UC Irvine's Blair Erickson ties a Big West record, while Danny Espinosa guides Long Beach State to a 3-0 record to earn Big West Baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week honors, for the week ending Feb. 25.

In the Anteaters' series sweep over Utah, Erickson collected three saves to tie Gabe Gonzalez (LBSU, 1992-95) for the top spot in Big West career saves with 46. Over the three appearances, the Fair Oaks, Calif., native struck out seven in 2.2 innings and has yet to yield a run this season. Erickson, who is three saves away from tying the national record of 49, is holding batters to a .095 average.

Long Beach State picked up three wins against Pac-10 opponents last week with the help of shortstop Danny Espinosa, who hit .545 (6-for-12) for the week. The 49ers defeated No. 15 UCLA, 14-1, and downed the California Bears 4-1 and 8-3. In Tuesday's matchup with the Bruins, Espinosa's triple in the sixth inning ignited a three-run inning that increased the lead to 6-1. He added an RBI single in the eighth inning, as part of an eight-run inning. In Friday's contest against the Golden Bears, Espinosa drove in all four 49er runs, a career best for the Santa Ana, Calif., native.

Both teams return to the diamond to face Pac-10's Arizona State and Washington. Long Beach State visits the Sun Devils, while the Anteaters make a quick stop at Pepperdine before traveling north to take on the Huskies in a three-game series.