Softball outfielder first Wildcat to earn National Player of the Week

Weber State University sophomore outfielder Sara Hingsberger put up an offensive show for the Wildcats last week against Utah Valley University and University of North Dakota, hitting 10-14 with four doubles, a home run and seven runs batted in. After being named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Monday for her performance, Hingsberger made team history when she was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I National Player of the Week.

Hingsberger is the first player in Wildcat history to earn National Player of the Week honors and is the second Big Sky Conference player to earn that award this season. Along with batting .714, Hingsberger also had a .778 on base percentage and a 1.214 slugging percentage and scored nine runs, including two game-winning runs.

Hingsberger is currently seventh in the Big Sky Conference with a .389 batting average and third in runs scored with 31. She and the rest of the Wildcats will return to action this weekend when they host Portland State on Friday and Saturday. First game on Friday starts at 2 p.m.

WSU men’s tennis wins fifth straight match

The Wildcats continued to dominate in Big Sky Conference play on Sunday, as they defeated Montana State University 4-3 in Bozeman, Montana.

WSU started off the match by winning doubles play to pick up the doubles point. Junior Landon Barlow and freshman Hou-En Chen teamed up to take the No. 3 doubles match 6-1 while freshman Stefan Cooper and junior Sanjay Goswami defeated their opponents 7-6 in the No. 1 doubles match to give the Wildcats the doubles point.

In singles play, the Wildcats and the Bobcats split the singles matches with three wins each. Junior Jakub Gewert, Barlow and Chen won the No. 1, 4 and 6 singles matches respectively to give the Wildcats the win.

The Wildcats (9-9, 5-1 conference) return home for their next match on Saturday when they host the University of Idaho at 10 a.m.

Men’s basketball gets new verbal commitment

The men’s basketball team received a new verbal commitment this week, as Saddleback College guard Dusty Baker announced his commitment to Weber State.

The 6-foot-4 freshman helped lead the Gauchos to the California Community College Athletics Association championships this year, where Saddleback won the state title for the third time in team history. Baker was named the tournament MVP after shooting 7-15 from the field for 24 points and recording 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals.

Baker scored a season-high 24 points in the Gauchos’ 69-56 win against Riverside City College last year.