Irvine, Calif. - Long Beach State dominated the Big West this week taking home both Pitcher of the Week and Player of the Week after a 3-2 start to the season at the Fresno State Tournament. Big West Player of the Week goes to freshman Leilani Tupua-Tautalatasi and Pitcher of the Week was handed to sophmore Erin Jones-Wesley.
Freshman Tupua-Tautalatasi Grabs First Season Honor
In her first season with the 49ers Leilani Tupua-Tautalatasi received this year’s first honor for Big West Player of the Week.. The starting center fielder from Oxnard averaged .368 at the plate in the 49ers’ 3-2 start, recording seven hits in her 19 appearances in the box.
The true freshman led Long Beach State in hitting for the season-opening tournment at Fresno State. Tupua-Tautalatasi got her first career home run with the 49ers in the tournament closer against home team, Fresno State, hitting one over the fence in the first inning of the 4-1 win.
For the week, Tupua-Tautalatasi led the 49ers with a .368 batting average, .444 on-base percentage and getting seven hits with four runs scored.
Others nominated: Kelsey Rodriguez (Pacific), Heather Zimmerman (UC Davis), Kayla White (UC Riverside), Shelby Wisdom (UC Santa Barbara)
Deja Vu as Jones-Wesley Takes First Week Pitching Honor
The returning Long Beach State sophmore, Erin Jones-Wesley, dominated the circle last week for this season’s first Big West Pitcher of the Week honor, one she receieved last season as a freshman for the 49ers. This is Jones-Wesley’s seventh career honor for Pitcher of the Week in the Big West after receiving the Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year and Pitcher of the Year awards for the 2011 season.
Jones-Wesley took home three wins last week for Long Beach, tossing a total of 22 innings and allowing four runs on 16 hits. She struck out 24 batters while only allowing eight walks.
In the tournament-opener win against Sacramento State (4-2), Jones-Wesley tied a career-high 11 strike-outs facing 27 batters in her seven-innning appearance. Closing the tournament play against home team Fresno State, Jones-Wesley pitched a complete eight-inning game, giving up one run on a solo home run, but still coming out with the 4-1 advantage.
Others nominated: Jessica Thweatt (UC Davis), Amy Lwin (UC Riverside)