Senior infielder Jessica Ziegler was named First Team All-Big West it was announced by the conference on Tuesday afternoon. Ziegler was joined on the all-conference lists by teammates Jessica Beristianos, Krista Cobb and Brooke Putich, who all earned Honorable Mention accolades.
Ziegler led UCSB offensively with her .341 batting average – a career best – 59 hits, 25 runs and 21 stolen bases. She ranked seventh among conference players for batting, third for hits and second for stolen bases. She also posted a team-best 17 multiple hit games and was held hitless in just five Big West contests. She ended the season amidst a four-game hit streak.
The San Diego native was also a solid defensive presence as well, recording a .990 fielding percentage, the highest among regular starters, and a team-leading 359 putouts in 385 chances. She also led the conference with 19 double plays, helping the team set a new school record and rank ninth nationally with their 23 double plays this season.
Ziegler ends her career as one of the best offensive players in program history ranking fourth all-time for career stolen bases (50), tied sixth for career batting average (.304), sixth for runs scored (100), eighth for hits (166) and tied eighth for triples (5).
The Big West nod was the third of her career; she earned Honorable Mention honors in each of the previous two seasons.
Junior Jessica Beristianos earned her first career Big West nod with her placement on the Honorable Mention list. The third baseman was third on the team with her .245 batting average, but led the squad and was tied fifth in the conference with 11 doubles. She also posted a team-leading 21 RBI, 25 walks and three sacrifice flies. She was tied for second on the team with eight multiple-hit games.
During the conference season, she was second on the team batting .276 and tallied a team-high 13 RBI. Her 11 walks in conference play ranked fifth among Big West players. Just this past weekend, she led the Gauchos to a series win over league-winner UC Davis and was named Big West Co-Player of the Week.
Beristianos already ranks ninth all-time in the Gaucho record book for career RBI (76) and fifth with 33 doubles.
Sophomore Krista Cobb, who was the Big West’s 2009 Co-Freshman Pitcher of the Year and a First Team selection, earned her second conference award with Honorable Mention accolades. The West Hills, Calif. native pitched her way to a 6-6 record in Big West games and posted a 3.08 ERA during the conference season.
Cobb led UCSB to a series sweep of Long Beach State (May 1-2), pitching all 24 innings against the 49ers. She concluded the series with a 10-inning shutout of the 49ers to secure the Gauchos first ever sweep over Long Beach. The sophomore concluded the season by posting a 2-1 record over UC Davis last weekend. She is seventh all-time in the UCSB record books for career shutouts (11) and tied 10th with 26 career wins.
Sophomore Brooke Putich’s Honorable Mention nod marks her first career Big West honor. The designated player and outfielder finished the season second among the Gauchos with her .294 average, 37 hits, 17 runs and eight stolen bases. She was tied second on the team with her eight multi-hit games and put together the longest Gaucho hit streak of the season when she posted eight consecutive games with a hit (April 3-May 1).
