Riverside—The UC Riverside Athletics Department held its annual end-of-year Scotty Awards on Thursday evening, and Baseball player Mark Contreras was named Male Student-Athlete of the Year.

Despite missing most of the month of March with an injury, Contreras finished second in the Big West with a .366 batting average, third with a .427 on base percentage, fifth with a .558 slugging percentage, and first in triples.

His batting average is the highest for a member of the Highlanders since the NCAA changed the composition of the bats to decrease scoring. Contreras also tied the NCAA record for most triples in a single game, legging out three in UC Riverside's road win at San Diego State on April 25.

The Baseball Team also took home SAAC Sports Moment of the Year honors for its 3-2, come-from-behind victory over UCLA. Trailing 2-0 in the top of the eighth, Cody Sporrer and Michael Farris each drew one-out walks, and advanced 90 feet apiece thanks to a wild pitch.

After Colby Schultz delivered an RBI ground out to make it a 2-1 ballgame, Mark Contreras turned on a 3-2 offering and deposited it over the right field fence to give the Highlanders the lead which they would never relinquish.