Stellar offensive performances by Cal State Fullerton’s Khris Davis and Cal Poly’s Matt Jensen lifted their respective teams to Big West Conference series wins and earned them Big West Co-Player of the Week accolades. On the mound, Cal State Fullerton’s Tyler Pill and UC Irvine’s Eric Pettis were near perfect to claim Co-Big West Pitcher of the Week honors.
Last week Davis hit 6-for-14 (.429) with four of his six hits going for extra bases. The Glendale, Ariz., native collected a pair of hits in each of the Titans’ games versus Cal State Northridge. In the final contest of the series, Davis went 2-for-5 with a single, home run and five RBI. In the Titans’ loss to Loyola Marymount, the outfielder produced a run-scoring fly ball, a walk and a stolen base. In the Titans’ 2-2 week, the junior outfielder scored four runs and drove in six, while knocking three doubles and one home run.
Jensen hit 6-for-16 (.375) to guide Cal Poly to a 3-1 week, which included a series win over Pacific. In the series against the Tigers, the freshman second baseman had five hits in 12 at-bats with all five hits going for extra bases (three doubles, two home runs). He also knocked in six runs in the series. For the week, the Clovis, Calif., native scored three runs while driving in an additional seven runs. Jensen now has a 19-game hitting streak and is hitting .380 on the season.
Pill turned in his best pitching performance of the season Saturday at Cal State Northridge, tossing a complete-game, one-hit shutout. The win for the Titans clinched the Big West series and improved the rookie’s record to 6-0 on the year. The right-handed pitcher from Covina, Calif., struck out eight and faced just two batters over the minimum. Pill became the first Titan to record a complete game or shutout in 2009.
The Anteater closer earned a win and a save this past weekend to help UC Irvine sweep Long Beach State. In the first game of the series, Pettis pitched three shutout innings in UCI’s extra inning affair against Long Beach State and improved to 3-1 on the season. He struck out one and scattered three hits as he made his second-longest outing of the year. The West Hills, Calif., native returned to the mound Friday and pitched a perfect ninth inning to preserve a three-run win and record his conference-leading ninth save of the season.
Other pitchers nominated: Jared Eskew (Cal Poly)
Other players nominated: Ben Orloff (UC Irvine), Brian Gump (UC Santa Barbara), Allen Riley (Pacific)