Troy Newell).

2019 DICK HOWSER TROPHY SEMIFINALISTS (26)

JJ Bleday, OF, Vanderbilt

Kyle McCann, C, Georgia Tech

Hunter Bishop, OF, Arizona State

Patrick McColl, 1B, Harvard

Reid Detmers, SP, Louisville

Joey Ortiz, SS, New Mexico State

Ryan Garcia, SP, UCLA

Jack Ralston, SP, UCLA

Nick Gonzales, 2B, New Mexico State

Adley Rutschman, C, Oregon State

Emerson Hancock, SP, Georgia

Jake Sanford, OF, Western Kentucky

Kody Hoese, 3B, Tulane

Bobby Seymour, 1B, Wake Forest

Josh Jung, 3B, Texas Tech

Ethan Small, SP, Mississippi State

Chris Lanzilli, OF, Wake Forest

Noah Song, SP, Navy

Jake Mangum, OF, Mississippi State

Zack Thompson, SP, Kentucky

Alek Manoah, SP, West Virginia

Spencer Torkelson, 1B, Arizona State

Casey Martin, SS, Arkansas

Andrew Vaughn, 1B, California

Austin Martin, 3B, Vanderbilt

Davis Wendzel, 3B, Baylor