Marques Johnson Award Pitcher of the Week Week Of 5/2/2022 Sport Baseball School Long Beach State Year Junior Position Hometown Hemet, Calif. High School Hemet HS Marques Johnson produced the best and longest outing of his major college career in Saturday’s 4-0 home win over UC Irvine, combining with preseason All-American teammate Devereaux Harrison on a four-hit shutout. The result clinched a Black and Blue Rivalry Series victory for the Dirtbags, after they had taken a 6-2 decision in Friday’s opener. The junior right-hander out of Hemet and second-year Dirtbag out of Riverside City College tossed seven scoreless innings with six strikeouts. He allowed five base-runners, with two singles and three walks. Two of them reached second base. Johnson faced four batters over the minimum. Johnson did not pick up the decision following his 102-pitch outing, as Long Beach State scored all four runs in the eighth. He caught his very first batter of the afternoon looking and proceeded to produce 1-2-3 frames in the first, fourth and sixth. Johnson twice worked around leadoff singles, and navigated a leadoff walk in his final inning with two swinging strikeouts around a sacrifice bunt. Saturday’s start lowered Johnson’s ERA from 4.18 down to a season-best 3.43. Johnson is a first-time Big West Pitcher of the Week. He is the second Dirtbag hurler to be so honored in 2022, as fellow right-hander Luis Ramirez is a two-time selection (Feb. 21 and March 21). LBSU has also had a pair of field players recognized.