Student-Athlete of the Week - April 7, 2008

Name: Ryan Shopshire
Sport: Baseball
Year: Junior
Position: Pitcher

Ryan Shopshire has been named the Spartan Foundation Student-Athlete of the Week for his pitching performance for the Spartan baseball team against Hawai'i this past Saturday.

Shopshire tossed a complete-game, four-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts to lead San Jose State to a 4-0 win in game two of a Western Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader with Hawai’i at Municipal Stadium.

Making his first major college start, Shopshire was dominant, working quickly and efficiently in a game that took just one hour and 58 minutes to play. The junior right-hander and first-year transfer from Orange Coast College had separate stretches of eight and 11 consecutive batters retired, with 1-2-3 innings in the second, sixth, seventh and eighth. Two of his major college high 10 strikeouts came in the ninth, after a leadoff single and outfield error put Derek DuPree on second base with no outs, threatening the shutout. Jonathan Hee grounded out and Shopshire got the Rainbow 4-5 batters, who he had not struck out yet on the afternoon, both looking at called third strikes to end the game. Shopshire struck out every batter in the Hawai’i starting lineup at least once, except for Hee.

The 1-2-3 second inning was the first of the day by the Spartans after UH produced at least one base runner in all nine innings in game one. Shopshire walked just one, with his 10 strikeouts one short of a single-game season high by a San Jose State pitcher. Junior left-hander David Berner produced 11 strikeouts against Utah on February 22. Shopshire’s previous season bests were 4.1 innings pitched and four strikeouts. In addition to the ninth, he also struck out a pair of opposing batters in the fifth in improving his record to a perfect 5-0 on the season.

Shopshire went the distance after pitching out of trouble in the first. UH leftfielder Sean Montplaisir led off the game with a double and moved to third on a groundout by DuPree, but Shopshire got Hee to fly out to shallow right and Brandon Haislet to fly out to center to keep the visitors off the scoreboard. Shopshire proceeded to set down eight Bows in a row in between the Montplaisir double and Montplaisir’s two-out single in his second at-bat in the third.

The result marked San Jose State’s first shutout victory of 2008 and first since a 12-0 blanking of San Francisco State at Blethen Field on May 2, 2007. Individually, it was the first shutout by a Spartan pitcher since Josh Amberson baffled rival Santa Clara, 4-0, at Muni on April 3, 2007.

Past 2007-08 Spartan Foundation Student-Athletes of the Week
August 27 - Jennifer Senftleben, Women's Volleyball
September 4 - Nick Cukar, Men's Soccer
September 10 - Keri Anglin, Women's Volleyball
September 17 - Ismael Ibarra, Men's Soccer
September 24 - Adam Tafralis, Football
October 1 - Matt Castelo, Football
October 8 - Brie Marhenke, Women's Swimming
October 15 - Kristal Tsukano, Women's Volleyball
October 29 - Kelly Crow, Women's Volleyball
November 12 - Stephan Stallworth, Men's Golf
November 19 - C.J. Webster, Men's Basketball
November 26 - Adam Tafralis, Football
December 3 - Natalie White, Women's Basketball
December 10 - Brie Marhenke, Women's Swimming
December 17 - Natalie White, Women's Basketball
January 1 - Justin Graham, Men's Basketball
January 7 - Caitlin Macky, Women's Swimming
January 14 - C.J. Webster, Men's Basketball
January 28 - Kendra Adama, Women's Water Polo
February 4 - Veronica Porte, Women's Gymnastics
February 11 - Silvana Dukic, Women's Tennis
February 18 - Raylyn Cardeno, Women's Gymnastics
February 25 - Brie Marhenke, Women's Swimming
March 3 - Veronica Porte, Women's Gymnastics
March 10 - John Shaffer, Baseball
March 17 - Sarah Taylor, Softball
March 24 - Ashley Tavita, Women's Tennis
April 1- Veronica Porte, Women's Gymnastics
April 7 - Ryan Shopshire, Baseball