Feb. 23, 2009
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State right-hander Tyler Lavigne has been named the Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week for his effort in the Aztecs' 3-0 victory over 11th-ranked University of San Diego on Sunday.
Lavigne, a junior transfer from the College of Southern Nevada, made his collegiate debut a memorable one as he tossed a two-hit shutout against the Toreros at USD's Cunningham Stadium. He allowed only four balls to be hit out of the infield with just one of those falling for a base hit.
He began the contest by retiring the first nine batters he faced before giving up an infield single to start the fourth. That base runner was short-lived, however, as a double play and strikeout ended the inning. On the day, Lavigne got 18 outs via the ground ball while striking out five and walking only one.
The Toreros had only one runner reach third base, that coming in the fifth when a pair of infield errors put men on first and third with one out. Lavigne responded by inducing an inning-ending double play. He finished the game by retiring 12 of the final 13 batters he faced from the sixth through ninth innings and faced only three batters over the minimum (30) on the afternoon.
In addition to the weekly conference award, Lavigne was also named a Recruiting Closer National Pitcher of the Week, one of 12 hurlers so honored. Of the dozen players named to the list, he was the only one to defeat a team ranked among the top 25 in any of the national polls. For more information on the list click here.
The victory over the University of San Diego helped propel San Diego State in the national top 30 as Collegiate Baseball has the Aztecs ranked 26th in its weekly poll that was released this morning.
The Aztecs open their 2009 home season Tuesday evening (Feb. 24) against seventh-ranked Cal State Fullerton at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.