April 1, 2002
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. ?-- Arizona State sophomore right-hander Mike Esposito has been named Pac-10 Baseball Pitcher of the Week and Washington junior center fielder Jay Garthwaite has been named Pac-10 Baseball Player of the Week for Mar. 26-30, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced today.
Esposito, from Las Vegas, Nev., put together one of the Sun Devils' best pitching performances in school history when he struck out 17 batters in a complete-game victory over Washington Friday night. His 17 K?s were the sixth most in a single game in ASU history and the most since 1997. He improved to 6-3 on the year leading the Devils to an 8-3 win over the Huskies and leads the team with a 2.53 ERA. He is ranked second in the Pac-10 with 58 strikeouts and third with his 2.53 ERA. Over his last five games he is 4-1 with a 1.32 ERA. Over that same stretch, he has registered 47 strikeouts in 34.0 innings pitched. Esposito was also named National Pitcher of the Week by Collegiate Baseball.
Garthwaite, from Kent, Wash., hit .500 (11-for-22) in five games last week. He knocked out two doubles and four home runs, scored eight times and notched 16 RBI. Garthwaite?s on-base percentage was .560 while he had a slugging percentage of 1.136. He has hit homers in five of the last six games and six of the last eight. His 16 RBI in five games represents more RBI than all but one of his teammates has compiled all season. He is tied for first in the Conference with 42 RBI. Last year, he led the Huskies in RBI with only 46.
The Pitcher of the Week honor is the second for Esposito in his career, and the 44th selection all-time for Arizona State. Esposito was also named the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week in the first week of April last year after his two hitter over six innings vs. the University of Tennessee. ASU has now won three Pac-10 awards this year and two national pitcher of the week selections.
Also nominated for Player of the Week were Conor Jackson, CAL, Brian Barden, OSU, Sam Fuld, STAN, Joey Metropolous, USC and Dustin Pedroia, ASU. Also nominated for Pitcher of the Week were Ty Kline, OSU, John Hudgins, STAN, Matt Chico, USC.
2002 PAC-10 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Mar. 12 - Adam Berry, UCLA, Mar. 19 - Jay Garthwaite, WASH, Mar. 26 - Andre Ethier, ASU, Apr. 1 - Jay Garthwaite, WASH.
2002 PAC-10 PITCHERS OF THE WEEK: Mar. 12 - Robbie McClellan, ASU, Mar. 19 - Jon Williams, USC, Mar. 26 - Marc Kaiser, ARIZ, Apr. 1 - Mike Esposito, ASU.