West Chester's Bob Stumpo (left) and California's Randy Sturgill (right).
PSAC Baseball Athletes of the Week - 2
Lock Haven, Pa. - California sweeps both the PSAC West Player and Pitcher of the Week awards this week as Troy Handza and Randy Sturgill are this week’s honorees after helping the Vulcans go 4-1 in five games last week. West Chester’s Bob Stumpo clubbed three home runs and had 11 RBI in a 3-1 week for West Chester to earn this week’s PSAC East Player of the Week while East Stroudsburg freshman Brian Ernst is the East Pitcher of the Week after an eight-inning performance that helped the Warriors defeat a defending conference champion.
PSAC East Player of the Week
Bob Stumpo, West Chester
Senior, C
Wilmington, Del./Salesianum
Stumpo hit .500 and hit three home runs while driving in 11 runs to help West Chester win three out of four games against UMass-Lowell this past weekend. The senior backstop also scored six runs and had a double as well as drew two walks and was hit by a pitch to compile a .529 on-base percentage. He also compiled a 1.333 slugging percentage and on defense, threw out two of five would-be basestealers. On Saturday, Stumpo went 4-for-7 with five RBI and homered in the second game of a doubleheader sweep. On Sunday, Stumpo drove in six runs and homered in both ends of the twinbill as the Golden Rams split. Stumpo has now homered in each of West Chester’s last three games.
PSAC East Pitcher of the Week
Brian Ernst, East Stroudsburg
Freshman, RHP
Salisbury, Pa./Salisbury
Ernst threw eight innings, allowing six hits and just one run while striking out six and walking one to pick up the win over Wilmington on Saturday in Palm Beach, Fla. as East Stroudsburg defeated the defending Central Athletic Collegiate Conference champions by a 3-1 score. Ernst has now won both of collegiate starts and has a 1.17 ERA in the first 15.1 innings of his collegiate career. Ernst, who also hits in his pitching starts and plays the field when he is not pitching, also went 1-for-2 at the plate and drew two walks in the game.
PSAC West Player of the Week
Troy Handza, California
Sophomore, OF
Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler
Handza hit .471 (8-for-17) in five games for California last week in which the Vulcans went 4-1. He hit a home run and also had a double, five runs scored and four RBI, and was a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen bases while hitting leadoff. In a 5-1 win at Mars Hill, he went 2-for-4 with two runs and a stolen base. On the first day of the Savannah Invitational against West Liberty on Saturday, he collected three hits, including a homer, in a doubleheader sweep of the Hilltoppers. He also had two hits and three RBI in a single-game victory over West Liberty on Sunday.
PSAC West Pitcher of the Week
Randy Sturgill, California
Sophomore, LHP
Leechburg, Pa./Leechburg
Sturgill pitched two complete games, including a shutout and went 2-0 to help California to a 4-1 record over the last week. In 14.0 total innings of work, he did not allow a single earned run, and gave up just one unearned run while striking out 13 and walking just one. He also gave up just seven hits for a .123 opponents average. In a 5-1 win over Mars Hill last Monday, he scattered five hits and did not allow a walk in a seven-inning complete game, allowing just a single unearned run in the seventh. He then tossed a complete game, two-hit shutout against West Liberty, walking one and striking out nine. After pitching just one inning last year due to injury, Sturgill has a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings of work with 23 punchouts and just three walks.