I’m not surprised about this guy. Joey has been a GS athlete since 2007. Â A diligent and sharp learner he comes every off season no matter how short and soaks up everything he can in our speed and power workouts. He then goes back and does the work on his own. He knows what he needs to do and he gets it done regardless of what his team program is doing. Â That’s taking charge and being in tune with yourself as an athlete. Very proud of your success.
March 3rd, SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Senior third baseman Joey Epperson was voted the Big West Field Player of the Week after leading UC Santa Barbara to a perfect 4-0 week by hitting .588 and collecting multiple hits in each game, the conference announced this morning.
For the week, the leadoff man scored eight runs, was 5-5 in stolen base attempts, and drove in four runs.
Epperson was a key figure in Tuesday’s upset of No. 19 UCLA, going 3-5 and stealing two bases in the 6-4 win.
He then went on to abuse Princeton’s pitching staff this weekend, hitting .583 in the three-game series. In the opener, he launched a two-run home run as part of a 2-5 day. In Sunday’s doubleheader, he went 3-3 and scored three times in the opener before adding another two hits and scoring twice in the nightcap.
For the season, the Lafayette, Calif. native currently leads all UCSB regulars with a .500 batting average, two home runs, and a .781 slugging percentge.
This is the second career Player of the Week honor for Epperson. He previously picked up the award on May 6, 2013 after going 8-14 and hitting a series-clinching walk-off home run against nationally-ranked UC Irvine.
Joey and the rest of the Gauchos have another challenging week scheduled, as they will take on Waseda University, one of Japan’s most historically successful college programs, in a Tuesday exhibition before heading to Tucson this weekend for a three-team, four-game tournament featuring the University of Arizona and Mississippi State.
