Baseball Southern Conference

Martin, Bakker Earn Weekly Baseball Honors

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Western Carolina catcher Adam Martin and Elon right-hander Lucas Bakker have been named the Southern Conference player and pitcher of the week, respectively, for all games March 10-16. The selections are made by the league office.

Martin hit .421 and slugged 1.053 in five games last week, scoring nine runs and driving in 14. He hit three home runs, a double and a triple in addition to drawing four walks (two intentional) and hitting a pair of sacrifice flies. He had an on-base percentage of .500 for the week.

The senior from Marietta, Ga., opened his week by reaching base twice at Georgia Tech on Tuesday, driving in a run with a sac fly in WCU’s four-run first inning. Martin was 1-for-5 with a double, a run and an RBI fielder’s choice the next day at Kennesaw State before breaking out against Rider over the weekend.

In the Catamounts’ three-game sweep of the Broncs, Martin was 7-for-12 with 12 of his RBIs on the week. He opened the series with a 2-for-4 showing on Friday, hitting a two-run triple in the first inning and adding a single in the ninth. He scored both times.

In Saturday’s doubleheader, Martin fell one RBI short of the school record with eight in WCU’s game-one win, hitting a two-run homer and a grand slam to go with a sac fly and a bases-loaded walk. He scored four times in the contest. In game two, Martin was 3-for-4 with another home run, driving in two runs and scoring one in the contest. He was walked three times in the doubleheader, twice intentionally.

Western Carolina (11-7) concludes a four-game homestand when it hosts past and future SoCon foe East Tennessee State on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Other top hitters included: Ozzy Gonzalez (Appalachian State), Johnathan Stokes (The Citadel), Forrest Brandt (Davidson), Casey Jones (Elon), Garrett Chapman (Georgia Southern), Sean Guite (UNCG), Tripp Martin (Samford) and Josh Hyman (Wofford).

Elon’s Bakker picked up his second straight weekly honor after throwing a two-hit shutout in the Phoenix’s 1-0 win over Georgia Southern in its SoCon opener on Friday. The Deception Bay, Queensland, Australia, junior struck out seven and walked three in shutting down the Eagles, who entered the week receiving votes in the NCBWA and USA Today national polls and leading the nation with a .345 team batting average. GSU also entered the week scoring 9.6 runs per game, the second-best mark in NCAA Division I.

The complete game was Bakker’s second straight, as he became the first Elon player to go the distance in consecutive games in the Phoenix’s 11-year SoCon tenure.

Elon has now won four straight SoCon pitcher of the week awards, becoming the first team to do so Appalachian State in 2011, though one of those was shared. The only other team to win four straight outright pitching honors was The Citadel in 1992.

The Phoenix (13-7, 2-1 SoCon) is back in action at No. 10 NC State on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

Other top pitchers included: Tyler Moore (Appalachian State), James Reeves (The Citadel), Danny Mooney (Davidson), Josh Wirsu (Georgia Southern), Cole Limbaugh (Samford), Jonathan Waszak (Western Carolina) and Jesse Morris (Wofford).

2014 SoCon Players of the Week
Feb. 17    Heath Quinn, Samford
Feb. 24    Stryker Brown, Georgia Southern
March 3    Aaron Mizell, Georgia Southern
March 10    Forrest Brandt, Davidson
March 17    Adam Martin, Western Carolina

2014 SoCon Pitchers of the Week
Feb. 17    Jeremy Null, Western Carolina
Feb. 24    Jake Stalzer, Elon
March 3    Jake Stalzer, Elon
March 10    Lucas Bakker, Elon
March 17    Lucas Bakker, Elon

-www.SoConSports.com-