2019 All-WCC Baseball Teams

Senior pitcher Codie Paiva and junior infielder Nick Sogard headline a group of six Loyola Marymount baseball players who earned All-West Coast Conference honors on Tuesday. Paiva took home Pitcher of the Year, becoming the sixth Lion to capture the award, the first since Cory Abbott took home the honor in 2017. Sogard recognized as the WCC's Defensive Player of the Year, becomes the fourth LMU player to bring the award back to the bluff and the second-straight DPOY honor for the Lions following Cooper Uhl's recognition last season. 

While Paiva and Sogard captured Pitcher of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards respectively, WCC Champion BYU won two and Saint Mary's took home the other major honors. BYU's Brock Hale was named Player of the Year followed by Mike Littlewood who was tabbed as Coach of the Year. The WCC recognized Saint Mary's Tyler Thornton as the Freshman of the Year.

All five individual awards – along with All-West Coast Conference First, Second and Freshman Teams – were voted on solely by the league's 10 head coaches.

Paiva and Sogard also earned spots on the All-WCC first team while junior Trevin Esquerra and sophomore Nick Frasso were tabbed by the conference coaches for second-team honors. Senior Brandon Shearer was the lone Lion who received honorable mention while Tommy Delgado was listed on the All-WCC Freshman Team.

Paiva has been a staple in the Lions starting rotation and will leave LMU with the second lowest ERA in team history at 2.66 only trailing Bill Barnett's ERA of 2.63. His 2019 ERA of 1.78 is second lowest in the conference only behind Portland's Chris Clements 1.69 and third best single-season ERA of all-time in Lions history. He caps a senior season leading the team in wins, ERA, innings pitched, batters struck out and games started.

Sogard has started all of LMU's 52 games at shortstop this year and leads the team in assists with 135, second at fielding double plays with 22 and a fielding percentage of .990 in WCC play. Offensively, he batted .314 with 36 runs scored, eight doubles and 17 RBI. The native of Sacramento, Calif. led the WCC in stolen bases with 27 and stolen bases per game at 0.52. His 27 stolen bags were the ninth most in a single-season in Lion team history.  

Esquerra has been the Lions most consistent hitter over the course of the season, leading the team in almost every major offensive category. He led the team in average at .321 hits at 67, RBI with 53 RBI, 17 doubles, 15 home runs and a slugging percentage of .627. The native of San Diego, Calif. amassed a team-high 22 multi-hit games and 17 multi-RBI games. In WCC play, Esquerra batted .288 with 18 runs scored, five doubles and 25 RBI to go along with eight home runs. 

Frasso follows up a successful freshman campaign with a sizzling sophomore season. The right-hander logged 47 innings and struck out 63 hitters to just 14 walks. He posted an ERA of 2.68 which was second best on the team. Frasso made nine appearances in WCC play, starting three games and posted a 1-1 record with a 1.53 ERA. The native of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. allowed 13 hits with 38 strikeouts over 22.0 innings out of the bullpen this year. 

Shearer started in all 52 games for the Lions at third this season and was in the top-three on the team in average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, runs scored, hits, RBI, doubles, home runs and total bases. The native of Agoura, Calif. batted .275 in WCC play while collecting 30 hits, 21 runs, seven doubles, two home runs and 17 RBI. 

Delgado has burst onto the collegiate scene with a stellar freshman campaign that sees him amongst the team leaders in average, hits, RBI, triples, total bases and slugging percentage. The native of La Verne, Calif. posted the longest hitting streak for the Lions this year, batting safely in 11 consecutive games. He appeared in 49 games, starting 48, and in WCC play he was responsible for 20 hits, nine runs, one double, one triple, one home run and 13 RBI. Delgado's All-WCC Freshman Team selection marks the Lions sixth-straight year with a member on the squad.

LMU will open West Coast Conference Tournament play on Thursday as the four seed, and the Lions will meet top seed BYU at 3 p.m. from Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton, Calif.