Ryan Stafford, Cal Poly
Baseball Field Player of the Week
Freshman • Catcher • Folsom, Calif. |
- Ryan Stafford batted .533 (8-for-15) in leading Cal Poly to a 3-1 week, including a weekend sweep over visiting CSU Bakersfield. Moving from his leadoff spot to the No. 5 position in the order, he slugged .733 with one home run, five runs, six RBI, one walk, a hit-by-pitch, a .588 on-base percentage, one steal and only one strikeout.
- Defensively, the true freshman backstop picked off a CSUB runner, threw out two more trying to steal, and handled all 42 chances without an error. The Folsom native has picked off four runners and caught 11 trying to steal this season.
- Back on April 18, Stafford was one of three Big West catchers, all underclassmen, named to the Buster Posey Award watch list, an award given annually by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission to the top Division I collegiate catcher.
- A first-time Big West Field Player of the Week, Stafford is Cal Poly’s third honoree in 2022 after shortstop Brooks Lee (March 7) and Collin Villegas (April 4). The Mustangs have also earned three pitcher awards.
Also nominated: Aaron Casillas (CSU Bakersfield), Jordan Donahue (Hawai’i), Emiliano Gonzalez (UC San Diego), Christian Kirtley (UC Santa Barbara), Peyton Schulze (Long Beach State), Bart West (CSUN), Mark Wolbert (UC Davis)
Juaron Watts-Brown, Long Beach State
Baseball Pitcher of the Week
RS Freshman • RHP • Hanford, Calif. |
- Juaron Watts-Brown was the unanimous choice for Big West Pitcher of the Week after twirling the league’s first no-hitter since 2018 Sunday against UC Riverside on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field. The Dirtbags won their fourth straight, 4-0, to complete the series sweep.
- The redshirt freshman right-hander struck out a season-best 16, the highest single-game total in The Big West in 2022, eclipsing Cal Poly ace and league strikeout leader Drew Thorpe’s 15 from March 25. The total ranks in a four-way tie for third across Division I, and is one shy of Dirtbag great and three-time Major League Baseball All-Star Jered Weaver’s program record.
- Watts-Brown’s no-hitter was just the second in the storied history of the Dirtbag program, and the first of the complete-game variety, with the other one a combined no-no by freshmen Chris Mathewson (7.0 IP) and Darren McCaughan, also in a 4-0 Sunday home win on March 1, 2015, against Wichita State. It was the 19th no-hitter in The Big West history, and 13th in a nine-inning contest.
- Watts-Brown faced one over the minimum, just a two-out walk in the fourth away from a perfect game in his 114-pitch masterpiece. He retired the first 11 in a row, and the final 16 from there, striking out the side in the third. The Hanford native had at least one punch-out in every frame.
- The 9.0 innings in his first collegiate complete game marked a season high for Watts-Brown. He produced double-digit strikeouts for the second time this season, now coming in consecutive Sunday starts. Watts-Brown’s previous season bests were 7.0 frames, and the 10 punch-outs from a May 1 home loss to UC Irvine.
- Watts-Brown improved his win-loss record to 2-4 and lowered his season ERA from 4.86 to 4.07. His other winning decision came in a four-inning relief stint at Cal Poly on April 9. Interestingly enough, Watts-Brown was perfect except for one walk that afternoon.
- Earlier Monday, Watts-Brown was named among nine Collegiate Baseball National Players of the Week. He is the third Big West student-athlete to be so honored this season. His was the first complete-game shutout by a Dirtbag freshman since Weaver on May 19, 2002.
- Watts-Brown is a first-time Big West Pitcher of the Week, and he goes back-to-back with fellow Dirtbag Marques Johnson. A third LBSU right-hander, Luis Ramirez, is a two-time selection (Feb. 21 and March 21) this year, with two field players also recognized.
Also nominated: Aren Alvarez (UC San Diego), Lucas Braun (CSUN), Bryan Green (UC Davis), Blaze Koali’i Pontes (Hawai’i)
| 2022 Big West Weekly Award Winners |