Complete Big West release
IRVINE, Calif. --- Taylor Sparks was named the Big West Co-Field Player of the Year and headlines a group of seven Anteaters honored on the all-conference teams. Joining Sparks on the All-Big West first team were pitcher Andrew Morales, catcher Ronnie Shaeffer and outfielder Dominique Taylor. Earning second-team accolades were Connor Spencer and Andrew Thurman while Chris Rabago received an honorable mention nod.
Sparks becomes just the second Anteater to earn Player of the Year honors, joining Ben Orloff, who earned the award in 2009. Sparks shares the title with Cal State Fullerton's Carlos Lopez after holding the hot bat in conference games, hitting .422 and posting 46 hits, 32 RBI while belting seven home runs and totaling 76 bases. Overall, the Big West Player of the Week completed a stellar turnaround from his freshman campaign and finished second in the league with 80 hits and was third with a .538 batting average while leading all Big West members with a .581 slugging percentage. Sparks ended the regular season tied for first in the conference with 10 home runs, which was also tied for third-best in the UCI single-season records.
Morales also garnered a spot on the first-team after going undefeated at 10-0 in his first year with the Anteaters. The right-hander becomes the first player in UCI history to post an undefeated record with a minimum of 10 decisions. He finished second in the conference with a 1.89 ERA and now sits third in the UCI single-season annals. Morales held opposing teams to a .227 batting average, also third-best in the Big West, and he struck out 85 batters this year, fourth-best in the league. A three-time Big West Pitcher of the Week, Morales was fourth in the conference in victories and 10th with 95.1 innings pitched.
Shaeffer was named a first-team selection for the second time in his career after finishing fourth on the team with a .300 batting average. Shaeffer, who held teams to a .469 stolen-base average, is a Johnny Bench Award candidate and posted 66 hits and 35 runs batted in. The fifth-year senior is among the "Toughest to Strikeout" in the nation and currently sits at 40th, having been fanned just 15 times in 220 at-bats. In four seasons, Shaeffer drove in 133 runs to place sixth in the all-time UCI records.
Taylor received his first nod after boasting a .309 batting average in his first year with the program. The junior was third on the team with 71 hits and second with 14 doubles to go along with a team-high four triples as well as three home runs. Taylor led the team with a 14-game hitting streak and owned a .321 average in Big West-only games. He drove in a career-high five RBI against Baylor to tie for 10th in the UCI single-game records.
Spencer also picked up his first all-conference accolade with a spot on the second team. The first baseman finished the regular season with a Big West-leading .373 batting average. Perhaps the most consistent UCI hitter this season, Spencer hit better than .300 for the second consecutive year. With 19 doubles he is currently 39th in the nation and tied for sixth in the Big West season records.
Thurman is also a two-time all-conference honoree. The right-hander was 6-4 with a 3.23 ERA. He struck out 91 batters, second-best in the Big West while tossing 100.1 innings. Thurman posted three complete games in 2013 and was a Big West Player of the Week after going the distance against Nebraska in which he struck out a career-high 11 batters. The junior ended the season with his seventh career complete game after dealing nine innings against Long Beach State, the second time he's pitched a complete-game against the Dirtbags. Thurman matched his career-best with 11 strikeouts in the win. He is ranked 44th nationally with a 4.79 strikeout-to-walk ratio and is also 56th in strikeouts and 68th in WHIP average.
Rabago was named to the honorable mention teanm after proving to be a defensive force at short. The sophomore owned a .973 fielding percentage in his first year playing the position full-time and batted .269 with 59 hits and 27 runs batted in. Rabago was fourth on the team with 10 doubles and tied for second with three triples as well as scoring 35 runs.
The Anteaters ended the year with a 33-22 record, marking the 11th time in 12 seasons the program has posted 30 or more wins. The team finished the regular season fourth in the nation in fielding at .981 and posted the second-best batting average in the conference at .285.
Big West Freshman of the Year honors went to UC Santa Barbara's Robby Nesovic while Thomas Eshleman (CSF) was selected as the Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year. Justin Garza (CSF) was the conference's Pitcher of the Year and Richy Pedroza picked up Defensive Player of the Year honors. Rick Vanderhook was named the Big West Coach of the Year.
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