SAN RAMON, Calif. - UC San Diego's Jack Larsen was named Tuesday for the second time this season as the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Baseball Player of the Week, for the week of March 14-20.
Larsen (Mission Viejo/Capistrano Valley HS) starred for No. 23 UCSD in clinching a series victory over then-24th-ranked CCAA South Division rival Cal Poly Pomona. The junior outfielder hit a team-best .455 (5-for-11) over the first three meetings, all Triton wins, with a team-high four RBI to increase his league-leading total to 27.
Larsen went 2-for-5 with two RBI Saturday night in Pomona, a come-from-behind 6-3 decision. His RBI groundout in the first opened the scoring, with his RBI single in the seventh putting the Tritons up 5-3. To begin Sunday's doubleheader in La Jolla, Larsen was 1-for-3 with a first-inning single and seventh-inning sacrifice fly that gave UCSD a 3-0 lead in the 3-0 victory. Earlier in the third, he made arguably the play of the game, tracking a tailing, hard-hit ball by CPP slugger Jared James into the gap in left center from his position in center field, and making a diving grab to end the inning and save two runs with Broncos at the corners.
In the nightcap, Larsen was 2-for-3 with a game-tying, two-out, opposite-field double on a 2-2 pitch in the sixth. UCSD walked it off in the seventh. His team-best seventh outfield assist came in the sixth, from right field, as he threw out a Bronco at the plate for the first out when a run would have given CPP a 2-0 edge. Instead, the Tritons rallied for a dramatic 2-1 triumph in the sixth and seventh.
UCSD was edged in Monday night's series finale back in Pomona, 3-2.
Larsen has accounted for both of UCSD's honors for the 2016 season, and is now a three-time CCAA Player of the Week for his college career, having previously been chosen as a sophomore on Feb. 3, 2015, and earlier this year on March 1.
Freshman left-hander Preston Mott (Clovis/Clovis HS) was nominated for CCAA Pitcher of the Week after earning his first collegiate winning decision in the 3-0 combined shutout against CPP to begin Sunday's doubleheader sweep.
UCSD (20-8, 10-6 CCAA), on Spring Break this week, travels north to Chico on Thursday for the first of six consecutive three-game sets against the CCAA North. The Tritons take on 27th-ranked rival Chico State (17-6, 7-4 CCAA) in primetime Friday night, March 25. First pitch at Nettleton Stadium is at 6 p.m. A doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. on Saturday will conclude that series. UCSD is atop the South standings, with the Wildcats, preseason favorites in the North, second in that table.
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