The Long Beach State Dirtbags got four players on the All-Big West teams announced Wednesday. Junior Clayton Andrews made the first team as a starting pitcher while junior second baseman Jarren Duran, junior closer Chris Rivera and sophomore pitcher Zak Baayoun.
Andrews was one of the best starting pitchers and centerfielders in the conference this season. The junior southpaw was the third player in history to five-time Big West Pitcher of the Week awards, and the first player ever to win four weeks in a row. Andrews led the conference with a 1.11 ERA during conference play, and had a 1.99 ERA on the season. His 118 strikeouts was best in the Big West, ranked 16th in the nation
Andrews also hit .302 and led the Dirtbags with five triples. He was second on the team in RBIs (26), walks (25), and stolen bases (13) this season. Andrews was the toughest batter to strikeout in the country (35.8 AB/K).He was also the first player in Big West history to win Pitcher of the Week and Player of the Week during the same season.
This is the second All-Big West award for Duran, who led the conference with 17 stolen bases in 19 attempts. He led LBSU with 42 runs scored and 67 hits. Duran also didn’t commit an error during Big West play while helping turn 14 double plays.
Rivera also made the second team for the second straight season. The junior closer had 11 saves in his first 16 appearances, posting a strong 0.49 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 18.1 innings pitched and a .709 WHIP.
Baayoun tied for second in the conference with nine wins, going 9-3 with a 3.58 ERA and 84 strikeouts that ranked fourth in the conference.
