College Update: Surrey off to scoreless start for UC Irvine
The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level.
Elliot Surrey (Crescenta Valley High, 2012) UC Irvine baseball senior: So far so scoreless for Surrey, who’s been stifling against opposing batters thus far.
The talented left-handed starter has yet to allow an earned run over three starts.
In his latest outing against the University of Texas at San Antonio, Surrey allowed an unearned run over five innings, giving up four hits and two walks, while striking out two.
Over three starts and 15 innings, Surrey has given up two unearned runs, struck out nine, walked seven, allowed nine hits and is 1-0.
UCI (9-4) heads to Tennessee for a three-game series beginning on Friday, with Surrey likely to get the start.
Angel Rodriguez (Glendale Community College, 2014) Cal State Northridge baseball senior: Good news came Rodriguez’s way Monday when he was named the Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week.
The honor came on the heels of Rodriguez throwing a three-hit shutout in his first start of the season on Thursday, which resulted in a 1-0 win over George Mason in which he struck out a career-high 12.
“Angel got better each inning this week,” Matadors Coach Greg Moore told the school’s website. “It’s what he’s done in recent years and he’s continued to improve. We’re proud of him for earning this award.”
For the season, which has seen Rodriguez appear five times with one start, he’s sporting a 1.80 earned-run average through 15 innings with a sterling 19-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Opponents are hitting just .182 against him.
Crescenta Valley product Michael Russo is also a Matador and got his first NCAA playing time on Tuesday in a 20-12 win over UCLA. Russo came in as a pinch-hitter, scored a run and had a run batted in.
Riding a five-game winning streak, the Matadors were 10-3 heading into Thursday night’s game at home against William and Mary.
Brian Gadsby (Crescenta Valley High, 2015) UCLA baseball freshman: The two-time All-Area Baseball Player of the Year and James H. Jenkins News-Press Boys’ Athlete of the Year is getting plenty of work early and often for the Bruins.
It was quite a rough UCLA debut for the right-hander, but he’s responded well since then.
Gadsby pitched for the first time within the NCAA ranks on Feb. 21 in UCLA’s 14-5 loss to North Carolina. Gadsby came on in the seventh and gave up two hits, two walks and four runs (three earned), while striking out one.
Though a tough one, the appearance began a stretch of three straight games in which Gadsby pitched. On Feb. 23, he threw a scoreless ninth inning in Long Beach State’s 10-1 win over UCLA. He allowed a hit and a walk with two strikeouts. He then recorded his first save in the Bruins’ 7-6 victory at Cal Poly on Feb. 26. The sidearmer twirled a scoreless ninth, striking out one and walking one.
Gadsby’s longest appearance came in a 5-3 win over archrival USC at Dodger Stadium on Sunday in which he threw four scoreless innings, giving up one hit and one walk.
On the season in which UCLA is 6-6 heading into a three-game home set against Texas on Friday, Gadsby has made six appearances covering nine innings. He’s struck out seven, walked eight and allowed six hits with a 4.00 earned-run average.
He’s tallied all three of the Bruins’ saves this year, with his last two coming on back-to-back days March 4 and March 5 in a 2-1 win over Mississippi State and a 4-2 victory against Oklahoma, respectively.
Ella Stepanian (Crescenta Valley High, 2014) Pasadena City College freshman: A multiple-time All-Area and All-Pacific League honoree, Stepanian added All-South Coast Conference accolades to her resume.
Stepanian was a second-team selection for a squad that finished in a three-way tie for second place in the SCC North Division and concluded its season at 18-14 following a 58-45 loss to conference rival East Los Angeles on March 2 in the semifinals of the Southern California Regionals.
After splitting the conference series, East L.A. prevailed in the playoffs and is now in the state final four.
Stepanian had a game-high 19 points in the final game of the season, shooting six of 15 from the field and six of six from the free-throw line. Teammate Kailyn Gideon, a freshman out of Glendale High, had a team-high eight rebounds and a game-best three blocks.
On the season, Gideon averaged six points and a team-high 8.1 rebounds per game in 27 games, with 21 starts. She also led the team with 51 blocks, more than twice as many as any teammate.
Stepanian, who tied for the team-best with 30 starts, was second on the team with 11 points per contest and added 4.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals.
Stepanian ended the season with a six-game streak of scoring double-digit points.
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Grant Gordon, grant.gordon@latimes.com
Twitter: @TCNGrantGordon
