UC Irvine senior Matt Fisher (Northridge, Calif.) was named Big West Player of the Week. The Anteater second baseman led the team to two consecutive wins over No. 7 Long Beach State. In the first game, Fisher went 1-for-4 and assisted on five of the first six outs of the game in an eventual, 1-0, victory. In the second game, he went 3-for-4 with with a run scored and a RBI, including a double and a triple. His RBI triple gave UCI the, 3-2, lead in the fifth inning, while his run scored was the eventual game-winner.
Long Beach State junior Jered Weaver (Simi Valley, Calif.) was named Big West Pitcher of the Week for the fifth time this season. The 49er right-hander tied a school record by striking out 16 batters in his outing against Wichita State. Weaver went six innings, extending his scoreless-inning streak to 21 and picked up his eighth straight win (8-0). The 49er ace recorded the first 11 outs by strikeout and wound up striking out 16 of the 18 possible outs. The other two outs were on a foul-out and a caught-stealing.
Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton Ready For Annual Non-Conference Series
Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State meet once again in their annual non-conference series. Last season the Titans won both series against the 49ers, but fell short in the Big West standings by one game. Cal State Fullerton has won the non-conference portion of the season-series each of the past two seasons. Fullerton also holds the advantage in the all-time series, 91-48. Last season Cal State Fullerton went into the series with a 22-5 record and a No. 4 national ranking. Long Beach entered the series with a 17-7 record with a No. 5 ranking. This year the 49ers have been just as dominant in non-conference play, posting a 18-7 record and are No. 7 in the national ranking. Cal State Fullerton enters the series unranked and a 15-13 record. The Titans, however, have been on roll recently and have gone 6-2 since losing against San Diego. CSF will face USC in a midweek game prior to the LBSU series.
UC Riverside and Cal State Northridge will also meet in non-conference games this week. After hosting Pepperdine in a midweek game, the Matadors will travel to Riverside for one and host them for another. Last season, the Highlanders went 5-1 against CSN, including a three-game sweep in their non-conference matchup. UCR enters the series on a season-long, nine-game winning streak.
After taking two against LBSU, UC Irvine travels to UNLV for their only game of the week. The Anteaters remained undefeated against nationally ranked teams this season with a 7-0-1 record. UC Irvine tossed a shutout for the second straight week and fourth for the season.
In other action, UC Santa Barbara will be at Loyola Marymount for a midweek game and at Sacramento State for a three-game series. The Gauchos will be looking to extend their five-game winning streak. Cal Poly will be at Hawaii-Hilo for five games.