ALISO VIEJO – Coming off an impressive CCAA series win at Cal State LA last weekend, Chico State utility man Daniel Vierra and right-hander Kevin Lyons caught the eyes of the conference office and were voted its baseball player and pitcher of the week, respectively.
 
It is the first time both individuals have captured weekly honors from the conference.
 
Vierra played a key role for the Wildcats winning 3-of-4 from the Golden Eagles at Reeder Field. The junior, who played at nearby East Los Angeles College before transferring to Chico, returned to the neighborhood and went 8-for-13 (.615) with a 2.224 on-base plus slugging percentage, slugging at 1.538 and averaging .706 on base.
 
After taking a difficult defeat on Friday, Vierra stepped up and came through in Saturday's doubleheader win, going 2-for-6 with a home run in game one and was followed by a 2-for-4 outcome in the nightcap, where he also hit a two-run home run. In the series finale Sunday, Vierra went 3-for-3 with a 2-run shot in the first inning and a solo dinger in the eighth.
 
In three games, Vierra saw his batting average jump from .250 on Friday to .328 by the end of the weekend.
 
Lyons earned his first pitcher of the week award after throwing perhaps the best outing in his collegiate career. Going up against the second-best hitting team in the CCAA, Lyons went the distance for a season-high seven innings, allow no runs despite the Golden Eagles tagging him for eight hits and a walk. In addition to Lyons striking out five batters, he did not allow a base runner to reach third base. The Wildcats ended up blowing out the Golden Eagles in that game, 14-0, to give the San Diego native his fourth win of the season.
 
By taking three wins over Cal State LA, Chico State is now 16-9 overall and 11-9 in conference play, taking sole possession of fourth place in the standings.
 
The Wildcats will be going into a short-rest week as they host Cal State Dominguez Hills for four games at Nettleton Stadium beginning Thursday at 6 p.m.