Baseball Southern Conference

Dobson, Wirsu Earn Weekly Baseball Honors

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Appalachian State shortstop Dillon Dobson and Georgia Southern right-hander Josh Wirsu have been named the Southern Conference player and pitcher of the week, respectively, for all games March 31 to April 6. The selections are made by the league office.

Dobson hit .368 with three home runs, a double and 12 RBIs in four contests over the week, twice setting career highs in RBIs. After going hitless against No. 1 South Carolina on Tuesday, Dobson rebounded with a 3-for-5 performance against Wofford on Friday in which he hit two homers and drove in a career-high five runs. The next day, the sophomore from Hamptonville, N.C., was at it again, this time going 3-for-6 with a career-high seven RBIs. He had an RBI double and a grand slam among his three hits on the afternoon. On Sunday, Dobson went 1-for-4 with a walk to give him hits in all three games of the SoCon series, which the Mountaineers claimed, two games to one.

For the week, Dobson had an on-base percentage of .400 and slugged .895.

Appalachian State (11-18, 5-3 SoCon) hosts High Point on Tuesday to open a four-game homestand. The Mountaineers will welcome in The Citadel for a three-game set over the weekend.

Other top hitters included: Mason Davis (The Citadel), David Daniels (Davidson), Chris King (Elon), Kody Adams (Georgia Southern), Heath Quinn (Samford), Cody Jones (Western Carolina) and Seth Neely (Wofford).

Wirsu became the second Georgia Southern Eagle in the last three weeks to claim the weekly pitching honor after throwing a complete game against The Citadel on Saturday.

The junior from Harlem, Ga., allowed just one run on six hits and a walk in the Eagles’ 10-1 win, striking out 13 batters to match the season high he set just a week prior. Wirsu did not allow an extra-base hit in the first game of the day’s doubleheader, going the distance to save the bullpen for the second half of the twinbill, which GSU also won.

Wirsu, 6-2 on the year, shares the league lead in wins. Teammate Ryan Frederick was named the SoCon pitcher of the week on March 24.

Georgia Southern (24-10, 7-5 SoCon) will take on Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga., on Tuesday before returning home to open a four-game homestand with a weekend set against UNCG.

Other top pitchers included: Rob Bain (Davidson), Dimitri Lettas (Elon), Cole Limbaugh (Samford), Jordan Smith (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
March 24    Jordan McDonald, UNCG
March 31    Tyler Filliben, Samford
April 7    Dillon Dobson, Appalachian State

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
March 24    Ryan Frederick, Georgia Southern
March 31    Jeremy Null, Western Carolina
April 7    Josh Wirsu, Georgia Southern

-www.SoConSports.com-