Sac State player plunked 8 times over weekend
It was a bruising opening weekend for Sacramento State's Matt Masciangelo.
The Hornets' junior left fielder was hit by pitch on eight of his first nine plate appearances against Loyola Marymount.
“I'll take it — any way I can get on base for the team,” Masciangelo said. “After a certain point, it's kind of crazy how it's all transpiring.”
The teams played a doubleheader Friday, with Masciangelo plunked three times in the first game and four times in the second. The teams didn't play Saturday. Masciangelo got on base his first time up Sunday when a pitch grazed his jersey. The first seven hit him in the thigh, shin or calf.
The NCAA record for times hit in a game is five, held by Stanford's Carlos Quentin against Florida State in 2002. The NCAA doesn't track times a batter is hit in a doubleheader.
Masciangelo said it was purely coincidence he was hit so much. He said he doesn't crowd the plate, and he noticed on video that the catcher's target was set up outside or down the middle each time.
“They missed the spot every single time,” he said. ECU BASEBALL PLAYER APPEARS IN GAME WITH PROSTHETIC LEG >> East Carolina sophomore Parker Byrd appeared in Friday's seasonopening win against Rider with a prosthetic leg after having part of his right leg amputated following a 2022 boating accident.
The school said Byrd is believed to be the first NCAA Division I baseball player to play in a game with a prosthetic leg.
Byrd walked to the plate in the eighth inning to a loud ovation from the home crowd. He took a firstpitch strike then drew four straight balls to reach base. The Pirates then had freshman Jason Janesko come on as a pinch runner.
Men's basketball
NO. 21 WASHINGTON STATE ENDS 302-WEEK POLL DROUGHT >> UConn became the first unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll this season, while Washington
State jumped into the rankings Monday at No. 21 to end a 302-week drought stretching back to the 2007-08 season.
The Huskies received all 62 first-place votes from a panel of national media members, scooping up the 16 first-place votes that Purdue lost when the Boilermakers fell to Ohio State on Sunday.
Houston rode an easy win against Texas over the weekend into the second spot ahead of Purdue, while Arizona moved up one spot into fourth and Tennessee climbed three spots to round out the top five.
Women's basketball
USC JUMPS TO 7TH IN WOMEN'S AP TOP 25 >> Southern California, which has won six straight games, climbed three spots to No. 7 in The Associated Press women's basketball poll while South Carolina remained a unanimous No. 1.
USC swept Oregon and then-No. 11 Oregon State over the weekend. The Trojans moved into a tie for second place in the Pac-12 Conference, two games behind Stanford.
The six teams in front of USC didn't change, with South Carolina leading the way, as it has since the regular season began. The Gamecocks received all 35 votes from a national media panel.
Ohio State was right behind South Carolina, marking the first time in seven weeks that a No. 2 team held its place for two consecutive polls. No. 3 Stanford, Iowa, Texas and North Carolina State followed the Buckeyes.
Colleges
PAC-12 PROMOTES GOULD TO REPLACE KLIAVKOFF AS COMMISSIONER >> The Pac-12 has promoted Teresa Gould to commissioner as the conference tries to navigate a murky future.
Gould will succeed George Kliavkoff on March 1 after he was relieved of duties on Friday. She becomes the first female commissioner of an Autonomy Five conference.
Gould was hired by the Pac-12 in 2018 and served as deputy commissioner, overseeing all sports, championship events and other duties.
She takes over a conference that's down to two members after a mass exodus last year.