Baseball Southern Conference

UNCG?s MacAneney, Mercer?s Nyquist Earn Weekly Honors

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UNCG outfielder Zac MacAneney and Mercer right-hander Eric Nyquist have been named the Southern Conference player and pitcher of the week, respectively, for all games March 2-8. The selections are made by the league office.

UNCG’s MacAneney hit .409 and slugged 1.000 in five games on the week, hitting three home runs, two doubles and a triple. The Gibsonville, N.C., senior drove in eight runs and scored seven as the Spartans went 3-2 on the week with a series win over Princeton. MacAneney had at least one hit and one run scored in all five games, posting three multi-hit games.

After opening his week with a single, a walk and a run at Wake Forest, MacAneney heated up in a pair of doubleheaders against the Tigers over the weekend. On Saturday, MacAneney went 2-for-5 with three RBIs in each game of the twinbill, hitting a homer and a double in game one and hitting a triple in game two. The following day, he hit a solo home run in game one before falling a triple short of the cycle in game two, scoring three times and drawing a walk as part of a 3-for-4 showing as the Spartans swept the Sunday double dip.

UNCG (5-8) returns to action Wednesday at East Carolina at 6:30 p.m.

Also nominated: Stephen Windham (The Citadel), Blake Chisolm (Furman), Kyle Lewis (Mercer), David Geary (VMI), Bradley Strong (Western Carolina) and James Plaisted (Wofford).

Mercer’s Nyquist went 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA last week, picking up wins over former Southern Conference member Georgia Southern on Tuesday and Harvard on Sunday. Nyquist allowed just six hits and struck out seven in 14 innings, working a complete game against the Crimson.

In Tuesday’s win over the Eagles, Nyquist allowed just two hits and two walks in five innings, striking out five. He did not allow a run in his first start of the season as Mercer went on to the 4-1 win. He worked three 1-2-3 innings and did not allow a runner past second base.

Nyquist was even better on Sunday, facing just five over the minimum in a 7-1, complete-game win over Harvard. The senior from Alpharetta, Ga., allowed just four hits and two walks, striking out two. Staked to a comfortable 5-0 lead after four innings, Nyquist allowed his lone run of the week in the fifth inning but settled down to face just one over the minimum in the final four innings. Nyquist induced three double plays on the day.

Mercer (9-8) heads to Tallahassee, Fla., for a pair of midweek games at Florida A&M on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Bears are 4-0 on the road so far this season.

Also nominated: James Reeves (The Citadel), Ryan Clark (UNCG), Tyler Powell (Western Carolina) and Luke Leftwich (Wofford).

2015 SoCon Players of the Week
Feb. 16    Trey York, ETSU
Feb. 23    Damon Waller, Samford
March 2    Trey York, ETSU
March 9    Zac MacAneney, UNCG

2015 SoCon Pitchers of the Week
Feb. 16    B.J. Nobles, Western Carolina
Feb. 23    Ryan Askew, Mercer
March 2    Adam Scott, Wofford
March 9    Eric Nyquist, Mercer

-www.SoConSports.com-