SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Mercer outfielder Kyle Lewis and VMI right-hander Josh Winder have been named the Southern Conference player and pitcher of the week, respectively, for all games Feb. 29 to March 6. The selections are made by the league office.
Mercer’s Lewis hit .429 with two home runs and eight RBIs as the Bears went 3-2 on the week, splitting a midweek series with Florida A&M and taking two of three from Austin Peay. Five of his nine hits on the week went for extra bases as the preseason SoCon Player of the Year slugged .857 and had an on-base percentage of .538.
The junior center fielder from Snellville, Ga., had three hits, two walks and an RBI in the split with the Rattlers, going 2-for-5 in Tuesday’s opener.
Against Austin Peay over the weekend, Lewis reached on a walk and scored a run in Friday’s opener before going off for six hits in the final two games of the series. He was 3-for-4 with a home run, double, walk, four RBIs and two runs scored in Saturday’s 13-12 win. The next day, he was 3-for-5 with a homer, two doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored as Mercer claimed the series with a 14-4 win.
Mercer (9-3) will face Georgia State in Decatur, Ga., on Tuesday before heading to Mt. Pleasant, S.C., for a three-game weekend set at College of Charleston.
Also nominated: Stephen Windham (The Citadel), Aaron Maher (ETSU), Dillon Stewart (UNCG), Austin Edens (Samford), Matt Pita (VMI), Matt Smith (Western Carolina) and Alec Paradowski (Wofford).
VMI’s Winder, making just the third start of his freshman campaign, pitched a 10-inning gem against Binghamton on Sunday to earn his second win of the season, allowing one run on seven hits in becoming the first pitcher in school history to go 10 innings in the aluminum-bat era. Winder struck out 10 and did not walk a batter.
The 6-5 rookie from Richmond, Va., carried a shutout into extra innings before allowing a solo home run with two outs in the top of the 10th. The Keydets rallied for two runs in the bottom half of the frame to reward Winder with the victory.
Winder’s stellar outing was in stark contrast to Saturday’s doubleheader between the squads, which saw the teams combine to score 49 runs in the two games.
Winder becomes VMI’s first baseball player of pitcher of the week since the Keydets rejoined the league last season and first since Chris Catanzaro took player of the week honors on April 23, 2001.
VMI (7-6) continues its 13-game homestand Tuesday when it hosts James Madison before welcoming UMES for a three-game weekend series.
Also nominated: Thomas Byelick (The Citadel), Ryan Simpler (ETSU), Conrad Cornell (Mercer), Hunter Smith (UNCG), Tristan Widra (Samford), Brendan Nail (Western Carolina) and Matthew Milburn (Wofford).
2016 SoCon Players of the Week
Feb. 22 Heath Quinn, Samford
Feb. 29 Heath Quinn, Samford
March 7 Kyle Lewis, Mercer
2016 SoCon Pitchers of the Week
Feb. 22 JP Sears, The Citadel
Feb. 29 Ryan Askew, Mercer
March 7 Josh Winder, VMI
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