Pac-12 announces weekly baseball honors

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. —  WASHINGTON first baseman/outfielder Brian Wolfe has been named Pac-12 Player of the Week and OREGON left-handed pitcher Tommy Thorpe has been tabbed Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week for Mar. 17-23, the Conference office announced Monday.

 

Wolfe, a senior from Snohomish, Wash., hit a team-best .563 (9-for-16) as Washington went 4-0 over the week with a win against Portland and a three-game home series sweep over Arizona. He recorded a home run, 4 RBI and five runs in the four games while his nine hits were five more than his next closest teammate. In a 8-7 win against Portland, Wolfe went 4-for-4 with a RBI and two runs, then followed with a 3-for-4 performance on Saturday in a 5-2 win against the Wildcats. He capped the week on Sunday by hitting a three-run homer—the first-ever home run at the newly renovated Husky Ballpark—to put the Huskies up 8-0 in the fifth inning and help secure their first series sweep of Arizona since 2004.   

 

This is Wolfe’s first-career Pac-12 Player of the Week honor and Washington’s 60th all-time selection. UW is the first school this season to have players earn the honor in consecutive weeks and it’s the first time since 2009 the Huskies have received the award twice in the same season. 

 

Thorpe, a Vancouver, Wash., native, propelled Oregon to a series-opening 1-0 win over Utah on Friday night, allowing just three hits in eight innings to match a career-high while striking out five. The junior didn’t allow a baserunner until the fifth inning and didn’t give up an outfield hit until the seventh and eighth innings. With the win, the Ducks’ left-hander moved to 3-2 with a 2.23 ERA on the season.

 

This marks Thorpe’s first-career Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week nod and the eighth pitcher honoree overall for the Ducks. 

 

The Huskies continue their home stand on Tuesday as they host Gonzaga in a 5 p.m. contest, then travel to Los Angeles to take on USC for three games from Friday-Sunday. After a 15-game home stand, Oregon heads to the Bay Area this week for a two-game midweek series at San Francisco on Tuesday-Wednesday and then wraps up the week with a three-game Conference tilt at Stanford, beginning Friday at 6 p.m. PT. For a full schedule visit www.www.pac-12.com. 

 

Also Nominated (Player): Nate Causey, ASU; Shaun Chase, ORE; Austin Slater, STAN; Shane Zeile, UCLA; Wyler Smith, UTAH; Ben Roberts, WSU.  

 

Also Nominated (Pitcher): Ryan Kellogg, ASU; Cal Quantrill, STAN; Grant Watson, UCLA; Wyatt Strahan, USC; Mitch Watrous, UTAH; Troy Rallings, WASH; Jason Monda, WSU.

 

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; Mar. 18 Andrew Ely, 2B, WASH; Mar. 24 Brian Wolfe, 1B/OF, WASH.   

 

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 Fry, LHP, OSU; Mar. 18 - Grant Watson, LHP, UCLA; Mar. 18 - Tommy Thorpe, LHP, ORE.