Honolulu, Hawaii - The 2009 Western Athletic Conference regular-season champion San Jose State University baseball team picked up several post-season league honors at a banquet on the eve of the start of the NAPA Auto Parts WAC Tournament, on Wednesday, May 20.

Spartans picked up two of the four pieces of individual hardware, with Sam Piraro being named the WAC Coach of the Year for the second straight season, and senior right-handed pitcher Ryan Shopshire the WAC Pitcher of the Year. Shopshire, senior left-handed pitcher David Berner and junior shortstop Kyle Bellows were all chosen by league head coaches to the 16-player All-WAC first team, while sophomore outfielder Jason Martin and junior third baseman Corey Valine earned selection to the 15-player second team.

Shopshire, Berner, Martin (The Harker School) and Valine are all first-time honorees, while Bellows (Santa Teresa High School), like Martin a San Jose native, made the All-WAC second team following a Freshman All-America campaign in 2007.

“Any time your players get recognized for a job well done, you feel good about that,” said Piraro. “I still would have liked to have seen a couple more guys get recognized, but there are a lot of really good players in the league, and we were well-represented. We’re proud of that, and we got the hardware for the league championship, which we’re extremely proud of. It was a good night for San Jose State.”

The event was held at the Stan Sheriff Center, as the University of Hawai’i is serving as the host of the six-team, four-day event which is scheduled to get under way at 11:00 a.m. HST/2:00 p.m. PT on Thursday, May 21, with the top-seeded Spartans taking on sixth seed Nevada.

Piraro, in his 22nd campaign in charge of the Spartans, was honored as the WAC Coach of the Year for the fourth time. Piraro has led his alma mater to a 39-18 overall win-loss record thus far in 2009. San Jose State reached its third WAC crown, all under Piraro, and first since 2000. The Spartans have eclipsed the 30-win plateau for a fourth straight year, have guaranteed themselves a winning overall record for the fourth season in a row, and finished with a winning WAC mark for the second consecutive year as well, at 15-7, their best since 2002.

“When you get Coach of the Year, you know that award is a result of the players, coaches, staff, people that make it happen on the field in many different ways,” added Piraro. “The coach is the recipient of those things. It all kind of falls in-line, so obviously, I get the award as the head coach, but I’m also wise enough to understand that I don’t do that myself. I didn’t get any hits. I didn’t make any plays. Nonetheless, I’m extremely proud to receive the award on behalf of my team and San Jose State.”

Shopshire, a second-year transfer from Orange Coast College and a native of Anaheim Hills, Calif., becomes the first Spartan to garner WAC Pitcher of the Year honors. He is the first San Jose State individual to pick up a top conference award since Junior Ruiz was the 2000 WAC Player of the Year.

Shopshire went a perfect 4-0 over five league starts, including a seven-inning shutout with a career-high 15 strikeouts in a 2-0 home victory over rival Fresno State on Saturday, April 25. That was the highest single-game strikeout total by a WAC hurler all season long. The graduate of Orange Lutheran High School, whose collegiate career began at Long Beach State, posted a 4.33 ERA in WAC contests, with 37 strikeouts, tied for the most, and 13 walks over 27.0 innings pitched. He was tied with two others for the most wins, and was third in both ERA and opposing batting average (.250).

Berner, a Santa Clara product who previously attended West Valley College and Santa Clara High School, had the second-best ERA in league games, at 4.24. The second-year Spartan currently leads the WAC in that category for all games, at 3.00. He is 2-1 over five starts against league opposition, with a tough complete-game loss at Hawai’i, 3-0, in his only previous appearance at Les Murakami Stadium back on April 3. In those five starts, he has struck out 27, seventh-most, and walked just five, over 34.0 innings pitched.

Shopshire and Berner are both well-rested for the Spartans, with neither one of them having thrown against Nevada during a four-game home sweep to conclude the regular season last weekend. Late Wednesday, San Jose State and Nevada announced Shopshire (5-1, 4.12 ERA) and senior right-hander Derek Achelpohl (4-5, 4.52 ERA), himself a second-team All-WAC pick, as their respective probable starters for Thursday’s tournament opener.

Bellows was rewarded for a fantastic season by grabbing a co-shortstop spot on the first team with New Mexico State senior Bryan Marquez, along with whom he is one of 15 semifinalists for the Brooks Wallace Award, given to the nation’s finest shortstop. Bellows started all 22 WAC games, batting .407 (35-for-86), eighth-best in the league, with five doubles, seven walks, and team bests of 28 runs, two triples, five home runs, 28 RBI, 59 total bases, a .686 slugging percentage and three stolen bases on three attempts. He committed just two errors over 89 defensive chances (.978).

Martin made the four-player second-team outfield as the primary centerfielder for the Spartans. He hit .373 (31-for-83) over 22 WAC games, all starts. He is the only San Jose State player to appear in all 57 games in 2009, earning a starting assignment in each. Martin had 27 runs, three doubles, a triple, two home runs, 17 RBI, and team bests of eight walks and six hit-by-pitches in league play. He leads the WAC for a second straight year with 25 hit-by-pitches overall, which ranks second in the country at the NCAA Division I level.

Valine is the All-WAC second-team third baseman after hitting a team-best .449 (35-for-78) over 20 league contests, all starts. That average was second in the conference behind Marquez at .457 (42-for-92). Valine had 12 runs, five doubles, four home runs and 25 RBI, and did not commit a single error in 41 chances from the hot corner.

A year ago, the Spartans were only represented by current junior left-hander Max Peterson on the second team. Peterson was also the lone San Jose State preseason All-WAC honoree.

Just prior to a highlight video to conclude the proceedings, Bellows, Berner and senior catcher Anthony Aguilera accepted the 2009 WAC regular-season championship trophy from commissioner Karl Benson.

Pitcher of the Year: Ryan Shopshire, Sr., San Jose State
Player of the Year: Tom Mendonca, Jr., Fresno State
Freshman of the Year: Kolten Wong, Hawai’i
Coach of the Year: Sam Piraro, San Jose State

All-WAC First Team:
Outfield - Tim Wheeler, Jr., Sacramento State
Outfield - Kolten Wong, Fr., Hawai’i
Outfield - Devon Dageford, Jr., Louisiana Tech
Outfield - Dusty Robinson, Fr., Fresno State
First Base - Kevin Macdonald, Jr., Hawai’i
Second Base - Danny Muno, So., Fresno State
Third Base - Tom Mendonca, Jr., Fresno State
Co-Shortstop - Kyle Bellows, Jr., San Jose State
Co-Shortstop - Bryan Marquez, Sr., New Mexico State
Catcher - Travis Simas, Sr., Nevada
Designated Hitter - Nick Melino, Fr., Nevada
Utility - Matt Bowman, Sr., Nevada
Starting Pitcher - Ryan Shopshire, Sr., San Jose State
Starting Pitcher - Jayson Kramer, Sr., Hawai’i
Starting Pitcher - David Berner, Sr., San Jose State
Relief Pitcher - Holden Sprague, Sr., Fresno State

All-WAC Second Team:
Outfield - Jason Martin, So., San Jose State
Outfield - Nate Shaver, Jr., New Mexico State
Outfield - Westley Moss, Jr., Nevada
Outfield - Patrick Thomas, Sr., Louisiana Tech
First Base - Shaun Kort, Jr., Nevada
Second Base - Hunter Martinez, Sr., Sacramento State
Third Base - Corey Valine, Jr., San Jose State
Shortstop - Greg Garcia, So., Hawai’i
Catcher - Jeff Farnham, Sr., New Mexico State
Designated Hitter - Mike Sodders, Jr., New Mexico State
Utility - Chris Kersten, Sr., Louisiana Tech
Starting Pitcher - Daniel Simon, Jr., New Mexico State
Starting Pitcher - Jesse Darrah, Fr., Sacramento State
Starting Pitcher - Derek Achelpohl, Sr., Nevada
Relief Pitcher - Daniel Tinlin, Jr., Nevada