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May 23- Four Pepperdine players and three San Diego players were named to the 2003 All-WCC First Team
Pictured: Pepperdine's Kevin Estrada shares WCC Player of the Year honors with Santa Clara's Scott Dierks after batting .335 and stealing 31 bases for the Waves. May 23- Four Pepperdine players and three San Diego players were named to the 2003 All-WCC First Team. The two squads will meet in the WCC Championship Series this weekend in Malibu. SANTA CLARA'S DIERKS AND PEPPERDINE'S ESTRADA SHARE WCC PLAYER OF THE YEAR HONORS; WAVES' RAMIREZ NAMED PITCHER OF THE YEAR Santa Clara's Scott Dierks and Pepperdine's Kevin Estrada were named the WCC Co-Players of the Year, while Pepperdine senior Greg Ramirez earned Pitcher of the Year honors. Dierks' honor is the first for a Bronco since Mike Frank was named the WCC Player of the Year in 1997, while Estrada is the third Wave in the last four years to earn the league's top honor. Ramirez becomes the third Pepperdine pitcher in the last five seasons to be tabbed as the WCC Pitcher of the Year. As Santa Clara's leadoff hitter, Dierks posted outstanding offensive numbers and helped lead the Broncos to a 21-9 conference record. The Los Gatos, CA, native led the WCC with a .394 batting average and 18 homeruns. Against WCC competition, the senior continued his offensive explosion, pacing the circuit in batting average (.425), hits (51), HR (14), RBI (34), and total bases (104). After missing the 2002 season due to injury, Estrada bounced back to have a stellar senior campaign. The El Segundo, CA, native stole a conference-high 31 stolen bases, the most by a Wave since 1995. He batted .335 with a team-high 83 hits to lead the Waves to the Coast Division crown. On the mound, Ramirez dominated opposing lineups, holding WCC opponents to a .241 batting average while striking out a conference-high 71 WCC batters in 83.1 innings. The Oxnard, CA, native posted a league-high nine conference wins while throwing four complete games and registering an ERA of 2.70. Saint Mary's standout Bryan Byrne was named the Freshman of the Year. Byrne is the first Gael to win the honor since Matt Laiolo did so in 1986. The Danville, CA, native led all WCC freshmen with a .366 batting average in conference play and finished the season third among WCC batters with a .358 overall average. Pepperdine Head Coach Frank Sanchez won his second WCC Coach of the Year award after guiding the Waves their fifth straight appearance in the WCC Championship Series. Sanchez also won the honor in 1999. CO-PLAYERS OF THE YEAR: PITCHER OF THE YEAR: FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: COACH OF THE YEAR: FIRST TEAM SECOND TEAM Times an All-WCC First Team Pick HONORABLE MENTION
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