A pair of seniors took home the Big West Baseball Field Player and Pitcher of the Week honors with stellar efforts.
Silva Impacts Prolific UC Davis Offense
A primary instigator for a highly productive UC Davis offense, senior Izaak Silva (Soquel, Calif./Soquel HS) earned Big West Baseball Field Player of the Week accolades after hitting .471 and helping the Aggies to a perfect 4-0 record.
Silva had eight hits in 17 at-bats, posting multiple hits in three games and driving in a team-high six for the week. The team’s backstop defensively, he caught all but one inning in the four games and went errorless behind the plate in 38 chances.
He finished with two hits and scored the game-winning run in a 1-0 triumph over San Francisco to open the week. Silva then powered the Aggies, which pounded out double-digit hits in each game of a three-game Big West series sweep of UC Riverside. He opened that set against the Highlanders going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI in Friday’s 12-3 victory. Silva threw out a pair of would-be base stealers in game two and added a double in a come-from-behind 9-8 win in game two. In the series finale, he cashed in another three runs on two more hits (including his second double) and scored his fourth run of the week.
Silva concluded the week ranking second on the team in average, hits, total bases and runs scored.
Others nominated: David Olmedo-Barrera (Cal State Fullerton); Justin Toerner (CSUN); Zack Rivera (Long Beach State); Keston Hiura (UC Irvine)
Friedrichs Tosses First Career Complete Game Shutout
Long Beach State redshirt senior Kyle Friedrichs (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente HS) stifled a potent UC Santa Barbara offense in capturing Big West Baseball Pitcher of the Week honors.
The right-hander notched his first career complete game shutout in dominating fashion as he allowed just two hits and struck out a career-best 13, leading the 49ers to a 2-0 victory Friday. The 15th-ranked Gauchos, which entered the game hitting .307 as a team, managed to get just four balls out of the infield on two singles and two fly outs. He started out the game by retiring the first 10 UCSB hitters he faced.
Friedrichs also did not allow a walk while facing just three batters over the minimum. No Gaucho runner advanced past second base for the entire game. In setting his career-high for strikeouts, Friedrichs has now recorded 10 or more whiffs in four starts this season.
Others nominated: Casey Bloomquist (Cal Poly); Tyler Peitzmeier (Cal State Fullerton); Jerry Keel (CSUN); Raul Jacobson (UC Davis); Elliot Surrey (UC Irvine); Justin Jacome (UC Santa Barbara)