Leiferman, Williams Named ASC Baseball Players of the Week
3/20/2017 1:04:14 PM
AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Games: March 13-19, 2017
HITTER OF THE WEEK – Bret Leiferman, So., 1B, Concordia Texas
Sophomore first baseman Bret Leiferman (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock HS) had seven hits during the week, including four extra base hits. He hit a triple in each of the last three games as the Tornados went 3-1 last week, taking two of three from Mary Hardin-Baylor. Leiferman had three hits in the first game of the series on Friday, including a double and a triple. In the rubber game, Leiferman had a pair of hits scoring one and driving in two as Concordia went on to win 13-1. For the week, Leiferman hit .583 with three RBI, 14 total bases and recorded a 1.077 slugging percentage.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Matthew Williams, Fr., RHP, Concordia Texas
Freshman pitcher Matthew Williams (Austin, Texas / Hyde Park HS) pitched a complete seven-inning game as the Tornados defeated Mary Hardin-Baylor 13-1 and ended the game due to run rule. Williams held batters to a .125 average and gave up one unearned run and three hits while striking out three and walking none.
OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES AT THE PLATE
Belhaven senior outfielder Terrell Hodges (Brandon, Miss. / Northwest Rankin HS) recorded a triple and stole four bases in the series victory over McMurry last weekend. Hodges drove in four RBI, including three in the Blazers’ 8-3 victory in the rubber match of the series on Saturday. Hodges is ranked third in the ASC in slugging percentage (.694), tied for seventh in RBI (22) and tied for third in stolen bases (8).
East Texas Baptist graduate first baseman Conner Combs (Southlake, Texas / Carroll HS) helped take a doubleheader from Louisiana College on Saturday going 4-of-7 with five runs scored and two RBI. Combs scored the winning run in game one of the 9-8 win. Overall in five games Combs hit .350 with one homerun and four RBI. He went 3-of-3 in final game against LC in a 13-0 win with two RBI and a homerun.
Hardin-Simmons junior third baseman Taylor Cooling (Mont Belvieu, Texas / Barbers Hill HS) went 9-for-18 at the plate (.500) last week with five runs scored, three doubles, a home run and four RBI. Cooling recorded a .833 slugging percentage and had 15 total bases.
Howard Payne sophomore second baseman Noah Payne (Humble, Texas / Atascocita HS) led the Jackets in a three game series sweep of Hardin-Simmons. Payne was 5-for-11 at the plate with three doubles and drove in three runs. Hitting .455 for the weekend, he went 3-for-5 at the plate in the series finale which included reaching on a drop-ball third strike to spark a four-run top of the ninth inning to secure the 13-11 win.
LeTourneau junior outfielder Gonzalo Sosa (Houston, Texas / Langham Creek HS) led the YellowJacket offense batting .400 (6-for-15) and snagging nine bases over four games. Sosa hit a two-run homerun in a 4-3 extra-innings loss to No. 13 UT Dallas.
Louisiana College senior second baseman Seth Stevens (Central, La. / Central Private School) was one of three players to get a hit for the Wildcats in the game against LSU Tuesday night. Stevens followed with a 5-for-6 performance against East Texas Baptist, with a double, one RBI, and two runs scored.
Mary Hardin-Baylor freshman outfielder Dakota Best (Giddings, Texas / Giddings HS) had multi-hit games in five of the seven games played last week. He batted .406, drove in five runs and scored nine more. Best scored the game-winning run in extra innings of game one of the East Texas Baptist doubleheader and then drove in the game-winning run in extra innings in the nightcap.
Univ. of Ozarks junior outfielder Justin Crider (Dallas, Texas / Liberty HS) hit for the cycle against Grinnell College (March 18). Crider started off with a single, then a double, followed by a home run. He recorded the feat in the eighth inning bagging a triple. He finished the game 4-for-5 with four runs and two RBI. Earlier in the week, Crider went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBI against McMurry. He posted a .944 slugging percentage for the week.
UT Dallas sophomore Ryan Burciaga (Katy, Texas / Morton Ranch HS) sparked the Comets to a 3-1 record last week, including a three-game home sweep of LeTourneau over the weekend. Burciaga was 6-for-16 from the plate with two doubles, giving him a league-best 14 two-baggers on the season. In the series with LeTourneau, he was 6-for-11 from the plate with five RBI and three runs scored as the Comets picked up their first ASC series sweep of the season.
UT Tyler senior shortstop Tim Hunter (Austin, Texas / McNeil HS) extended his national-leading walk total to 26 after drawing five walks last week along and led the Patriots with five hits in a four-game week. Hunter finished the week 5-for-13 for a .385 average. He led the team with three runs scored, three stolen bases and posted a .556 on-base percentage. Hunter is hitting .299 on the season with his 26 walks and 20 runs scored.
OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES ON THE MOUND
Belhaven senior pitcher Landon Boyd (Columbus, Miss. / New Hope HS) tossed seven shutout innings in relief in the Blazers’ 8-3 victory over McMurry in the final game of the series. Boyd threw 88 pitches in relief, allowing four hits and two walks while fanning five batters. Boyd retired 14 of the first 17 batters he faced in the victory.
East Texas Baptist freshman pitcher Zack Pierce (Lufkin, Texas / Hudson HS) made his first collegiate start and went seven innings in a shortened nine-inning game due to the 10-run rule. Pierce recorded only one walk in 28 batters faced. He had nine fly outs and 11 ground outs in the game with one strikeout. He retired the side once in the third inning.
Howard Payne senior pitcher Matthew Parks (Georgetown, Texas / Liberty Hill HS) improved to 3-1 on the year picking up the victory in the Jackets series opener at Hardin-Simmons. Parks allowed just one run on nine hits and walked none in seven innings of work. Parks also struck out four in the start.
LeTourneau sophomore pitcher Andrew Harlan (Lewisville, Texas / Lewisville HS) struck out two in his six-inning effort against No. 13 UT Dallas. Harlan gave up two runs on six hits in the no-decision. He left with the game tied 2-2 before LETU eventually fell 4-3 in the 11th inning.
Louisiana College senior pitcher Charlie Waddingham (Brandon, Miss. / St. Joseph HS) threw the Wildcats’ first complete game of the season in the 14-2 win over East Texas Baptist. He held the Tigers to two runs, while scattering eight hits, with nine strikeouts. He also threw 2.0 innings against LSU on Tuesday, retiring the first five batters that he faced in order.
Mary Hardin-Baylor senior pitcher Aaron Barteau (Dallas, Texas / Bishop Lynch HS) struck out seven batters over five innings of relief work. Barteau held opponents to just two hits and did not give up a run. He won one game, save another, and held a third UMHB victory with 2.2 innings of shutout relief. Barteau also became the Cru's Division III era career leader in saves with a save in the series opener against Concordia Texas. He has a win or a save in five of UMHB's seven victories on the season.
Univ. of Ozarks sophomore pitcher Dalton Spurgeon (Lee's Summit, Mo. / Lee's Summit HS) tossed 6.2 innings with five strike outs and did not allow an earned run to receive the win against McMurry (March 13). He later threw 5.0 innings as the starter against Grinnell College (March 19).
UT Dallas junior pitcher Jamie Andriot (Plano, Texas / Homeschooled) recorded a four-hit complete game shutout in an 8-0 win over LeTourneau. Andriot had 11 strike outs, allowed one walk and held batters to a .167 average. Andriot improved to 5-0 on the season and currently leads the ASC with 45 strikeouts.
UT Tyler senior pitcher Cason Adams (Rockwall, Texas / Rockwall HS) held Sul Ross State to two hits in seven scoreless innings in a 4-0 win and a series sweep. Adams improved to 4-0 after holding the Lobos to a .087 batting average as he and reliever Turner Givens combined for the shutout.