Dillon Bell and Andrew Liebel led their respective teams to Big West Conference series wins last week to keep them in the hunt of the conference crown, earning them Easton Big West Player and Pitcher of the Week honors, for the week ending May 11. Bell collected his first accolade of the year, while Liebel secured his second award. The Friday-night starter opened the year with his first honor of the 2008 season.

Bell batted .500 (9-for-18) with five RBI to lead UC Irvine to a 3-1 record last week. In a nonconference matchup with UC Riverside on Tuesday night, he went 2-for-4 and drove in what would be the eventual game-winning run. In the series opener against Pacific, Bell's two-run double capped a four-run first inning for the Anteaters. The Bakersfield, Calif., native concluded the evening with a 2-for-5 performance with two RBI and two runs scored. Saturday he had a personal-best four hits in six at bats as he singled and drove in a run in UC Irvine's four-run seventh and singled and scored in the five-run ninth. The Anteaters rallied to tie the game at 9-9 and send it into extra innings, but eventually fell to Pacific 10-9 in the 10th. The following day Bell recorded his 35th hit in 33 games played with a single.  Get to know more about Dillon on the UCI Blue & Gold Report, available now on BigWest.TV.

Liebel pitched his second consecutive complete-game shutout with a 3-0 win over UC Santa Barbara Friday evening. Up against the conference's second-best hitting team, the Pomona, Calif., native allowed just five hits and increased his consecutive scoreless innings to 20.1. He pitched just three over the minimum, hurling a complete game on 109 pitches in two hours and twelve minutes. Liebel has won his fourth straight decision and lowered his ERA to a league-leading 1.69.

Other pitchers nominated: Chuck Huggins (UCSB), Scott Gorgen (UCI)
Other players nominated: Shane Peterson (LBSU), Patrick Rose (UCSB), Joey Gonzales (UCR), Dustin Garneau (CSF)