Pacific's Jennifer Curtier and Cal State Fullerton's Candice Baker claimed the first Big West Player and Pitcher of the Week awards of 2007 after leading their clubs to huge performances in the opening weekend of action.

Pacific’s Curtier Leads Tigers to 5-0 Record in Season-Opening Tourney
Pacific senior Jennifer Curtier (Lancaster, Calif./Quartz Hill HS) takes home the first Big West Player of the Week award of the 2007 season after posting big numbers in the Tigers’ 5-0 run at the Alexis Resort Kickoff Classic in Las Vegas, Nev.

The senior first baseman batted .588 with two home runs, five RBI and five doubles She added six runs, five walks, totalled 10 hits and had a 1.235 slugging percentage as Pacific scored 50 runs over its five games.

Curtier went 2-for-2 in the opening win over Tulsa then hit homers in back-to-back games against Marshall and Illinois-Chicago. Her three-run blast against the Flames was part of a four-RBI evening. She finished the tournament in stellar fashion with five hits, four being doubles, three runs and four RBI combined in the wins over Nicholls State and Marshall.

Fullerton’s Baker Shuts Down #4 Northwestern
Cal State Fullerton senior Candice Baker (Buena Park, CA/Cypress HS) blanked fourth-ranked Northwestern as part of a 2-1 week to win claim Big West Pitcher of the Week honors.

The senior hurler went the distance in all three of her starts, totaling a 1.00 ERA, fanning 28 batters and allowing only three earned runs and eight hits in 21 innings. She also tallied an impressive 5.6-to-1 strikeouts to walks ratio (28 K’s-5 BB).

Baker started the season with a bang as she struck out 10 and allowed two hits and two walks in a 5-0 win over Texas Tech. She also pitched very well in the loss to Western Michigan, allowing three runs, three hits and striking out nine in seven innings.
Her most impressive effort was against the Wildcats as she held the 2006 national runner-up to just three hits, allowed no runs and struck out nine in the complete game win.