FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
UC Irvine seniors Jeff Cusick and Kyle Necke garnered the Big West Baseball Field Player and Pitcher of the Week awards, respectively, leading the Anteaters to a 4-0 record and head coach Mike Gillespie’s 100th career win at the school.
Cusick Drives In Nine As Anteaters Extend Win Streak To Six
Jeff Cusick’s (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita HS) team-leading performance in hits and RBI propelled UC Irvine to four wins and earned him Big West Baseball Field Player of the Week honors.
The senior hit 8-for-16 (.500) with five runs scored and nine RBI as the Anteaters posted a 4-0 record for the week and extended their winning streak to six games.
Cusick had a bases-clearing double in UCI’s 8-5 win over Gonzaga on Sunday to secure head coach Mike Gillespie’s 100th career win at UCI. It was Cusick’s second extra base hit of the week as he slugged his third home run of the season in UCI’s 9-1 victory over San Diego on Tuesday.
In between, Cusick also had a 4 for 4 performance with two RBI in Friday’s 6-4 win against Gonzaga. The infielder also went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI in a 13-1 blowout of the Zags on Saturday.
Cusick tops the team with a 10-game hitting streak and he has reached base safely in 14 straight. He is batting .394 with a team-high 22 RBI and 26 hits.
Others nominated: Gary Brown (Cal State Fullerton); Ryan Pineda (Cal State Northridge); Robert Brantly (UC Riverside); John Haberman (Pacific)
Necke Earns Win and Save in Unbeaten Week For UCI
Kyle Necke (Walnut, Calif./Walnut HS) had two effective outings for UC Irvine, posting a win and a save in capturing the Big West Baseball Pitcher of the Week award.
Necke allowed no runs in 6.2 innings of relief work, walking just one and striking out 10. He did not allow an extra base hit as UC Irvine won 9-1 against San Diego and 8-5 versus Gonzaga with him on the mound.
Against the Toreros, Necke entered in the game in the third inning with runners on first and third with two outs. He induced the hitter into an infield pop-up to halt the threat and keep the game tied at 1-1. Necke went on to face just two over the minimum as UCI eventually gained the lead and made him the pitcher of record.
Necke threw 3.0 innings on Sunday, striking out six of the nine Zags he faced to collect his third save of the season. He has allowed just one earned run in the 18.1 innings of work over a span of four appearances.
Others nominated: Kyle Mertins (Cal State Fullerton); Branden Pinder (Long Beach State); Dustin Emmons (UC Riverside)
