Muristek
The Big West Conference announced its 2022 Baseball All-Conference teams Thursday afternoon, naming a record 14 Gauchos to its ranks. Headlining the major awards was head coach Andrew Checketts, who was named Big West Coach of the Year, and Freshman Pitcher of the Year, Ryan Gallagher.
Of the 14 named, the Gauchos saw seven of their eight everyday field players, their entire weekend rotation, their second-half designated hitter, a utility player, a reliever and their closer make the list.
Andrew Checketts — Big West Coach of the Year
Twice in three seasons has the Gaucho Skipper taken home coach of the year honors, and it again comes during a championship season. Under his direction, the Gauchos have won two Big West titles in three seasons, their first championships since 1986, and have made it to the postseason the last three seasons in a row. Checketts is the first UCSB head coach to bring home the trophy twice and his team has made it to an NCAA Regional six times in his tenure.
This season, the Gauchos made history in a new way, running away with it in conference play and posting a record .900 winning percentage (27-3) against Big West opponents. Once again, UCSB led the league in a majority of the statistical categories, and it is the only remaining team in competition. It is one of the few programs in the country to not lose a single weekend series.
Ryan Gallagher — Freshman Pitcher of the Year
Sunday stud and true-freshman Ryan Gallagher was incredible in his first season with the Gauchos and became just the third to take home the rookie honor joining Mario Hollands and Rodney Boone. Leading the weekend rotation with a 3.00 ERA and an impeccable 8-0 record, Gallagher continued to show poise on the bump throughout the season. He ranked top-10 in the conference in wins, ERA, innings pitched, runs, and earned runs.
This feat was enough to earn him a Second Team All-Conference nod as well.
FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
Bryce Willits – Third baseman Bryce Willits was huge piece of the Gauchos’ success this year being one of the most consistent guys on both sides of the ball. The redshirt junior hit the ball well and when he did, he hit it hard ranking third in the conference with a .553 slugging percentage. He also tallied the third most doubles with 18, ranked fourth with a .983 OPS and ranked fifth with a .430 OBP.
Christian Kirtley – Left fielder Christian Kirtley really got the bat going this season and showed tremendous growth at the plate, enough to move him up from last year’s second-team nod to his first career first-team recognition. Kirtley comes into this weekend’s regional having reached base safely in 43-straight games, which is an unofficial program record according to some of the school’s most trusted historians. The junior also ranks fourth in the Big West in homers (11), fifth in OPS (.972) and slugging (.549), sixth in RBI (44) and seventh in walks (33).
Blake Klassen – Although he didn’t crack the starting lineup right away, Blake Klassen made as much of an impact offensively in his 34 games played as anyone in the lineup. Serving as the everyday DH during conference play, the Gaucho newcomer led the league with a .733 slugging percentage and a 1.169 OPS. He also had the third-best batting average (.367), the third-most homers (8) and fifth-most runs scored (27).
Cory Lewis – Righty Cory Lewis, who was an honorable mention last year as a freshman, stepped into the Friday starter role for the Gauchos and did not miss a step. Posting an undefeated 9-0 record, Lewis missed a ton of bats this year with the league’s second-best opponent batting average (.185) and the third-most strikeouts (99). He has an impeccable 10.69 strikeouts per nine innings average and the Gauchos have yet to lose a game where he is the starting pitcher.
Second Team All-Conference
Jordan Sprinkle – Shortstop Jordan Sprinkle played in 53 of the Gauchos’ 55 games this season and for the second-straight year led the Big West by a mile with 25 stolen bases. He also topped the league with six sac-flies, was second with four triples, and touched home plate 43 times, which ranks seventh. On the defensive end he led the team by a wide margin with 107 assists and turned 23 double-plays.
Broc Mortensen – For the second-straight season, right fielder Broc Mortensen paced the conference with 15 home runs and earned a second-team all-conference nod. He now has 30 career bombs, which ranks seventh all time in Gaucho history despite only having played two seasons in blue and gold. The lefty also ranks second in the Big West with 51 RBI.
Nick Vogt – The Gauchos’ everyday center fielder was a key contributor on both sides of the ball with a ridiculous presence in the field. He had a 1.000 fielding percentage on 121 chances, added two outfield assists and ran down balls that otherwise would have seen runs scored by the opposition. Offensively he paced the league in conference play in doubles (13), triples (4), and runs (34), while also ranking third in RBI (30) and fourth in hits (42). He also posted the team’s longest hit streak of the season of 21 games.
Mike Gutierrez – Sophomore southpaw Mike Gutierrez stepped straight into a starting role for the Gauchos serving as the Saturday guy. All he did was post an 8-1 record, tying with Gallagher for the third-most wins to go with top-ten marks in ERA (3.03), innings pitched (80.1), and strikeouts (78).
Matt Ager – Freshman hurler Matt Ager was one of the most reliable relievers for UCSB this season, leading the Gauchos with a 2.92 ERA in 37 innings pitched. He only allowed 12 earned runs in 23 appearances while striking out 41. He also ranked seventh in the Big West with five saves.
Ryan Harvey – After finding his home in the Gauchos’ bullpen early on in the season, Ryan Harvey became the team’s closer and paced the league with 11 saves, which ranks 16th in the nation. He struck out 37 in just 29 innings of work for an 11.48 per nine innings average.
Honorable Mention
Making the honorable mention list was Jason Willow, who ranked second in the conference with 15 stolen bases and was properly recognized as a utility player, Kyle Johnson, who improved incredibly at the plate and was a black-hole at first base, and John Newman Jr., who provided much needed consistent offense at the catcher position. This is the second straight honorable mention for Willow, who has cracked the program’s top-ten with 207 career games played.
Daniel Moebus-Bowles writes about sports for UCSB.
email: sports@newspress.com
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