May 17, 2002

DAVIS, Calif. - UC Davis senior pitcher Greg Bruso has been named the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings 2002 West Region Pitcher of the Year, it was announced Friday. Bruso is the second consecutive UC Davis pitcher to be named ABCA/Rawlings West Region Pitcher of the Year as teammate Luke Steidlmayer received the honor last season.

In addition to Bruso, first baseman Dennis Flippen and shortstop Ryan Coultas were named to the All-West Region frst team while outfielder Robby Tulk was named to the second team.

Bruso, a senior from South Lake Tahoe, capped his four-year at UC Davis by having his career season. He posted a 10-4 record and led the CCAA in earned run average (1.94), strikeouts (100), shutouts (3) and complete games (11). Earlier this month he was named the California Collegiate Athletic Association Pitcher of the Year and was selected to the All-CCAA first team. He won nine consecutive games from March 2 through April 27, compiling a 0.90 ERA during that stretch. He allowed two or fewer earned runs in 13 of his 15 outings. In his last eight outings (56.0ip), he allowed just six earned runs (0.96 ERA), while throwing seven complete games and two shutouts.

Flippen, a senior from Sante Fe Springs, led the Aggies offensively this season, hitting .372 while leading the team with 11 home runs, 50 RBIs, 19 doubles and a .633 slugging percentage. Flippen also committed just five errors on the year, none in his final 39 games. Flippen was an All-CCAA first team selection and named to the All-CCAA tournament team.

Coultas, a freshman from Ventura, finished the season with a team-best .372 batting average and riding a 21-game hitting streak, the longest on the team this season. He was second on the team in runs (46), home runs (6), and slugging percentage (.605). At the CCAA tournament, he batted .556 (10-18) with six runs scored and four RBIs. Coultas was an All-CCAA first team selection and was named to the All-CCAA tournament team.

Tulk, a sophomore from San Ramon, led the Aggies with 56 runs scored, batting .333 with five home runs while anchoring the outfield from his center field position. Additionally, he was an All-CCAA first team selection.

UC Davis concluded its season with a 33-26 record, advancing to the championship game of the CCAA tournament last week in Chico.