Hiura is Big West Player of the Year; Raymond, Duarte Honored as All-Big West
May 31, 2017 | Baseball
The junior secures UCI's third conference player of the year honor
IRVINE, Calif. --- The Anteaters brought home some hardware following the 2017 season including Big West Field Player of the Year for junior designated hitter Keston Hiura.
The honored is the third for the UC Irvine program joining Taylor Sparks, the co-player of the year in 2013, and Ben Orloff, the program's first recipient in 2009. Hiura led the conference in batting, slugging, and on-base, all by wide margins, and added Big West hits, doubles, and walks leader. Hiura also finished in the top 10 in home runs, hit by pitch, runs scored, and RBI all while batting an astronomical .482 in Big West action to tack onto his .442 season average to top the NCAA.
The honor earned him a spot on the All-Big West First Team as the 'Eaters' only honoree. Two Anteaters joined him earning All-Big West honors in senior shortstop Mikey Duarte and junior starting pitcher Louis Raymond.
Raymond was named to the second team as the team's leader ERA at 3.54 and innings pitched with 94 ranking sixth in the Big West. He really turned it on in Big West play with a 2.68 ERA, fifth in the conference, and finished fourth in innings pitched. He put together a 5-5 record in his first season with the 'Eaters as the only Anteater pitcher to start once in every weekend series this season.
Duarte scored honorable mention status after a bounce back year from missing the 2016 campaign. Duarte was a first team selection in 2015 after he lead the conference in hits. His .320 average placed him eighth in the conference, he had the ninth-best on-base percentage, finished behind only Hiura with his 17 doubles, and was a member of the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List for a second time in his career during the middle of the 2017 campaign.
