Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics
Lee, Alvarez Earn Top Team Awards for 2021 Baseball Season
6/4/2021 12:20:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- A switch hitter and a southpaw pitcher have earned Cal Poly's top baseball awards for the 2021 season.
Redshirt freshman shortstop Brooks Lee garnered the squad's Ozzie Smith Most Valuable Player Award while fourth-year junior Andrew Alvarez captured the team's Mike Krukow Outstanding Pitcher Award.
Mustang 19th-year head baseball coach Larry Lee announced the team award winners Tuesday during a banquet held in Hotel San Luis Obispo's Ox + Anchor restaurant.
One of eight freshmen named to the All-Big West Conference First Team on Wednesday, Lee also became the first player to earn Big West Field Player of the Year and Freshman Field Player of the Year honors in the same season.
A semifinalist for the Golden Spikes (player of the year) and Brooks Wallace (shortstop of the year) awards and a three-time Big West Field Player of the Week this season, Lee finished with a team-leading .342 average, broke the school record for doubles in a season with 27 and also led the team in hits (76), triples (3), home runs (10), RBIs (57), total bases (139) and sacrifice flies (8).
The Collegiate Baseball Newspaper All-American first-team shortstop ranks No. 2 nationally in doubles and sacrifice flies, 16th in total bases, 33rd in RBIs and 36th in hits, earning the team's Monty Waltz Big Stick Award as well.
Lee produced hitting streaks of 12 games (stopped by UC Irvine), 11 games (snapped by Hawai'i) and nine games (halted by CSUN) this season and compiled a team-leading 25 multiple-hit games and 16 multiple-RBI contests (most in the Big West).
One of Cal Poly's southpaw starters in Saturday doubleheaders, Alvarez compiled a 7-3 win-loss record, leading the Mustangs in victories, with 81 strikeouts over 88 1/3 innings and a 4.08 ERA. He struck out a career-high 12 against UC Riverside and tossed a complete game at UC Davis, a four-hitter with six strikeouts.
Alvarez, 3-2 with a 6.75 ERA after eight appearances (six starts), kicked it up a notch in the second half of the season, posting a 4-1 mark and 2.75 ERA in his final eight starts. Hs is an All-Big West honorable mention this spring.
Capturing the team's John Orton Golden Glove Award was fifth-year senior catcher Myles Emmerson, who also made the All-Big West First Team and was one of three players sharing Big West Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Emmerson finished with a .312 batting average, 14 doubles and 23 RBIs. He also picked off five baserunners, No. 1 in the Big West, threw out 11 would-be base stealers and compiled a .991 fielding percentage with just four errors in 442 chances.
Over his Mustang career, Emmerson picked off 12 runners, third in Cal Poly's Division I history, and threw out 34 would-be base stealers, No. 5 in the school's Division I record book. He was first on the team in at-bats (234) and second with 73 hits, 14 doubles and 47 runs scored.
He is a career .288 hitter at Cal Poly with 27 doubles and 58 RBIs, playing in 168 games with 148 starts. He started all 56 games this year — 45 behind the plate, eight in left field, two at first base and one at third base.
Redshirt freshman pitcher Kyle Scott was honored as winner of the Jim Newkirk Fireman's Award while junior designated hitter Matt Lopez and southpaw starter Travis Weston shared the team's Scott Kidd Rookie of the Year award. All three earned Big West honorable mention praise.
Scott (2-2, 3.91 ERA) finished first on the team and third in the Big West with his seven saves, six in conference games. Fourth in the Big West with his 24 appearances, Scott twice struck out seven batters in a game.
Lopez, who missed the final four weeks of the 2021 season due to injury, posted a .341 average with eight doubles, one home run (a two-run shot against CSUN) and 26 RBIs. The transfer from Washington State started 37 games and produced 13 multiple-hit games and eight multiple-RBI contests along with a team-best 22-game reached-base streak and a nine-game hitting streak.
Weston, the other southpaw starter on Saturdays, posted a 5-6 win-loss record and 3.28 ERA with 74 strikeouts over 82 1/3 innings. The Boise State transfer earned three complete games, the most by a Mustang pitcher since Joey Wagman also collected three complete games in 2013. One of Weston's complete games was a seven-inning three-hit 10-0 shutout over Cal State Fullerton and he also struck out a career-high 11 in a two-hitter versus Utah Valley.
Other award winners were redshirt freshman Joe Yorke (Jason Maas Captain's Award), redshirt junior middle infielder Connor Gurnik (Dave Oliver Hustle Award for the second time) and redshirt sophomore catcher Mark Armstrong (Robin Baggett Scholar-Athlete and Dick Morrow Coach's awards).
Yorke led the team with 37 walks and hit .227 with eight doubles, one home run and 31 RBIs. He went 12-for-30 (.400) over his last 10 games to lift his average 44 points and committed just one error in 480 fielding chances for a .998 fielding percentage.
Cal Poly finished tied for fourth with CSUN and UC San Diego in the Big West, all with 21-19 marks, and 31-25 overall, winning its final seven games and 11 of 12. The Mustangs finished in the top four in the Big West for the 16th time in the last 18 years (not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020 season).
Cal Poly earned series wins over Pac-12 members UCLA and USC plus four-game sweeps against Cal State Fullerton and Hawai'i and a three-game sweep of Utah Valley. The Mustangs also won three of four games at CSUN and UC Davis plus a 2-1 series win over San Jose State, claiming eight of the 15 weekend series on the 2021 schedule.
Redshirt freshman shortstop Brooks Lee garnered the squad's Ozzie Smith Most Valuable Player Award while fourth-year junior Andrew Alvarez captured the team's Mike Krukow Outstanding Pitcher Award.
Mustang 19th-year head baseball coach Larry Lee announced the team award winners Tuesday during a banquet held in Hotel San Luis Obispo's Ox + Anchor restaurant.
One of eight freshmen named to the All-Big West Conference First Team on Wednesday, Lee also became the first player to earn Big West Field Player of the Year and Freshman Field Player of the Year honors in the same season.
A semifinalist for the Golden Spikes (player of the year) and Brooks Wallace (shortstop of the year) awards and a three-time Big West Field Player of the Week this season, Lee finished with a team-leading .342 average, broke the school record for doubles in a season with 27 and also led the team in hits (76), triples (3), home runs (10), RBIs (57), total bases (139) and sacrifice flies (8).
The Collegiate Baseball Newspaper All-American first-team shortstop ranks No. 2 nationally in doubles and sacrifice flies, 16th in total bases, 33rd in RBIs and 36th in hits, earning the team's Monty Waltz Big Stick Award as well.
Lee produced hitting streaks of 12 games (stopped by UC Irvine), 11 games (snapped by Hawai'i) and nine games (halted by CSUN) this season and compiled a team-leading 25 multiple-hit games and 16 multiple-RBI contests (most in the Big West).
One of Cal Poly's southpaw starters in Saturday doubleheaders, Alvarez compiled a 7-3 win-loss record, leading the Mustangs in victories, with 81 strikeouts over 88 1/3 innings and a 4.08 ERA. He struck out a career-high 12 against UC Riverside and tossed a complete game at UC Davis, a four-hitter with six strikeouts.
Alvarez, 3-2 with a 6.75 ERA after eight appearances (six starts), kicked it up a notch in the second half of the season, posting a 4-1 mark and 2.75 ERA in his final eight starts. Hs is an All-Big West honorable mention this spring.
Capturing the team's John Orton Golden Glove Award was fifth-year senior catcher Myles Emmerson, who also made the All-Big West First Team and was one of three players sharing Big West Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Emmerson finished with a .312 batting average, 14 doubles and 23 RBIs. He also picked off five baserunners, No. 1 in the Big West, threw out 11 would-be base stealers and compiled a .991 fielding percentage with just four errors in 442 chances.
Over his Mustang career, Emmerson picked off 12 runners, third in Cal Poly's Division I history, and threw out 34 would-be base stealers, No. 5 in the school's Division I record book. He was first on the team in at-bats (234) and second with 73 hits, 14 doubles and 47 runs scored.
He is a career .288 hitter at Cal Poly with 27 doubles and 58 RBIs, playing in 168 games with 148 starts. He started all 56 games this year — 45 behind the plate, eight in left field, two at first base and one at third base.
Redshirt freshman pitcher Kyle Scott was honored as winner of the Jim Newkirk Fireman's Award while junior designated hitter Matt Lopez and southpaw starter Travis Weston shared the team's Scott Kidd Rookie of the Year award. All three earned Big West honorable mention praise.
Scott (2-2, 3.91 ERA) finished first on the team and third in the Big West with his seven saves, six in conference games. Fourth in the Big West with his 24 appearances, Scott twice struck out seven batters in a game.
Lopez, who missed the final four weeks of the 2021 season due to injury, posted a .341 average with eight doubles, one home run (a two-run shot against CSUN) and 26 RBIs. The transfer from Washington State started 37 games and produced 13 multiple-hit games and eight multiple-RBI contests along with a team-best 22-game reached-base streak and a nine-game hitting streak.
Weston, the other southpaw starter on Saturdays, posted a 5-6 win-loss record and 3.28 ERA with 74 strikeouts over 82 1/3 innings. The Boise State transfer earned three complete games, the most by a Mustang pitcher since Joey Wagman also collected three complete games in 2013. One of Weston's complete games was a seven-inning three-hit 10-0 shutout over Cal State Fullerton and he also struck out a career-high 11 in a two-hitter versus Utah Valley.
Other award winners were redshirt freshman Joe Yorke (Jason Maas Captain's Award), redshirt junior middle infielder Connor Gurnik (Dave Oliver Hustle Award for the second time) and redshirt sophomore catcher Mark Armstrong (Robin Baggett Scholar-Athlete and Dick Morrow Coach's awards).
Yorke led the team with 37 walks and hit .227 with eight doubles, one home run and 31 RBIs. He went 12-for-30 (.400) over his last 10 games to lift his average 44 points and committed just one error in 480 fielding chances for a .998 fielding percentage.
Cal Poly finished tied for fourth with CSUN and UC San Diego in the Big West, all with 21-19 marks, and 31-25 overall, winning its final seven games and 11 of 12. The Mustangs finished in the top four in the Big West for the 16th time in the last 18 years (not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020 season).
Cal Poly earned series wins over Pac-12 members UCLA and USC plus four-game sweeps against Cal State Fullerton and Hawai'i and a three-game sweep of Utah Valley. The Mustangs also won three of four games at CSUN and UC Davis plus a 2-1 series win over San Jose State, claiming eight of the 15 weekend series on the 2021 schedule.
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