The Dirtbags are trying to get back on track, while the softball team is poised to take the Big West.  To do so, both are going to need more performances from players like Shane Peterson and Jennifer Griffin.

Third baseman Griffin was named the Big West Co-Player of the Week along with Cal State Northridge’s Amanda Peek. This is the second Big West Player of the Week award for Griffin this season. She continued to mash over the weekend, going 8-for-11 to help the 49ers take control of first place in the Big West, winning a series on the road against UC Santa Barbara.  Against the Gauchos, Griffin smacked two home runs, a double, and drove in a team-high five runs.  Griffin also earned her seventh intentional walk of the season, giving her 29 total walks on the year, two short of the single-season Long Beach State record. She also improved her batting average in conference play to .484, the highest in the league.

For the Dirtbags, first baseman Shane Peterson was named the Big West’s Player of the Week for the second time this season after going 10-for-15 with 10 runs and seven RBIs last week.  Peterson had a stellar week at the plate, beginning by hitting for the cycle in the team’s 10-0 win over Pepperdine last Tuesday, before going 3-for-4 with five runs in the series opener against CS Northridge. Peterson continued his on-slaught on Saturday, going 3-for-5 with a solo home run, before walking twice on Sunday. At one point Peterson was 10-for-11, as he finished with a .762 on-base percentage and 1.267 slugging percentage for the week. This is Peterson’s third career honor and currently ranks seventh in batting (.377), second in on-base percentage (.476), fourth in RBIs (38) and doubles (13) and first in walks (25) in the Big West.

Information provided by longbeachstate.com