Cal Poly sophomore Nick Torres and Cal State Fullerton freshman Thomas Eshelman turned in outstanding performances to nab Big West Baseball Field Player and Pitcher of the Week accolades, respectively.
Torres Displays Extra Base Power In Series Victory Over Washington
All five hits in a 2-1 series victory over Washington went for extra bases as Cal Poly sophomore Nick Torres (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood HS) landed Big West Baseball Field Player of the Week honors.
The Mustang right fielder tallied two doubles and three home runs in the Emerald City, batting .417 (5-for-12) and producing a dazzling 1.333 slugging percentage against the Pac-12 Huskies. Torres also scored three times and drove in seven runs as Cal Poly improved to 9-1 on the season.
A first inning RBI double by Torres on Sunday put the Mustangs up 1-0. At that point, Torres had driven in all seven Cal Poly runs in the series. Torres opened the series Friday going 2-for-4 with a double and a homer in a 2-1 loss.
On Saturday, Torres added two more blasts, a two-run and a three-run shot, the latter overcoming a 2-0 Washington lead in the fourth inning. He finished that game 2-for-4 with five RBI and accounted for the game-winning RBI and run scored.
Others nominated: Carlos Lopez (Cal State Fullerton); Alexis Mercado (Cal State Northridge); Dominique Taylor (UC Irvine); Alex Rubanowitz (UC Riverside); Brandon Trinkwon (UC Santa Barbara); Brett Sullivan (Pacific)
Eshelman Earns Complete Game Win Over No. 14 Oregon
Cal State Fullerton freshman Thomas Eshelman (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad HS) threw a complete game four-hitter against No. 14 Oregon to claim Big West Baseball Pitcher of the Week honors.
The 6-3 right-hander went the distance for the first time in his young career, holding the Ducks at bay in the 8-2 victory. In addition to allowing just four hits, Eshelman issued zero walks and struck out six in an economical 95-pitch outing.
Eshelman retired the first 11 batters he faced, and kept the Ducks off the base paths until the fourth.
Eshelman is now 3-0 with a 0.87 earned run average. He has not walked a batter and fanned 20 in 20.2 innings of work.
Others nominated: Reed Reilly (Cal Poly); Jerry Keel (Cal State Northridge); Matt Whitehouse (UC Irvine); Ben Doucette (UC Riverside); Michael Benson (Pacific)