Clarke and Mendez Masterful to Earn Season's Final CCAA Weekly Honors May 8, 2018 SAN RAMON, Calif. — After closing the regular season with a bang, UC San Diego’s Zander Clarke and James Mendez of Cal State LA have claimed the final California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Player and Pitcher of the Week for April 30-May 6. This week’s winners will face off in the 2018 CCAA Baseball Championship from Stockton’s Banner Island Ballpark. The No. 2 seed Tritons take on No. 5 seed Cal State LA in their opening game of the double-elimination Championship bracket. The tournament starts tomorrow with the first pitch slated for Wednesday at 11 a.m., and UC San Diego and Cal State LA go toe-to-toe at 3 p.m. CCAA Baseball Player of the Week Junior rightfielder Zander Clarke led No. 26 UC San Diego to a four-game sweep over Cal State San Marcos, batting .563 (9-16) with team highs of nine runs, nine hits, three doubles, two home runs (tied), 10 RBI, 18 total bases and a 1.125 slugging percentage (tied). He produced his second two-home-run game of the season in Thursday's opener in San Marcos, getting the Tritons started with a two-run shot in the first, and adding a double and run in the fourth and a solo blast to lead off the sixth. Clarke finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and season highs of four runs and 10 total bases. He would go on to provide multiple hits and runs in all four contests, with at least one run in each, and 10 clean putouts in right field. Clarke's sacrifice fly got the Tritons on the board Friday in San Marcos, and his two-run single in the fifth inning of Saturday's seven-inning finale turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead. He improved his batting average to a season-high and league-best .390, while also completing a CCAA triple crown in league games only, with a .409 average, 61 RBI and 13 home runs (tied). Also nominated: Jorge Garcia, Cal State LA Nic Hernandez, Cal Poly Pomona Harley Lopez, San Francisco State 2018 CCAA Baseball Player of the Week Jan. 29 - Feb. 4 Joshua Lenney, Sonoma State Feb. 5-11 Tyler Durna, UC San Diego Feb. 12-18 Tyler Place, Cal State San Marcos Feb. 19-25 Alex Eliopulos, UC San Diego Feb. 26-March 4 Jacob Tonascia, Cal State Monterey Bay March 5-11 Hayden Duer, Cal State Monterey Bay March 12-18 Drew Cowley, Cal Poly Pomona March 19-25 Andrew Wheat, Stanislaus State March 26-April 1 Jack Large, Stanislaus State April 2-9 Joshua Lenney, Sonoma State April 10-15 Tyler Durna, UC San Diego April 16-22 Justin Beck, UC San Diego April 23-29 Dalton Duarte, Cal State Dominguez Hills April 30-May 6 Zander Clarke, UC San Diego CCAA Baseball Pitcher of the Week James Mendez turned in the best start of his career with eight shutout innings of a 13-0 win over Cal State San Bernardino that clinched a tournament spot for the Golden Eagles. The senior from Hacienda Heights allowed only two hits, both singles, with two walks and six strikeouts against a team that scored 29 runs in the other three games. The Coyotes only managed a .087 batting average against Mendez. Cal State LA’s offense backed their hurler with a 14-hit attack as the Golden Eagles punched their ticket to Stockton on the final day of the regular season. Also nominated: Dylan Francis, Cal Poly Pomona RJ Hanson, Cal State East Bay Matthew Hernandez, San Francisco State Mitch Hickey, UC San Diego Grant Larson, Chico State Joe Ryan, Stanislaus State 2018 CCAA Baseball Pitcher of the Week Jan. 29 - Feb. 4 Joe Ryan, Stanislaus State Feb. 5-11 Jacob Call, Cal State East Bay Feb. 12-19 Matthew Hernandez, San Francisco State Feb. 20-26 Joe Ryan, Stanislaus State Feb. 27-March 4 Preston Mott, UC San Diego March 5-11 Chase Wheatcroft, Stanislaus State March 12-18 Colton Fletcher, Cal State Monterey Bay March 19-25 Joe Ryan, Stanislaus State March 26-April 1 Joe Ryan, Stanislaus State April 2-9 Alex Vesia, Cal State East Bay April 10-15 Alex Vesia, Cal State East Bay April 16-22 Joe Ryan, Stanislaus State April 23-29 Casey Costello, Chico State April 30-May 6 James Mendez, Cal State LA