WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - Junior right-hander Justin Donatella of UC San Diego has been named the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Baseball Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 13-19.
The Saugus product out of Saugus High School has now earned the award three times this year, initially back on March 3, and again a week ago on April 14.
Donatella threw eight more shutout innings in an 11-0 CCAA series-opening win at Cal State Stanislaus on Friday night, allowing just two hits and a hit batter while striking out six. He did not walk anyone. Having perhaps the best 2015 season by a pitcher in all of Division II, Donatella completely shut down a Stanislaus squad that had entered as arguably the hottest team in the CCAA, a winner of 11 of 13. He retired the first 12 Warriors over four perfect frames, and for his second start in a row, did not allow an opponent past second base. He turned in six 1-2-3 innings. With Warriors at first and second in the eighth through a leadoff double and one-out hit-by-pitch, Donatella struck out his final two batters of the night.
The performance propelled the Tritons to back-to-back-to-back shutouts over the Warriors, as they won 10-0 and 2-0 (seven innings) in Saturday's doubleheader. It marked the second time the UCSD staff posted three straight shutouts in 2015, having done so to begin an earlier CCAA series with Cal State Dominguez Hills in February. The Tritons now lead Division II with a program-record 12 shutouts.
Donatella (8-1) continues to pace the CCAA in wins, ERA (0.55) and strikeouts (88), and is up to third nationally in ERA with a mark that would constitute both a CCAA (0.98) and school (1.29) single-season record. UCSD is a perfect 9-0 in his CCAA starts. Donatella is 8-0 with a no-decision in those outings. Six ended in Triton shutouts. He has only allowed a run in three of his 10 starts in 2015. Earlier Friday, Donatella was named among 32 semifinalists for the Brett Tomko Award, presented by D2 Baseball News to Division II's top pitcher.
This is the third CCAA weekly honor of Donatella's career, and the fifth award for a Triton this season, after senior left-hander Trevor Scott picked up the year's first pitcher selection back on Feb. 3. Sophomore outfielder Jack Larsen was also announced as the CCAA Player of the Week that day.
Donatella will take the ball again next Thursday night, April 30, as the 24th-ranked and second-place Tritons open a big four-game CCAA series at fourth-place Cal State L.A. UCSD first hosts Cal State San Bernardino tonight at 6 p.m. at Triton Ballpark.
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