Weekly Awards Go to Pair of Newcomers in Wildcat Lajoie and Coyote Penix
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Chico State first baseman Willie Lajoie and Cal State San Bernardino left-hander Tyler Penix, newcomers at their respective schools, produced standout performances to come away with CCAA Player and Pitcher of the Week selections for Feb. 17-23.
Lajoie, a native of Tustin, posted four-straight two-hit games during a series split at Cal State Monterey Bay. He batted .500 (8-16) with four runs, a double, two home runs, five RBI, two walks, a .938 slugging percentage and .556 on-base percentage. The junior transfer from Saddleback College also handled all 38 defensive chances cleanly at first base. Lajoie's biggest hit of the weekend came in Saturday's shortened doubleheader nightcap, as his two-run blast tied the game in the bottom of the seventh and keyed the Wildcats' three-run rally for a 4-3 win. He began the week by going 2-for-5 with an RBI double in a 5-1 victory on Friday night. Lajoie was 2-for-4 with a run and RBI in Saturday's first game and 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI in the nightcap. He concluded the series Sunday by going 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs scored, one RBI and a pair of walks. Batting .435 on the season, Lajoie leads the team in home runs (tied-three), runs (14), RBI (13) and slugging (.674).
Penix, a senior product of nearby Highland who is back home after spending the 2018 campaign at Missouri Valley College, pitched a remarkable 10.0 innings of shutout baseball, with a season-high 10 strikeouts, in an 11-inning, 1-0 home victory over crosstown foe Cal State Dominguez Hills to begin Sunday’s doubleheader. He scattered seven singles and one walk. Penix did not figure in the decision, exiting after the 10th before teammate Deshawn Johnson walked it off for the Coyotes with a two-out RBI single in the 11th. He faced just six batters over the minimum, with half of his strikeouts of the called variety. Penix’s 10-inning stint is the CCAA’s longest of 2020. The Coyotes and Toros ultimately split their four meetings. Penix is 1-1 on the year with a 2.05 ERA over a team-leading 26.1 frames in his four appearances, all starts.
Lajoie is already the second Wildcat to be named CCAA Player of the Week through the first four weeks of 2020, after Eddie Zavala. Penix, meanwhile, is Cal State San Bernardino’s first CCAA Pitcher of the Week since Sabino Ramirez three seasons ago on March 7, 2017.
Chico State (9-5, 5-3 CCAA) is back home for a four-gamer against Cal State East Bay, while Cal State San Bernardino (5-9, 2-6 CCAA) awaits another split-venue series with a local rival in Cal Poly Pomona, both Friday through Sunday. The Wildcats begin their set Friday at 2 p.m. inside Nettleton Stadium. The Coyotes’ primetime opener that night has a 6 p.m. first pitch at their own Fiscalini Field. The latter contest can be watched, for free, on the CCAA Network.
Also nominated:
Player - AJ Curtis, Cal State East Bay; Nick Henry, Cal State Dominguez Hills; Carter Kimberly, Cal State San Bernardino; Ryon Knowles, Cal Poly Pomona; Anthony Lucchetti, UC San Diego; Charlie Nasuti, Cal State Monterey Bay; Nick Upstill, San Francisco State
Pitcher - Ransome Alexander, Cal State East Bay; Jack Higgins, San Francisco State; Luke Mattson, UC San Diego; Dylan Steen, Cal State Dominguez Hills; Greg Steinbeck, Cal State Monterey Bay; Rylan Tinsley, Stanislaus State; Gavin Velasquez, Cal Poly Pomona