Cal State Fullerton's Gary Brown and UC Riverside's Paul Bargas guided their respective teams to conference sweeps last weekend, earning them Big West Player/Pitcher of the Week accolades.
Brown led the Titans to a 5-0 record with a 10-for-21 (.476) performance, which included three multi-hit efforts and three game-winning or tie-breaking hits. In Tuesday's meeting with San Diego, the Diamond Bar, Calif., native knocked a two-run triple to break a 5-5 tie. He later scored, capping a five-run seventh inning as CSF overcame a 5-2 deficit. The following day against Pepperdine he went 2-for-3, was walked twice and scored five runs. In the series at UC Davis, Brown registered five runs scored and five RBI, while hitting 6-for-14. He opened the series with a double and a triple which drove in three runs. In the final two contests versus the Aggies, the Titan sophomore blasted game-winning home runs.
Bargas (Riverside, Calif.) kicked off the series versus Cal State Northridge with an impressive complete-game shutout. In nine innings pitched, the southpaw scattered seven hits while striking out five Matadors en route to a 9-0 victory. Friday’s performance marked the third straight appearance where he did not issue a walk.
Other pitchers nominated: Tyler Pill (Cal State Fullerton), Adam Wilk (Long Beach State), Christian Bergman (UC Irvine), Joe Gardner (UC Santa Barbara)
Other players nominated: Adam Buschini (Cal Poly), Derek Legg (Long Beach State), Michael Hur (UC Riverside), Casey Stevenson (UC Irvine), Shane Carlson (UC Santa Barbara)