Long Beach State freshman Darian Tautalafua and Cal Poly sophomore Chloe Wurst displayed power and finesse in notching the Big West Softball Field Player and Pitcher of the Week awards.
Tautalafua Blasts Way To Softball Praise
Long Beach State infielder Darian Tautalafua (Carson, Calif./Carson HS) banged out three home runs in a series sweep of UC Riverside to claim Big West Softball Field Player of the Week honors.
The freshman collected a team-leading 10 RBI in the series on the strength of three hits, all of them home runs. Tautalafua drove in exactly one-third of Long Beach State's 30 runs for the week while also scoring four times.
Her biggest blast of the weekend came in game one of the series. With the 49ers trailing 11-10 during their final at bat, Tautalafua stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. She promptly unloaded a shot off the scoreboard for a game-winning grand slam. LBSU then held the Highlanders off in the bottom of the inning for the 14-11 victory.
Tautalafua returned in game two of the doubleheader and victimized the UCR pitching corps once again. She crushed a pair of home runs and had six RBI in the 10-2 win. She staked the 49ers to a 4-0 lead with a three-run blast in the first, and bookended the doubleheader with another three-run shot in the seventh for a 10-1 advantage.
Tautalafua increased her team-high totals to nine home runs and 36 RBI with her productive week that also included a 1.091 slugging percentage.
In the final game of the series, a 6-2 LBSU triumph, Tautalafua cooled off with an 0-for-2 effort but walked twice to contribute to a solid .429 on base percentage.
Others nominated: Lauren Moreno (Cal Poly); Eliza Crawford (Cal State Fullerton); Kelly Schulze (UC Davis); Keilani Jennings (UC Santa Barbara); Kelly Majam (Hawaii); Megan Hom (Pacific)
Wurst Leads Cal Poly To First Big West Road Sweep In Three Years
Cal Poly southpaw Chloe Wurst (La Verne, Calif./Bonita HS) tossed two complete game shutouts against Cal State Fullerton to secure Big West Softball Pitcher of the Week honors.
The sophomore allowed four hits each in 1-0 and 4-0 victories against the Titans as the Mustangs recorded their first Big West road series sweep since April 10-11, 2010, and first road sweep of Cal State Fullerton in program history.
Wurst had two impressively efficient outings and set the Titans down without overpowering them as she struck out just three batters in her 14 innings of work. Wurst also displayed great control with only one walk allowed in the two stints. Wurst threw 83 pitches in the series opener and 74 in the finale as the two wins improved her record in 2013 to 8-8-1.
Wurst also picked up her first career save in a 6-5 non-conference victory over Fresno State Monday, giving up two hits and an unearned run in the outing.
For the week, Wurst allowed one earned run in 15 innings for a 0.47 ERA.
Others nominated: Kaia Parnaby (Hawaii); Jasmine Antunez (Cal State Fullerton); Carly Mortensen (Pacific)