Monday, May 18
UCLA players honored by Six-Pac despite season of
disappointment
Eric Valent follows Glaus in getting Player of the Year
award
By Kristina WilcoxDaily Bruin StaffGood things come in multiples
of three.Despite a disappointing season for the UCLA baseball team,
six players were honored by the Pac-10 on Friday.Junior center
fielder Eric Valent came away with the Southern Division
Player-of-the-Year award, the second year in a row that a Bruin has
held that distinction (last year it was Troy Glaus). It was the
second season for Valent on the special squad. Valent hit for a
.336 batting average, with 30 home runs and 73 RBI. He became only
the third player in Pac-10 history to hit 30 homers in a single
season, joining former USC star Mark McGwire and Glaus.With 27
homers in his sophomore year, Valent set the Pac-10 career mark
with 69 homers in his three seasons of play.Valent was joined on
the Six-Pac first team by freshman shortstop Garrett Atkins. The
phenom was one of three first-year players honored by the Pac-10.
The other freshmen are shortstop Seth Davidson of USC and middle
infielder Xavier Nady of Cal.Atkins is the third freshman in school
history to receive first-team recognition. He led the team with a
.383 average, while hitting nine homers and driving in 54 runs.Four
players from the UCLA team received honorable mention.After
overcoming an early slump as the squad’s cleanup hitter, senior
rightfielder Eric Byrnes settled in the lead-off spot and played
his way to honorable-mention status.Junior Jason Green, after
battling for the starting duties at catcher during the offseason,
was honored as well.Rounding out the Bruin recognitions were senior
second baseman Nick Theodorou, who started the season on the
disabled list, and freshman shortstop/designated hitter Chase
Utley.USC’s Seth Etherton and Jeff Austin of Stanford were named
Co-Pitchers of the Year, while Austin’s head coach, Mike Marquess,
received Coach of the Year recognition.Arizona State came away with
the most honors at 10, while USC and Stanford each received eight.
Both of those schools have four players on the first team. The
selections are made by the league coaches.***The No. 19 University
of Washington beat No. 1 Stanford in two games to win the Pac-10
crown for the second year in a row.By winning the league title,
Washington is guaranteed a spot in the postseason. Since Stanford
is hosting the West Regional at Sunken Diamond, they were already
assured a spot.The Huskies rocked Cardinal ace Jeff Austin for
eight runs in three innings on Friday to win the decisive game,
12-8. Washington won 16-4 on Thursday.The playoff took place at
Husky Field in Seattle, as determined by a coin toss earlier in the
season.