An MVP performance and a career-high strikeout effort netted the baseball weekly accolades for Austin Bush and Kenny Rosenberg.
Bush Named MVP of Inaugural Tony Gwynn Classic
Designated hitter Austin Bush (Turlock, Calif./Turlock HS) led UC Santa Barbara to the championship of the inaugural Tony Gwynn Classic and earned Big West Baseball Field Player of the Week honors.
The sophomore batted .636 with seven hits in 11 at-bats as the Gauchos defeated Kentucky, Bryant and San Diego to emerge with the first place trophy. He scored at least one run in all three games and had five RBIs.
Bush finished the weekend with a 1.091 slugging percentage aided by a pair of doubles and a home run. The home run was a monster, 430 foot shot to dead center in Friday’s win over Kentucky. He added a double against the Wildcats to finish the day 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI.
He knocked in three runs against Bryant in a 16-2 rout, and reached base five times in Sunday’s 9-3 win over San Diego in the tournament title game. He was a perfect 3-for-3 with a double, walked twice and scored three runs.
Others nominated: Jerrod Bravo (Cal State Fullerton); Yusuke Akitoshi (CSUN); Garrett Hampson (Long Beach State); Tanner Bily (UC Davis); Keston Hiura (UC Irvine); Vince Fernandez (UC Riverside); Kekai Rios (Hawai‘i)
Rosenberg Helps CSUN Tie Single-Game Strikeouts Record
Earning his first career victory, CSUN sophomore Kenny Rosenberg (Mill Valley, Calif./Tamalpais HS) made it extra memorable in a performance worthy of Big West Baseball Pitcher of the Week accolades.
The 6-1 southpaw struck out a career-high 16 Northern Colorado batters and combined with Samuel Myers on a one-hit shutout. Along with Myers, Rosenberg helped CSUN tie a school record for strikeouts in a game with 16.
Rosenberg flirted with a no-hitter through six innings before yielding a leadoff single in the seventh. He lasted 7.2 innings, giving up just the one hit and walking one, and struck out six of the final seven batters he faced.
Only two Bears reached second base against Rosenberg in the dominant 6-0 victory.
Others nominated: Erich Uelmen (Cal Poly); Connor Seabold (Cal State Fullerton); Darren McCaughan (Long Beach State); Robert Garcia (UC Davis); Elliot Surrey (UC Irvine); Shane Bieber (UC Santa Barbara); Kyle Von Ruden (Hawai‘i)