FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
Jason Kipnis of Arizona State
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — Arizona State junior outfielder Jason Kipnis has been named the Pac-10 Baseball Player of the Week and USC junior right-handed pitcher Kevin Couture has been named Pitcher of the Week for Feb. 16 – 22, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced today.
Kipnis was nearly unstoppable during the opening weekend for Arizona State, reaching base his first 10 trips to the plate. The Northbrook, Ill., native was 12-for-17 and finished with a .706 batting average (.762 OBP). Kipnis led the Sun Devils to a four-game sweep over Wisconsin-Milwaukee by slugging a whopping 1.588 percent, aided by three home runs, four doubles and a triple. Two of his home runs came in the first game of a doubleheader, his third career multi-homer game. He also drove in eight runs, drew four walks and stole two bases for the Devils.
This marks the second player of the week honor for Kipnis and the 90th all-time for ASU.
Couture threw seven shutout innings in USC’s 4-0 victory Feb. 21 at Long Beach State. The Coronado, Calif., native only allowed two hits and one walk, while striking out a career-high 10 batters for the Trojans. In fact, Couture was so dominate he did not allow a runner to pass second base, while earning the win for the Trojans.
This is the first weekly pitching honor for Couture and the 61st overall for USC.
2009 Pac-10 Players of the Week: Feb. 24 – Jason Kipnis, Jr., OF, ASU
2009 Pac-10 Pitchers of the Week: Feb. 24 – Kevin Couture, Jr., RHP, USC
