TAMPA - After sweeping Notre Dame in a three game series to complete 4-0 week, juniors Randy Fontanez and Jonathan Koscso of the University of South Florida baseball team swept this week's BIG EAST Weekly Baseball Honors. Fontanez earned BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week recognition, while classmate Jonathan Koscso was named BIG EAST Player of the Week.
Fontanez, BIG EAST Preseason Pitcher of the Year, threw a complete game no-hit shutout in the Bulls' BIG EAST opener against Notre Dame on March 26. He recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts, allowing just a pair of walks in the 4-0 win over the Irish. The no-hitter was the first at USF since Mark Reed threw a perfect game against Charlotte in 1992, and third in program history. It also was the first BIG EAST no-hitter since Scott Barnes of St. John's reached the feat against Georgetown on April 20, 2007. In total, of his 119 pitches, 80 were strikes.
For Fontanez, it marks the third time in his career that he has been honored by the BIG EAST. He was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on April 6, 2009 and was then named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week on May 5, 2009.
Koscso led the Bulls to a perfect 4-0 record last week. Playing errorless ball at shortstop, Koscso hit .500 in four games, going 8-for-16. In the conference opener against Notre Dame on March 26, the junior homered in his first at-bat to give the Bulls all the run support they would need. Koscso drove in seven runs on the week and hit .571 with runners in scoring position. He had an on-base percentage of .579 and tallied an .813 slugging percentage.
The award for Fontanez marks the second consecutive week that a USF pitcher has been named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week. Last week, Teddy Kaufman gained the honor.
The honor is the first BIG EAST Player of the Week for Koscso. The Jesuit HS product has rebounded from a slow start and raised his average to .323 on season, good for fourth on the team. He is tied with fellow junior Stephen Hunt for the team lead with 21 runs batted in. He also leads the team with 11 doubles on the season.
The Bulls, now 11-13 on the season, will put there six-game winning streak on the line when they head to Deland, Fla. to take on Stetson on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m.
