Leiferman, Spears Named ASC Baseball Players of the Week
3/14/2016 1:57:23 PM
AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Games: March 7-13, 2016
HITTER OF THE WEEK – Bret Leiferman, Fr., 1B, Concordia Texas
Freshman first baseman/outfielder Bret Leiferman (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock HS) erupted last week accounting for 14 runs in the series against No. 16 Texas-Tyler. Leiferman recorded seven RBI and scored seven runs, leading the team in both categories in the four contests. He went 8-of-17 at the plate for a .471 average with a double, a triple, 11 total bases and a .647 slugging percentage. He also extended his hitting streak to six games and upped his overall batting average to .382.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Colton Spears, Sr., RHP, Hardin-Simmons
Senior pitcher Colton Spears (Pflugerville, Texas / Pflugerville HS) tossed his second complete-game shutout of the season with a four-hitter against the University of Dallas. Spears struck out three and allowed one runner past first base after the first inning as the batter reached base on an error.
OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES AT THE PLATE
Belhaven junior outfielder Terrell Hodges (Brandon, Miss. / Holmes CC) had a triple and a home run in the doubleheader sweep of Eureka and Tougaloo on Saturday. Hodges hit his second home run of the year against Tougaloo while hitting his fourth triple of the year, which is tied for the best in the ASC. Hodges, now with a seven-game hitting streak, leads the Blazers in batting average (.426), ranking ninth in the conference. After a 1.250 slugging percentage last week, he has a .766 slugging percentage, for fifth in the ASC.
East Texas Baptist junior designated hitter Josh Warbington (Hallsville, Texas / Hallsville HS) continued his hot streak at the plate going 3-of-4 with two home runs in a 14-2 win over Texas Dallas. His first home run came in the second inning as he put ETBU on the board for a 2-1 lead taking a 2-2 count over the left field wall. He then hit his second home run of the night in the fourth inning to make it 6-2 adding insurance runs. Warbington has hit a home run in four straight games and has a six-game hitting streak.
Hardin-Simmons sophomore short stop Taylor Cooling (Mont Belvieu, Texas / Barbers Hill HS) was the spark plug in a 4-0 week at the top of the order. He went 11-for-15 with six runs scored, drove in four runs, had two doubles, was hit by two pitches, had a sacrifice fly and had just one error in the field. Cooling also closed out the 9-7 win over the University of Dallas for his fifth save of the year. He had an on-base percentage of .722 on the week.
LeTourneau senior outfielder Sean Sellers (Arlington, Texas / Woodinville, Wash. HS) had a pair of multi-hit games in the three-game series against McMurry. Sellers had a hit in each of the three games to lead the YellowJackets with six hits and a .500 batting average. He also had a pair of stolen bases in the three-game series.
Mary Hardin-Baylor freshman first baseman Cody Stone (Huffman, Texas / Hargrave HS) hit .533 over four games last week. He drove in seven runs and scored two more. Stone hit a game-winning two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lead the Cru to a 5-4 win over Baldwin Wallace.
Texas-Tyler junior first baseman Alex Bishop (Calgary, Alberta, Canada / Vauxhall Academy) went 4-for-8 with a double and two RBI for the Patriots in their three-game series at Concordia Texas. Bishop leads the team with a .355 batting average this season and 17 RBI.
OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES ON THE MOUND
Concordia Texas junior pitcher Lane Hobbs (Thrall, Texas / Temple JC) continues to establish himself as the go-to pitcher for seven inning contests as he won his third game and improved to 4-0 overall. Hobbs fanned nine while surrendering just one run on three hits. Unfortunately, Hobbs saw his innings pitched without an earned run streak snapped at 30.1. The run by UT Tyler in the top of the sixth inning Saturday was the first run of any kind given up by the right hander since the fourth inning on February 27 against Southwestern (16.2 IP).
East Texas Baptist senior pitcher Jimmy Russo (Kingwood, Texas / Kingwood Park HS) came in on relief to begin the sixth inning and went the distance for his third save of the year. Russo gave up four hits, allowed no runs, had two strike outs and retired the side once to preserve the win.
LeTourneau freshman pitcher Andrew Harlan (Lewisville, Texas / Lewisville HS) was the tough-luck loser in the 1-0 loss to McMurry. He allowed seven hits and struck out six in the loss. Harlan surrendered an RBI double in the fifth inning in the loss.