Two UC Irvine teammates and a UC Santa Barbara junior were the beneficaries of this week's Big West baseball awards.
UC Irvine's Hernandez Slugs 1.000 In Three-Game Sweep
Brian Hernandez (Sylmar, Calif./College of the Canyons) spearheaded a productive UC Irvine offense, hitting .615 in a conference-opening series sweep and capturing his first Big West Baseball Field Player of the Week award.
The junior had eight hits in 13 at bats and did not strike out once as the Anteaters recorded 16-2, 5-3 and 7-5 road victories against Cal State Northridge to improve to 7-6 in away games this season.
Among his hits were two doubles and a home run as Hernandez slugged 1.000 for the series. He also scored three times and drove in six for the week.
Hernandez tied a personal best with three hits in Thursday’s 16-2 win. He went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three RBI. With the score tied 3-3, Hernandez hit a solo home run to give UCI the lead and the game-winning RBI in an eventual 5-3 victory on Friday. He recorded his third multiple-hit game of the series on Saturday when he went 3-for-5 with two RBI.
Others nominated: Billy Marcoe (Cal State Fullerton); Devin Lohman (Long Beach State); David Popkins (UC Davis); Justin Shults (UC Riverside); Brett Christopher (Pacific)
UC Irvine's Bibona Fans 12, UC Santa Barbara's Capito Tosses Complete Game Shutout
UC Irvine’s
Daniel Bibona (Lake Forest, Calif./Santa Margarita HS) and UC Santa Barbara’s
Nick Capito (Whittier, Calif./Santa Ana JC) were named Big West Baseball Co-Pitchers of the Week after both hurlers led their team to series-opening victories.
Bibona continued to be a strikeout machine on the hill, striking out double-digit batters for the fifth time in seven starts. He fanned 12 batters and shut down a potent Cal State Northridge offense in a 16-2 victory on Thursday.
He faced just one over the minimum through five innings and did not allow a hit to CSUN until the sixth. Bibona wiggled out of a jam in the seventh and retired the final six hitters he faced. He yielded just four hits in his eight innings of work.
Capito tossed a complete game shutout to lead the Gauchos to a 9-0 win at Sacramento State on Thursday. He fanned a career-high six batters, allowing seven hits but only runner past second base. It was his second straight complete game victory, becoming the first Gaucho since 2001 to accomplish the feat.
Others nominated: Noe Ramirez (Cal State Fullerton); Andrew Gagnon (Long Beach State); Scott Lyman (UC Davis); Matt Andriese (UC Riverside); Marcus Pointer (Pacific)