June 3, 2010

SAN BRUNO, Calif. - Freshman Matt Lowenstein was named West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year, it was announced by the conference office on Thursday. Lowenstein becomes the ninth LMU player to be selected WCC Freshman of the Year, and the first since Angelo Songco earned the award in 2007. Lowenstein, who also garnered All-WCC honorable mention accolades and a spot on the All-Freshman team, saw teammates Ryan Hawthorne and Chris Eusebio garner All-WCC first team and honorable mention honors, respectively. For Hawthorne, the first-team selection was the first of his career after earning a spot on the All-Freshman team and an honorable mention selection a year ago. The selection marks the first time Eusebio has been honored by the WCC.

With a 19-2 WCC record, the University of San Diego posted the best conference mark since the WCC went to a single division 21-game format. On Thursday, the Toreros were rewarded for their dominant play, landing eight players on the WCC's 25-man all-conference team, including the Player of the Year in senior outfielder James Meador and the Pitcher of the Year in junior RHP Kyle Blair. San Diego Head Coach Rich Hill was named the WCC Coach of the Year after guiding the Toreros to their third WCC title in the last four seasons. Outside of Lowenstein, rounding out this year's individual honors is Portland senior catcher Rocky Gale taking home the league's Defensive Player of the Year award.

Lowenstein seemingly had no trouble with the transition from high school into Division I baseball in 2010. The left-handed hitter, who hit safely in each of the last 16 games of the year, batted .344 with 32 runs scored, 15 doubles, four triples, a homer and 30 RBI in his inaugural season. Playing in the outfield to start, before moving to first base toward the end of the season, Lowenstein started 43 of LMU's 56 games this year, appearing in 47 overall. Lowenstein finished the season first on the squad in on-base percentage (.419) and was second in batting average (.344), triples (4), doubles (15) and stolen bases (5). The native of Chino Hills, Calif. amassed 15 multi-hit games and eight multi-RBI games. A season-best four hits came when he finished 4-for-4 with four doubles, a run scored and a RBI against Albany on March 27. The four doubles matched a program record set by Joe Ciccarella on February 23, 1991 against San Francisco. He twice collected a high-water mark of three RBI this year, first on May 2 versus Saint Mary's when he finished a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs scored, a double, two walks and the three driven in. He matched the feat in the final game of the year against Santa Clara on May 30. His lone home run this year came on May 14 against Pepperdine. In WCC games alone, Lowenstein hit .325 with 15 runs scored, six doubles, two triples, a home run and 13 RBI. In conference play, his 13 RBI tied him for third most among freshmen, while he led all WCC rookies in total bases (39), while tying for second in hits (26) and runs. In all, Lowenstein hit safely in 36 of his 46 games with an at bat this year.

Hawthorne was on an offensive tear virtually all season, including a team-best 19-game hitting streak that ran from March 12-April 11. Hawthorne batted .390 (30-for-70) with 10 runs scored, six doubles, a home run, six walks and 13 RBI over his 19-game streak. He collected multiple hits in nine of the 19 games, including three straight from March 19-20, and then again from March 28-31. He hit safely in 40 of his last 45 games played this year. The left-handed hitter batted a team-best .364 with 30 runs scored, 17 doubles, a triple, two home runs, 17 walks, three hit-by-pitches and 44 RBI. He slugged .481 and reached base at a .414 clip. After batting .091 through his first three games, and .211 through his first five, Hawthorne batted .379 since March 5, a span of 48 games. Hawthorne collected a team-high 25 multiple-hit games and a team-high tying 11 multiple-RBI games, including a 4-for-4 day at the plate against Cal State Northridge on March 12 in which he finished with a run scored, a double and two RBI. An even better day came on April 18 at Portland when he batted 5-for-6 with five RBI. The five hits were the most by a Lion this year. Hawthorne hit safely in each of the final five games of the year, including collecting multiple-hits in four of the five. He capped a stellar season by going 3-for-6 with two runs scored, three doubles and four RBI against Santa Clara on May 30 in the final game of the year. On the national level, Hawthorne entered this week ranked 37th in the nation in toughest to strike out, averaging one strikeout per 15.3 at bats. In WCC games alone, Hawthorne batted .382 with 10 runs scored, seven doubles, a triple, a home run and 21 RBI. He slugged .517 and reach at a .412 clip against conference foes this year. He finished the year as the team leader in batting average (.364), hits (78), and doubles (17). In all, Hawthorne hit safely in 44 of his 53 games played this year.

Eusebio was the most called-upon option out of the Lion bullpen for the second consecutive year in 2010. The right-hander appeared in 19 games, accumulating a 4-0 record and a 3.56 ERA. He tossed 30.1 innings and struck out 22 batters en route to saving six games for the Lions. The six saves place him tied for fifth in the LMU single-season record books, while his eight career saves rank tied for eighth all time. In conference games alone, Eusebio posted a 2.70 ERA in five appearances. He notched a 1-0 record and saved three games while striking out nine batters over 10 innings of work.

Meador, who took home the WCC Player of the Year honor last season, becomes just the second player in conference history to earn the Player of the Year honor multiple times and the first since Santa Clara's Duane Larson also earned back-to-back awards in 1970-71. Meador paced the Toreros' high-powered offense, batting a league-best .488 during conference play, while ranking second in WCC games in hits (40) and RBI (25). The Ramona, Calif. native enters the NCAA Tournament ranked fifth on USD's all-time doubles list with 56, while his 62 RBI on the season rank him third on the Toreros' single-season RBI chart.

Blair has been magnificent on the mound for the Toreros, posting a league-best 6-1 record in conference play with an impressive 1.98 ERA, which was also tops in the WCC. Blair struck out a conference-best 71 batters in just 54.2 innings, while his strikeout-to-walk ratio (71-11) was also the best in the league. The Monte Sereno, Calif. native is just the third USD player in conference history to earn the league's top pitching honor, following Brian Matusz, who took home the award in 2008, and Ricky Barrett, who earned the honor in 2002.

Gale becomes the first catcher to win the WCC's Defensive Player of the Year honor in the award's three-year existence. The previous two awards went to middle infielders. Gale was absolutely lethal throwing out would-be base stealers, tossing out 19-of-26 (.730) attempted base stealers.

Hill won his fourth WCC Coach of the Year honor and his third in the last four years. Hill, in his 12th season at USD, has led the Toreros to their fourth trip to the NCAA Regionals in the last five seasons.

2010 WCC Player of the Year
James Meador, USD (unanimous selection)

2010 WCC Pitcher of the Year
Kyle Blair, USD (unanimous selection)

2010 Defensive Player of the Year
Rocky Gale, POR

2010 Freshman of the Year
Matt Lowenstein, LMU

2010 WCC Coach of the Year
Rich Hill, USD

2010 All-WCC Team
Nik Balog, USF
Conor Bernatz, USF (unanimous selection)
Kyle Blair, USD
Matt Bywater, PEP
Mark Castellitto, GON
Troy Channing, SMC
Cole Cook, PEP
Chris Dennis, POR
Chris Engell, USD (unanimous selection)
Rocky Gale, POR (unanimous selection)
AJ Griffin, USD
Ryan Hawthorne, LMU
Drew Heid, GON (unanimous selection)
Riley Henricks, POR
Brian Humphries, PEP
Geoff Klein, SCU
Kyle Kraus, POR
Nick McCoy, USD (unanimous selection)
James Meador, USD (unanimous selection)
Tommy Medica, SCU (unanimous selection)
Kevin Muno, USD
Colin Rooney, PEP
Sammy Solis, USD
Matt Thomson, USD
Stephen Yarrow, USF

2010 Honorable Mention
Nick Armenta, POR
Kyle Barraclough, SMC
Dillon Checkal, USD
CJ Cullen, POR
Robert Dickman, PEP
Chris Eusebio, LMU
Justin Fazio, SMC
Mike Ferraro, USD
Floyd Given, PEP
Nate Johnson, PEP
Pete Lavin, USF
Ryan Lipkin, USF
Matt Lowenstein, LMU
Doug Murray, USF
Matt Ozanne, SCU
Evan Peters, SCU
Derek Poppert, USF
Ryan Rieger, SCU
Joe Sever, PEP
Zach Varce, POR
Zach Vincej, PEP

2010 WCC All-Freshman Team
Nick Armenta, POR
Clayton Eslick, GON
Steven Halcomb, GON
Matt Lowenstein, LMU (unanimous selection)
Jason Mahood, USF (unanimous selection)
Matt Ozanne, SCU
Ryan Rieger, SCU (unanimous selection)
Joe Sever, PEP (unanimous selection)
Zach Vincej, PEP (unanimous selection)
Patrick Wisdom, SMC