RUSSELLVILLE -- Henderson State senior shortstop Brandon Pollock and Harding junior pitcher Ty Hoecker received Great American Conference weekly awards in the season's eighth set of honors this season. This was the first weekly award for both players.
Pollock was named the GAC Player of the Week after a great week that helped the Reddies take four wins, the GAC office said Monday. The Gilbert, Ariz., native was 10-for-15 at the plate with a .722 on-base percentage with six runs, five RBI, three walks and a perfect fielding percentage.
Pollock had back-to-back four-hit games against Southwestern Oklahoma State, the first two games of the weekend. He was 4-for-4 with three runs scored in the first contest before going 4-for-5 in the second game with four RBI. He also delivered a two-run triple in the seventh inning and a clutch two-out, bases-loaded, go-ahead single in the eighth inning that helped lead the Reddies back from a 5-0 deficit to an 8-6 win.
Others nominated for the player honor were Northwestern Oklahoma State infielder Carlos Andujar, Oklahoma Baptist outfielder Jake Gozzo, Southern Arkansas left fielder Justin Hamlin, Arkansas Tech third baseman Tristan Thomas and Harding infielder Luke Van Dover.
Hoecker was named the GAC Pitcher of the Week after improving to 4-0 on the season, turning in a six-hit shutout in the Bisons' 4-0 win over Southern Nazarene in the series finale. The Galveston, Texas, native struck out three and walked one in his second complete performance of his career.
Hoecker also lowered his ERA to 2.73, the second-best among starters in the conference.
Five others, all right-handers, were nominated for the pitching award: SAU's Parker Abrego, Arkansas Tech's Hayes Cox, NWOSU's Matt Goertzen, Oklahoma Baptist's A.J. Merkel and HSU's Kris Priddy.
Riley, Fields share GAC
Player of the Week award
RUSSELLVILLE -- Arkansas Tech freshman designated player Tymber Riley and Harding first baseman Amanda Fields were named Co-Players of the Week, Southern Arkansas junior right-hander Sydney Wader was named Pitcher of the Week and East Central right-handed pitcher Paige Leschber was named Freshman of the Week by the Great American Conference office Monday.
Riley went 7-for-11 in the Golden Suns' four-game sweep against Oklahoma Baptist last week. She walked five times and recorded a .765 on-base percentage, hitting her third home run of the season in the series opener.
The Bentonville native also drove in nine runs in the series. Prior to the series, Riley had just four hits in 14 at-bats through the team's first 26 games.
Fields, a Little Elm, Texas, product, helped lead the Lady Bisons to four wins over Southern Nazarene with nine hits in the series. She notched four multi-hit games and hit home runs in both of Harding's wins on Saturday.
She finished the weekend with seven RBI and four runs, hitting two doubles to improve to a league-leading 14. She is currently fourth in the GAC with 30 RBI.
Others nominated for the player award were NWOSU utility player Alexus Bailey, East Central catcher/outfielder Breecia Crawford, HSU center fielder Marcela Lopez, SAU left fielder Savanah Martinez and SEOSU center fielder/third baseman Keeshia Thompson.
Wader, of Vilonia, picked up three wins against Southeastern Oklahoma State for her 14th win on the season, which leads the league. Entering the first game of the series with the score tied in the seventh and two runners in scoring position, she ended the threat.
She threw 13 scoreless innings over two starters, and she struck out seven to record two shutouts. Her 14 wins puts her eighth among NCAA Division II pitchers.
Three other right-handed pitchers were nominated for the pitcher's award: Harding's Jenna Hipp, Arkansas Tech's Bailey Shaffer and HSU's Michelle Sorensen.
Leschber, a Dripping Springs, Texas, native, collected two wins against Arkansas-Monticello, which is currently second in the league. She also picked up her first two complete game victories of her career.
She threw a two-hit shutout in her second start of the week, her first of the season, and she allowed only one earned run over 12 innings in the circle. She also held the Ladybugs to a .158 average.
SAU shortstop Sarah Evans, HSU catcher/third baseman Abbie Moore and NWOSU first baseman Jayden Flowers were also nominated for the freshman honor.
Nesbit named SEC
Freshman of the Week
FAYETTEVILLE -- After a strong weekend at the plate that helped the Razorbacks split their midweek series at No. 9 Texas and win a pivotal weekend road series at Alabama, Arkansas redshirt-freshman infielder Jacob Nesbit was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week by the league office Monday.
The Coppell, Texas, product started all five game last week at third base and has started all 24 games this season after redshirting last year. Nesbit was 8-for-19 (.421) at the plate for the week, the second-best average on the team, and he extended his team-best hitting streak to 14 games, going back to a March 6 win over Charlotte.
Nesbit also holds the longest streak on the team for reaching base with 21 straight games. His batting average has risen from .235 to .346 over his hit streak, and he has picked up five multi-hit games over that same period.
In Wednesday's game against Texas, he picked up his first three-hit game of his career, going 3-for-4 with two RBI, and he tied his career high with three RBI on Friday against Alabama, finishing the week with seven runs driven in.
Nesbit also hit his first career home run on Friday, becoming the eighth Razorback to hit at least one home run this season, giving him 18 RBI on the year. His batting average leads the team, and he is tied for third on the team with 27 hits.
The Razorbacks finish up their six-game road trip with today's midweek game at Missouri State at Hammons Field in Springfield. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
Shepherd named Southland Hitter of the Week
FRISCO, Texas -- Central Arkansas junior Kaylyn Shepherd put up the best individual offensive weekly performance for a Bear hitter, earning her Southland Conference Hitter of the Week honors
Shepherd becomes the second UCA player to win one of the Southland Conference weekly awards after Rio Sanchez was named SLC Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 26.
The Mechanicsville, Va., native hit .600 with seven extra-base hits (six doubles and one home run) and drove in 11 runs in the five-game span. She reached 15 times and slugged an impressive 1.200.
The Preseason First Team All-Southland first baseman is the first to earn Hitter of the Week honors since Briana Whisenhunt was awarded on Feb. 21, 2017.
"Several of our players had a good week at the plate but Kaylyn had an exceptional week to remember," said head coach David Kuhn. "She is a great teammate, outstanding student and a tireless worker. She has really worked hard everyday she has been on campus, and I am so happy for her. I am so blessed to be her coach."
The Bears will be back in action today as they host Mississippi State at Farris Field at 5 p.m.
Sports on 03/26/2019