Baseball Southern Conference

Kinsella, Agnew-Wieland Take Baseball Honors

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Elon first baseman/catcher Ryan Kinsella has been named the Southern Conference Player of the Week and Appalachian State right-hander Sam Agnew-Wieland has repeated as SoCon Pitcher of the Week for all games April 1-7. The selections are made by the league office.

Kinsella hit .400 with three home runs and 12 RBIs last week, helping the Phoenix to a 3-2 week that included a series win over The Citadel. Elon’s 2-1 SoCon mark over the weekend pushed the Phoenix into a tie atop of the league standings with Georgia Southern.

In Elon’s 16-7 win over High Point on Tuesday, Kinsella was 2-for-4 with a homer, two walks, two runs scored and four RBIs. Against No. 25 NC State the following day, the junior from Warren, N.C., was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

Against The Citadel over the weekend, Kinsella had a pair of multi-hit games and drove in seven runs. In Friday’s 8-5 win, Kinsella drove in five runs, hitting a three-run home run to go with an RBI fielder’s choice and an RBI groundout. In a 14-7 Citadel win on Saturday, Kinsella was 2-for-3 with a walk, a double and a homer, driving in one run and scoring twice. He wrapped up his week with a 2-for-5 effort, adding another double and RBI and a steal.

For the week, Kinsella slugged .950 and had a .520 on-base percentage.

Elon (20-13, 12-6 SoCon) returns to action Tuesday when it hosts top-ranked North Carolina at 6 p.m.

Other top hitters included: Will Callaway (Appalachian State), Ben Boykin (College of Charleston), Joe Jackson (The Citadel), Ryan Lowe (Davidson), Taylor Johnson (Furman), Robbie Dodds (Georgia Southern), Trevor Edwards (UNCG), Jared Watson (Samford), Jacob Hoyle (Western Carolina) and Clark Wise (Wofford).

Agnew-Wieland earned his second consecutive pitcher of the week award after throwing his second straight shutout. The junior from Marietta, Ga., improved on last weekend’s five-hitter with a two-hit shutout of league-leading Georgia Southern on Saturday, allowing just a pair of singles and two walks on the day, striking out nine. He did so in front of a Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium-record crowd of 1,116.

Agnew-Wieland retired 14 batters in a row between walks in the second and sixth innings and went 19 consecutive batters without allowing a hit. Dating back to his final inning of work at College of Charleston on March 23, Agnew-Wieland has turned in 19 consecutive scoreless innings, surrendering just seven hits and striking out 21.

The Mountaineers took two of the three games against the Eagles over the weekend.

Appalachian State (17-10, 8-6 SoCon) is back in action Tuesday in Asheville, N.C., when it will face UNC Asheville at McCormick Field, home of the Asheville Tourists, at 6 p.m.

Other top pitchers included: Nathan Helvey (College of Charleston), James Reeves (The Citadel), Ryan Lowe (Davidson), Andrew MacDonald (Elon), Jason Richman (Georgia Southern), Max Povse (UNCG), Alex Milazzo (Samford), Preston Hatcher (Western Carolina) and Brandon Yarusi (Wofford).


2013 SoCon Players of the Week
Feb. 18    Tommy Corbin, Samford
Feb. 25    Josh Hyman, Wofford
March 4    Drew DeKerlegand, The Citadel
March 11    Tyler White, Western Carolina
March 18    Bo Thompson, The Citadel
March 25    C.K. Irby, Samford
April 1    Cambric Moye, UNCG
April 8    Ryan Kinsella, Elon

2013 SoCon Pitchers of the Week
Feb. 18    Jamie Nunn, Appalachian State
Feb. 25    Adam Curtis, Western Carolina
March 4    C.K. Irby, Samford
March 11    Nate Smith, Furman
March 18    Kyle Webb, Elon
March 25    C.K. Irby, Samford
April 1    Sam Agnew-Wieland, Appalachian State
April 8    Sam Agnew-Wieland, Appalachian State

-www.SoConSports.com-