Cal State Fullerton junior Kurt Suzuki (Wailuku, Hawaii) was named Big West Player of the Week. The Titan catcher was near perfect at the plate in the team's series against Cal Poly, reaching base 13 times in 15 appearances. Suzuki went 11-for-13 with five runs and four RBI, including a double, a triple and a home run. He reached base in his final 11 appearances and had nine straight hits, one shy of the team record. Suzuki also had a walk-off RBI single in the first game of the series to give CSF the, 3-2, win.
UC Santa Barbara junior Loren Fraser (Castro Valley, Calif.) was named Big West Pitcher of the Week. The Gaucho relief pitcher picked up two saves in 3.1 scoreless innings of work against Long Beach State on the road. In his first outing he went three innings, allowing just one hit while striking out two. In his second appearance he came in and got out of a bases loaded jam in the 10th inning to give the team the three-game sweep over the 49ers.
Three Games Seperate Top Tree Team Going into Week's Play
The top three teams in the Big West standings are seperated by just three games heading into this week's play. Cal State Fullerton, which is in first place by two games over Long Beach State, hosts UC Riverside. The Highlanders sit in third place, three games out of first. Last season, Riverside was responsible for handing CSF its only conference series loss with a three-game sweep. The Titans are 13-8 all-time against the Highlanders, but have lost the last four.
Long Beach State will look to rebound from its first Big West series loss of the year when it hosts Pacific. The 49ers gave 14 combined runs in the last three innings, including one in extra innings to UC Santa Barbara. Pacific is coming off its first conference series win of the season with a 2-1 edge over UC Riverside. The Tigers have not taken a series from LBSU since 1999 when they won 2-of-3. Since 1989, Pacific has gone just 6-44 against Long Beach State.
UC Irvine suffered another league setback with a 2-1 series loss at Cal State Northridge. The Anteaters are tied for fourth place in the standings and are six games back of first. Irvine is on the road against Cal Poly. The Mustangs are 5-4 all-time against UCI, but have lost the last two series against the Anteaters.
UC Santa Barbara looks to keep its momentum going after sweeping Long Beach State. The Gauchos moved into a tie for fourth place with UCI and Cal Poly at 5-7. Santa Barbara hosts Cal State Northridge, which is coming off its first conference series win of the season. Each team was involved in late inning thrillers in their respective series last week. The Gauchos' Chris Malec started a four-run comeback with a grand slam in the eighth inning. The Matadors' Alberto Quintana belted a three-run walk-off homer to give CSUN the 6-5 over UC Irvine.