UCSB’s Vertigan receives Big West honor

After a dominating week in which he reached base 14 times in four games, UC Santa Barbara junior Brett Vertigan was named the Big West’s Player of the Week.

Vertigan, the Gauchos’ center fielder and leadoff hitter, was 12-for-18 with three stolen bases, two walks and seven runs scored in games vs. Fresno State and Loyola Marymount. The Garden Grove, Calif. native also had a pair of doubles and scored what proved to be the game-winning run in Saturday’s win over LMU.

Vertigan hit .667 on the week with a .700 on-base percentage and his RBI single on Sunday brought the Gauchos within a run as UCSB pushed LMU to extra innings.

He went 4-for-4 with four runs scored, two doubles and three stolen bases in Saturday’s 10-2 win over the Lions. On the season Vertigan is hitting .490 with a .545 on-base percentage.