UC Riverside junior David Andriese and Cal Poly sophomore Reed Reilly claimed Big West Baseball Field Player and Pitcher of the Week accolades as the prime suspects in respective series sweeps against conference foes UC Irvine and UC Davis.
Andriese Sparks Highlander Offense In Sweep Of No. 21 UC Irvine
Outfielder David Andriese (Redlands, Calif./Redlands East Valley HS) helped UC Riverside to the first 3-0 conference start in school history behind .636 hitting and clutch play, earning Big West Baseball Field Player of the Week kudos.
The junior had seven hits in 11 at bats as the Highlanders registered the series sweep against No. 21 UC Irvine, winning three tight ball games – 4-3, 7-5 and 3-2. He scored once, drove in three and added a double, triple and two walks to give UCR its second sweep of the Anteaters in the history of the series.
Andriese reached base safely in all four plate appearances and delivered an RBI triple in the first inning in Thursday's 4-3 win. He went 2-for-5 in Friday's victory with a clutch two-run game-winning single that snapped a 5-5 tie.
On Saturday, the Highlanders won their second one-run game of the series as Andriese led off the eighth with a double and came around to score for the game-winning run.
Andriese produced a .692 on base percentage and .909 slugging percentage for the week. He has improved his batting average by 102 points over the last nine games, hitting .500 (18-for-36) over that span with five doubles, two triples and 10 RBIs. Andriese ranks in the top 10 in the Big West in batting average (.375), on base percentage (.436) and slugging percentage (.525).
Others nominated: Denver Chavez (Cal Poly); Michael Lorenzen (Cal State Fullerton); Nate Ring (Cal State Northridge); Michael Hill (Long Beach State); Conner George (Hawaii)
Durable Reilly Collects Win, Save
Cal Poly closer Reed Reilly (Dana Point, Calif./JSerra Catholic HS) captured the Big West Baseball Pitcher of the Week award as stellar work out of the bullpen led to a win and a save against conference foe UC Davis.
Reilly played a crucial role in a pair of one-run wins for the Mustangs as they opened up Big West play 3-0.
The right-hander earned a three-inning save in the series opener Thursday to preserve a 5-4 win. He struck out three Aggies without allowing a hit or a walk in the 45-pitch appearance.
Reilly returned to mound duty in Saturday's 13-inning, 6-5 victory. He tossed the final 5 2/3 innings, allowing one run and six hits with three walks and three strikeouts, throwing 95 pitches.
The sophomore struck out the only two batters he faced in an 8-6 loss to Pepperdine in a midweek game.
Reilly recorded eight strikeouts in 9.1 innings and a 0.96 ERA for the week. He is 2-1 with seven saves, a 1.12 ERA, and 41 strikeouts in 32 innings for the season.
Others nominated: Grahamm Wiest (Cal State Fullerton); Trevor Frank (UC Riverside)