Kris Sanchez can't be accused of playing favorites, as he has been treating his opponents and their pitchers all the same.

Hawai'i's senior first baseman enjoyed another 7 for 11 weekend with seven RBIs in helping the Rainbows take 2 of 3 from Georgia Southern to earn Western Athletic Conference Hitter of the Week honors for the second week in a row.

He also was 7 for 11 in the Santa Clara series that garnered him his first conference honor.

Sanchez had two-run doubles that were the difference in Friday's 5-3 and Saturday's 2-1 victories against the Eagles.

During his 14 for 22 start (.636), the left-handed hitting Sanchez has hit left-handed pitchers with about the same proficiency as he does against right-handers. He is 4 for 6 with two doubles and five RBIs against southpaws and 10 for 16 versus right-handers.

His seven extra-base hits — already surpassing the five he had last year (all doubles) — are nearly evenly distributed around the field. He has two doubles to left, two to right, a double and triple to center and a double to right-center. His two-run double that accounted for all of UH's runs in Saturday's win was pulled to right. For a reason.

"It's really a matter of seeing the ball and where they're pitching me," Sanchez said after the game. "The whole series, they've been (pitching) kind of middle-away and I've been going with it, but this pitch was inside."

Louisiana Tech's Brandon Hudson was named WAC Pitcher of the Week. He pitched four scoreless innings of relief in the Bulldogs' 9-2 upset of No. 4 Arkansas on Saturday.

Hawai'i's Matt Daly was nominated for the pitcher award after throwing four scoreless innings of relief, allowing a hit with six strikeouts in Friday's 5-3 win to notch his first save.

Next up for the Rainbows (4-2) is Pacific (1-2), who avoided getting swept by Cal State Northridge with a 12-0 win on Sunday.

The Tigers are picked to finish seventh in the eight-team Big West Conference by the league's coaches and sixth by Baseball America.

Isaac Kamai (Kamehameha 2003), a Rainbow in 2005, is a relief pitcher for the Tigers.

NO SILENT K

Appropriately, the 'K' in UH-Hilo pitcher Lars Knepper's last name isn't silent. The transfer from Bellevue (Wash.) Community College has rung up 21 Ks — the letter is a scoring term for strikeouts — in 11 1/3 innings from two starts.

Unfortunately, Knepper is 0-2, despite a respectable 3.97 earned run average. During his two starts, the Vulcans have managed only one run and two hits. He lost 5-0 in the season opener Jan. 25 to defending national champion Oregon State, which had four pitchers combine on a no-hitter. He went 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned), walking one with 10 strikeouts.

Last Thursday, he racked up 11 strikeouts to one walk, giving up four runs in 6 2/3 innings in a 4-1 loss to Kansas, which had three pitchers collaborate on a two-hitter.

"He could sue us for non-support because we have two hits in the two games he's pitched," joked UHH coach Joey Estrella.

At Bellevue, Knepper was primarily a reliever because of his ability to pitch a couple of innings two or three days in succession. That's what the Vulcans needed for their schedule, which has 4- to 6-game series. But when he started showing leadership traits in the fall, the coaches felt he would be a better fit as a starter, Estrella said.

"The No. 1 thing that he has is this bulldog attitude, to go right after you," Estrella said. "That's the kind of attitude you want your younger pitchers to emulate."

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.