WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- Arizona State freshman designated hitter RJ Ybarra was named Pac-12 Player of the Week and Washington State redshirt sophomore pitcher Scott Simon was tabbed Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week on Monday.
Ybarra batted .385 (5-for-14) with two doubles, four RBI and a pair of runs scored last week as ASU posted a 4-1 record and took two out of three games from No. 7 Oregon in Tempe. The native of Riverside, Calif., who finished the week with a .538 slugging percentage and a .420 on-base percentage, drove in game-winning runs on Tuesday at Wichita State and Friday against Oregon. Ybarra delivered a two-out RBI single in the top of the ninth inning to give the Sun Devils a 4-3 win over the Shockers on Tuesday, and he followed it up on Friday with an RBI single to left-center field in the bottom of the 11th inning for a 6-5 walk-off victory over the Ducks. On Saturday, he went 2-for-5 with a two-run double and scored a run in ASU's series-clinching 14-9 win over Oregon. Ybarra is batting .300 (9-for-30) with five RBI on the year.
The award is Ybarra’s first career Pac-12 Player of the Week honor.
Simon struck out a career-high seven batters and allowed just five hits en route to becoming the first Cougar in 14 seasons to notch a complete-game shutout. The Spokane, Wash., product threw 77 of 116 pitches for strikes and earned his third win of the season on Sunday, a 5-0 decision over Utah at Spring Mobile Ballpark in Salt Lake City. Simon, who allowed just one runner to reach third base and retired seven straight batters during one stretch, gave up just two hits after the fifth inning. He owns a 3.27 season ERA and has struck out 27 batters in eight starts in 2013. Simon is one of two Cougars to have tossed a complete game this season.
The selection is Simon’s first as Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week.
