Sun Athletes of the Week: Eric Newman and Renee DiPuccio

Thursday, May 10, 2001 | 11:02 a.m.

Male Athlete of the Week: ERIC NEWMAN

School: Palo Verde

Class: Senior

Sport: Baseball

Last week: Newman helped the Panthers to victories over Cimarron-Memorial and Centennial, lifting the team to its first Northwest Division title. On Tuesday, the senior took the mound for the first time since straining his elbow last fall, and pitched the final inning to save Palo Verde's 6-5 win over the Spartans. On Thursday, the shortstop went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, three runs scored and four RBIs in the Panthers' 12-2 rout of the Bulldogs. "He's a competitor, and he handles those situations well," Palo Verde coach Mike Besser said. "We had an opportunity to get him in on the bump in a tough situation, and he responded well."

Male Athlete of the Week: RENEE DIPUCCIO

School: Palo Verde

Class: Sophomore

Sport: Softball

Last week: DiPuccio pitched 18 strong innings in two games, helping the Panthers knock off Cimarron-Memorial and keeping her team in an 11-inning marathon against area power Centennial. On Tuesday, she scattered four hits in a complete-game victory, striking out eight and walking just one to spearhead a 4-1 win. On Thursday, DiPuccio worked a full 11 innings, yielding seven hits and three walks and striking out 11 Bulldogs in a 1-0 loss to the state's No. 4 squad. "She went 11 innings, and she seemed to get better as the game went on," Palo Verde coach Lisa Campbell said. "Centennial is a fantastic team, but she just focused on doing her job one batter at a time."