March 8, 2010
BERKELEY - Valerie Arioto scored a team-high eight runs and eight RBI, collecting a squad-first 14 total bases and earning four walks in five games of play for the Bears en route to five wins at the Eller Media Stadium Classic, making the junior pitcher/utility the Muscle Milk California Student-Athlete of the Week.
The Pleasanton, Calif., native was also first on the team through the weekend with a 1.167 slugging percentage and was second in terms of on base percentage at .625. She established a new season high of four RBI versus Southern Utah.
In addition to her hitting prowess this weekend, Arioto was also key for the Bears on the defensive end of the ball - pitching two complete game wins. In her superb outing in the circle in the 6-0 win against New Mexico State, Arioto gave up just one hit and three walks while striking out half (13) of the batters she faced (26). The Aggies hit a collective .047 while Arioto had a 0.00 ERA.
Tying its season high with 12 hits, No. 15/13 California opened its weekend with a 6-0 victory against New Mexico State on Friday afternoon thanks to Arioto, who was the star of the game with a game-changing two-run homer and pitched a seven-inning one-hitter. In the bottom of the first, Shannon Thomas singled through the right side to bring up Arioto, who smacked the ball over the left-field fence, giving the Bears a 2-0 lead that they would never relinquish.
It was a similar story versus Southern Utah for Arioto, who cranked a pitch over the wall in center field for a two-run homer, giving Cal an early 2-0 lead. Later in the game, she singled down the right-field line to score Shannon Thomas and Jamia Reid, further upping Cal's lead to 4-0.
Arioto led Cal to a 7-0 win over Portland State thanks to her three-hit performance in seven innings of work, allowing just a .115 opponent batting average.
Arioto finished the weekend with 14 innings of work under her belt, allowing four hits for an opponent average of .081, giving up no runs for a 0.00 ERA and fanning a total of 23 batters.
On the season, Arioto is second on the squad with a 1.83 ERA and is 8-2 in 10 appearances. She has also fanned a team-high 91 batters.
Muscle Milk California Student-Athletes of the Week
2008-09 Winners
2007-08 Winners
2006-07 Winners
