Clounch, Cox Named ASC Baseball Players of the Week
4/6/2015 12:24:17 PM
AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Games: March 30 – April 5, 2015
HITTER OF THE WEEK – Brandon Clounch, 1B, Sr., Texas Dallas
Senior first baseman Brandon Clounch (Carrolton, Texas/Hebron HS) boasted a 1.364 slugging percentage as he sparked the Comets to three-game series sweep over Mary Hardin-Baylor. Clounch was 7-for-11 for a .636 average with two doubles and his first two home runs of the season as he collected eight RBI in the series. After a 2-for-4 performance with a double in UTD's 1-0 win in the series opener with the Cru on Thursday, Clounch went 5-for-8 from the plate in Friday's twin bill to guide the Comets to the sweep. He was 3-for-3 with two walks and two RBI in the doubleheader opener and then was 2-for-4 with two home runs, five RBI and three runs scored in the series finale.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Cameron Cox, RHP, Sr., Concordia Texas
Senior pitcher Cameron Cox (Round Rock, Texas/Stony Point HS) recorded 11 strike outs in 8.2 innings on the mound in an 8-3 win over No. 13 Trinity last Friday. Cox hurled 93 strikes in 132 pitches and improved to 8-0 on the year.
OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES AT THE PLATE
Concordia Texas sophomore second baseman Luke Kress (Cedar Park, Texas/Cedar Park HS) hit .500 (3-for-6) with a triple and drove in two runs in two games for the Tornados last week. Kress slugged .833 in a pair of games against No. 13 Trinity.
Hardin-Simmons freshman short stop Taylor Cooling (Mont Belvieu, Texas/Barbers Hill HS), making his first starts in conference play, had a good weekend at the plate. He tied the first game of the series with a solo home run in the eighth and had the Cowboys' only RBI in the 2-0 win in game one of the doubleheader.
Howard Payne junior first baseman Cody Brown (Waxahachie, Texas/Waxahachie HS) was 3-for-10 from the plate in the series with ASC rival LeTourneau. Brown had four total bases and a sacrifice fly for the weekend. He helped the Jackets to a 2-1 series victory over LETU.
LeTourneau senior outfielder Sean Sellers (Arlington, Texas/Woodinvile, Wash. HS) had a solo home run on the first pitch in the bottom of the first to begin the series against Howard Payne. He added a single later in the contest for a multi-hit game and his sixth of the season. Sellers has had a hit in four of the last five games for LeTourneau.
Louisiana College freshman outfielder Dylan Keller (Luling, La./Hahnville HS) sparked the Wildcat offense from the bottom of the lineup, as LC was missing their star senior outfielder Jermaine Liggins due to injury. Keller collected four hits in his eight at-bats against the Ozarks, which included two doubles, both of which either tied the game or drove in the go-ahead runs, and had four RBI, four runs scored, and two walks. His game-tying two RBI double on Friday in game three capped an eighth-inning comeback that helped LC secure the series sweep and snap their nine-game losing skid.
Mary Hardin-Baylor sophomore short stop Dakota Parsons (Conroe, Texas/College Park HS) had three multiple-hit games over four contests last week. He batted .438, slugged .625 while driving in three runs and scoring four more. Parsons hit his third home run of the season and also stole a base.
Ozarks freshman outfielder Zach Walker (Fort Worth, Texas/Brewer HS) hit .545 over four games last week. Walker went 3-for-4 with a double in a midweek game against Hendrix College.
Sul Ross State junior first baseman Eli Gallego (Alpine, Texas/Alpine HS) led the Lobos in hitting last weekend, and had several key hits in the series. His solo home run in the top of the fourth inning tied the opener at 1-1 and an RBI double in the top of the fifth inning gave Sul Ross State a 3-1 lead. Gallego’s single in the top of the first in Saturday's nightcap kept the inning alive as the Lobos scored three runs in that frame. He also pitched well in Saturday's opener, in which SRSU fell, 2-0.
Texas-Tyler senior catcher Buddy McCoy (Haughton, La./Haughton HS) helped lead the Patriots to a perfect week, defeating Jarvis Christian (6-5) in non-conference action and sweeping ASC rival East Texas Baptist. McCoy was 6-for-15 at the plate for a .400 batting average, leading the team with two home runs, two doubles, 10 RBI and three walks. McCoy currently ranks first in the conference in home runs (8) and RBI (39).
OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES ON THE MOUND
Hardin-Simmons sophomore pitcher Jeremy Hallmark (Midland, Texas/Midland HS) combined with Colton Spears on a three-hit shutout of Sul Ross State, one of the top offensive teams in the conference.
Howard Payne senior pitcher Jacob Spivey’s (Belton, Texas/Harker Heights HS) 1-0 victory gave the Jackets the series win after taking game one of the series. Spivey gave up just one hit in 6.1 innings of work striking out two and walking three. It was Spivey's second win of the season.
LeTourneau junior pitcher Jordan Carns (Sierra Vista, Ariz./Buena HS) gave up just eight hits and an earned run in the win in the series finale over Howard Payne. He struck out five and gave up just one extra base hit to HPU.
Louisiana College freshman pitcher Tyler Lamers (Luling, La./Hahnville HS) had perhaps his best game all season long on Thursday against Ozarks. Lamers recorded seven innings on the mound, struck out a career-high eight batters while giving up just one walk, and did not give up an earned run. Lamer’s performance helped lead LC to a 16-2 win and snap its nine-game losing streak on the way to a three-game sweep of Ozarks. Lamers is now 3-1 with a 1.17 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 23 innings at home on the season.
Mary Hardin-Baylor junior pitcher Aaron Barteau (Dallas, Texas/Bishop Lynch HS) took a hard-luck loss in the Cru's 1-0 defeat at Texas Dallas. Barteau scattered six hits, struck out seven and allowed only a first-inning run. The loss was Barteau’s first of the season and he continues to rank among the national leaders in strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings.
Sul Ross State junior pitcher Justin Vajgert (Kyle, Texas/Lehman HS) pitched his best game of the season as the Lobos won at Hardin-Simmons (5-3) in the Friday night series opener. He limited the Cowboys to four hits and two earned runs in eight innings and won for the second consecutive week, evening his record at 4-4. SRSU has won the last four games and five of the last six games Vajgert has taken the mound.
Texas Dallas senior Tyler Dauer (San Antonio, Texas/Reagan HS) collected his school-record third shutout of the season as he needed just 92 pitches to lead UTD to a 1-0 win over Mary Hardin-Baylor in Thursday's series opener. Dauer scattered six singles, not allowing more than one base runner in any inning, as he struck out six to improve to 4-3 on the season. Dauer became just the third Comet pitcher to record three shutouts in a single season and the first since 2004.
Texas-Tyler junior pitcher Chris Stodolka (Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada/ Lethbridge Collegiate Institution) was perfect for the week, pitching four innings in relief, giving up no runs, no hits and allowing no walks. He also picked up his first win of the season in a 6-5 win over Jarvis Christian on Tuesday.