Pac-12 announces baseball weekly honors
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — UCLA catcher Shane Zeile has been named Pac-12 Player of the Week and OREGON STATE left-handed pitcher Jace Fry has been tabbed Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week for Mar. 3-9, the Conference office announced Tuesday.
Zeile, a junior from Valencia, Calif., had a stellar week for the Bruins, going 9-for-15 (.600) over four games, including 8-for-12 (.600) over the weekend. He turned in a career day on Friday against Pepperdine, going 3-for-5 with a career-high three runs scored and four RBI, including a double and his first home run of the year. He followed that performance by recording a 4-for-4 day with two runs scored in the Bruins’ 6-5 win over cross-town rival USC in a pre-league play showdown. He has now hit safely in the last nine games. Zeile currently leads the team in batting average (.431) and slugging percentage (.549), which is good for second and fifth, respectively, in the Conference.
This is Zeile’s first-career Pac-12 Player of the Week honor and UCLA’s 56th all-time selection.
Fry, a junior from Beaverton, Ore., threw the fifth no-hitter in in Oregon State’s history in a 2-0 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday, registering a career-best 10 strikeouts to improve to 3-0 on the season. He retired the first 13 batters he faced before issuing one of two walks on the day in the fifth inning, then retired 13 more before issuing the second walk with two outs in the ninth. Fry is currently second in the Conference in innings pitched (31.1) and tied for second in wins.
This marks Fry’s first-career Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week nod and is the 70th pitcher honoree overall for the Bruins.
Both the Bruins and the Beavers host non-conference games midweek before the start of Conference play begins this weekend. UCLA will open league play at California and Oregon State will travel to Utah, both playing three-game series Friday-Sunday. The Bruins Sunday contest against the Bears will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks, first pitch set for 2 p.m. PT.
Also Nominated (Player): Trent Gilbert, ARIZ; Tyler Baumgartner, ORE; Gabe Clark, OSU; Danny Diekroeger, STAN; Kevin Swick, USC; Max Schuman, Utah; Robert Pehl, WASH; Yale Rosen, WSU.
Also Nominated (Pitcher): Brett Lilek, ASU; Jeff Gold, ORE; Cal Quantrill, STAN; Bob Wheatley, USC; Brett Helton, UTAH; Jeff Brigham, WASH.
2014 Pac-12 Players of the Week: Feb. 18 – Michael Conforto, Jr., OF, OSU; Scott Kingery, So., OF, ARIZ; Mar. 4 - Kevin Swick, INF, USC; Mar. 11 Shane Zeile, C, UCLA.
2014 Pac-12 Pitchers of the Week: Feb. 18 – Daulton Jefferies, Fr., RHP, CAL; Nick Green, Sr., LHP, UTAH; Mar. 4 - Cody Poteet, RHP, UCLA; Mar. 11 - Jace Ry, LHP, OSU.