RJ Ybarra Season 2014

Overview:

• Two-time Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention
• Delivered five game-winning hits in the ninth or later in his career, including three in three consecutive Pac-12 series’ in 2014
• Four-time Scholar Baller honoree

Community: 

RJ has been involved in various community activities over the past four-plus seasons and is one of the first student-athletes to sign up for any community service initiative. He is part of the athletics department’s annual Fantasy Flight where student-athletes provide underprivileged and/or sick children with a Christmas they’ll remember, makes regular visits to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital, volunteers at youth baseball camps, speaks to children at Cesar Chavez High School, helps out at the Special Olympics and with the local chapter of the Miracle League, and is part of the annual Thanksgiving Food Drive, the Sept. 11 Memorial at Tempe Town Lake, and the Race for the Cure. 

Senior (2016)

• Senior CLASS Award Nominee
• Appeared in 28 games and started four, including two at first base and three at DH
• Recorded a .240 average with three extra-base hits, two RBI and 6 runs scored
• Went 2-for-5 with two singles, a RBI and scored a run against USC (5/29)
• Went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored against UNLV (4/19)
• Notched his first multi-hit game of the season against San Diego where he went 2-for-5 with two doubles (3/22)

Junior (2015): 

• Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention
• Appeared in 50 games with 39 starts, including 36 at designated hitter and three at first base
• Batted .289 with 23 RBI, 25 runs scored and 41 hits, including 14 doubles and five home runs, and notched a .493 slugging percentage and a .382 on-base percentage
• Added eight multi-hit games, including three three-hit games and one four-hit game, and six multi-RBI games, and seven two-out RBI
• Drove in the eventual game-winning run four times
• Went 2-for-4 with a double  and two runs scored in the final game of the season against Pepperdine (5/31) in the Fullerton Regional
• Registered four hits in seven at-bats vs Tennesee Tech (4/25-26), including a pinch-hit two-run homer (4/25) and two doubles (4/26)
• Recorded a two-run homer, his fourth home run, of the year, vs Stanford (3/29)
• Went 2-for-2 with a season-high two doubles, and drew three walks vs Stanford (3/27)
• Secured two hits in four straight games (2/27-3/7)
• Went a career best 4-for-4 at the plate with a pair of RBI and four runs scored vs Purdue (2/27)
• Fell a triple short of the cycle in back-to-back games vs TCU (2/21-22), including a three-home run in a win on 2/21
• Hit a solo home run, his first of the season, vs OK St (2/15)
• Hit go-ahead sacrifice fly vs OK St (2/14)
• Scholar Baller honoree in Fall 2014 

Sophomore (2014):

• Started 50 games, third most on the team, including 42 at designated hitter and eight at catcher
• Led the team with 47 RBI, the third most in the Pac-12
• Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention
• Was batting over .300 until the final three weeks of the season and finished with a .273 average, including a .394 slugging percentage and .342 on-base percentage
• Tallied 54 hits, including 15 for extra bases, and scored 20 runs
• Ranked second on the team with four home runs and fourth with 78 total bases
• Drove in three-game winning runs in the ninth inning or later in three consecutive Pac-12 series’ and now has five in his two-year career
• One-out sacrifice fly in bottom of the 11th inning to give ASU 10-9 win over USC (4/5)
• Two-out, pinch-hit RBI single in top of the 10th inning to give ASU 6-5 win at No. 15 UCLA (3/30)
• RBI single with one out in top of the 10th inning to give ASU 3-2 win at No. 4 Oregon State (3/22)
• Led the team with 20 two-out RBI
• Tied for third on the team with 16 multi-hit games and ranked second with 11 multi-RBI games
• Tied his career high with five RBI on three hits vs USC (4/5)
• Went 2-for-4 with four RBI, including a two-run homer, vs Tennessee (3/9)
• Went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored in a win over No. 4 Oregon State (3/23)
• Went 3-for-4 with three RBI vs Arizona (4/9)
• Hit a two-out, three-run homer vs Utah and finished with four RBI on two hits (5/18)
• Knocked a pinch-hit, two-run home run in the ninth inning in his final at-bat of the season in the final game of the year to pull ASU within one against Sacramento State in the postseason (5/31)
• Named Offensive MVP and earned the Casey Myers Academic Award at the team’s annual awards banquet
• Two-time Scholar Baller honoree (Fall ‘13 and Spring ‘14)

Freshman (2013): 

• Named Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball
• Appeared in 37 games and started 26, including 21 starts at designated hitter and five at catcher
• Batted .313 (35-112) on the season, which was third highest on the team and ranks among the top freshmen marks in school history
• Fourth on the team with five home runs and third with a .509 slugging percentage
• Earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors after securing two ninth inning, game-winning hits in a span of three games
• Hit a two-out game-winning RBI single in a road win over Wichita State April 2
• Followed that up with a walkoff RBI single against Oregon April 5
• Knocked in a career-best five RBI April 20 against Valparaiso, one of only three Sun Devils in 2013 to record five RBI ina single game
• Also knocked in four RBI April 28 at Utah
• Reached base safely in 21 consecutive games, tied for the longest on the team
• Notched home runs in back-to-back games against Valparaiso April 20-21
• Nearly secured his third game winning hit with a 10th inning home run at Washington May 24, but UW tied it up and won in the 11th
• Along with Allen and Rossiter, hit back-to-back-to-back home runs May 5 against Stanford
• Recorded 12 multi-hit games, including a pair of three-hit games
• Earned Scholar Baller recognition in Fall 2012
• Joined teammate Dalton DiNatale as the fourth pair of freshmen teammates since 2006 to bat over .300 in a single season and joins a list of other Devil freshmen that includes Ike Davis, Brett Wallace, Dustin Pedroia and Willie Bloomquist
• Competed for the Bellingham Bells of the West Coast League during Summer League
• Named Breakout Player of the Year at the team’s annual awards banquet

• Four-year letterman in football
• Named captain of the baseball team his senior year
• First-Team All League (Big VIII) in 2009, 2010 and 2012
• Big VIII MVP in 2010
• Holds a number of records at Riverside Poly, including most career hits, most consecutive games with a hit and most walks in a season
• Most exciting moments in sports was hitting a home run to break the career hits record at Riverside Poly

Personal: Majoring in business communication...says he chose ASU because it just felt right and the rich history of the baseball tradition really impressed him. Also really liked all the coaches...his father has had the biggest influence on his baseball career...favorite pro sports team is the LA Dodgers and favorite player is Albert Pujols...enjoys listening to music and hanging out with friends...if he could learn to do anything, it would be to fly a plane...most played son on iPod is "Eight Second Ride" by Jake Owen...favorite person to follow on twitter is teammate Nick Diamond (@NickDiamond21) and favorite follower is teammate Emilio Torrez...parents are Ruben and Barbara Ybarra...has a younger brother, Matthew...cousin Desiree Ybarra plays softball at Cal State Fullerton...born Sept. 20, 1993...full name is Ruben Rene Ybarra.

 

Career Highs at Arizona State:

Hits: 4, vs Purdue (2/27/15)
RBI: 5, twice, last vs USC (4/5/14)
Runs: 4, twice, last vs Purdue (2/27/15)

Season Highs in 2016:

Hits: 2, twice, last vs UNLV (4/19)
RBI: 1 vs UNLV (4/19)
Runs: 1, five times, last vs Oregon (5/7)