Fullerton Sweeps Top Big West Honors May 25, 2004 -- Fullerton, Calif.
Kurt Suzuki was named the Big West Conference Player of the Year, Jason
Windsor picked up co-Pitcher of the Year honors and George Horton was
tabbed Coach of the Year in votes by the conference coaches.
The Titans have not swept all three awards since their national championship
season of 1995, when Mark Kotsay (player), Ted Silva (pitcher) and Augie
Garrido (coach) were all recognized.
Suzuki is fifth in the nation in batting (.438), 10th in RBI per game
(1.32) and 22nd in slugging percentage (.726). On the conference leaderboard,
he ranks among the top three in 10 categories, including first in batting,
on-base and slugging percentage, RBI and sac flies.
In conference play, Suzuki batted .506 with eight home runs 31 RBI in
just 21 games. During a series vs Cal Poly, he reached base in 13 of his
15 appearances. Suzuki, a walk-on as a freshman, is a semifinalist for
the Johnny Bench Award, which is presented annually to college baseball's
top catcher. He is also on the Baseball America Player of the
Year watch list.
Windsor, who shared the Big West honor with Long Beach State's Jered Weaver,
gained national attention last Friday after outdueling Weaver in a 10-inning
win that clinched the conference title for the Titans. He is the only
pitcher to have beaten every Big West team, posting a perfect 7-0 mark
and a 1.14 ERA in Big West Play. He hurled complete games in six of his
seven starts, leaving early only in the conference opener against Pacific
after the Titans built a 16-1 lead. Overall, Windsor is 8-4 with a 2.14
ERA that ranks 26th nationally.
Horton earns his third conference coach of the year honor after picking
up Baseball America's National Coach of the Year honors last
year. He piloted a turnaround which saw the Titans finish the season with
a 21-4 run that helped them go from unranked to No. 9 in the country in
just two weeks. He also guided Fullerton to its best conference record
ever at 19-2.
Several other Titans also earned honors from the Big West. Freshman outfielder
Clark Hardman was named a first-team all-conference selection to join
Windsor and Suzuki.
Earning second-team honors were second baseman Justin Turner, third baseman
Ronnie Prettyman, outfielder Danny Dorn, utility player P.J. Pilittere
and pitcher Ricky Romero. Outfielder Sergio Pedroza and DH Felipe Garcia
were honorable mention picks.
