SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Samford first baseman Alex Lee and Western Carolina left-hander Bryan Sammons have been named the Southern Conference player and pitcher of the week, respectively, for all games April 18-24. The selections are made by the league office.
Lee hit .500, slugged 1.000 and had an on-base percentage of .565 as the Bulldogs split a midweek doubleheader with Alabama A&M before taking two of three from Kansas over the weekend. Lee hit three home runs, scored seven runs and drove in 10 on the week. He had multiple hits in four of his five contests.
The senior from Heflin, Ala., was 2-for-3 with two walks, an RBI and three runs scored in Samford’s 18-3, seven-inning win over Alabama A&M on Tuesday before notching another hit, a sacrifice fly and two RBIs in the nightcap.
Against the Jayhawks over the weekend, Lee had two hits in each contest. He had a solo homer and an RBI single in game one, followed by a two-homer, five-RBI effort in game two, both Samford wins. Lee closed his week with two more singles as Kansas salvaged the final game Sunday.
Samford (23-18, 6-6 SoCon) hosts Alabama on Tuesday at 6 p.m. local time before heading to Greensboro, N.C., for a weekend series at league-leading UNCG (31-11, 10-2).
Also nominated: Bret Hines (The Citadel), Trey York (ETSU), Collin Woody (UNCG), Matt Dunlevy (VMI), Caleb Robinson (Western Carolina) and Brett Hash (Wofford).
Sammons threw a three-hit shutout against The Citadel on Saturday to lead the Catamounts to an 11-0 win. The junior from Wilmington, N.C., walked four and struck out eight as he recorded his first career complete game.
Sammons scattered two singles and a double and really only faced trouble in the third inning, when a two-out single put runners on the corners after a one-out walk. He induced a fly out to center to end the threat.
The complete game was the first for the Catamounts since the 2014 season. Sammons improved to 6-2 on the season and shares the league lead in wins.
Western Carolina (21-18, 11-4 SoCon) returns to action Wednesday at Gardner-Webb at 6 p.m. before hosting Mercer (25-16, 10-5) for a three-game weekend SoCon set.
Also nominated: Zach Lavery (The Citadel), Matthew Quarles (Furman), Conard Broom (Mercer), Chad Sykes (UNCG), Stephen Jones (Samford) 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
March 14 Peyton Maddox, VMI
March 21 Bryson Bowman, Western Carolina
March 28 Kramer Ferrell, Western Carolina
April 4 Carter Grote, Furman
April 11 Kramer Ferrell, Western Carolina
April 18 L.J. Kalawaia, UNCG
April 25 Alex Lee, Samford
2016 SoCon Pitchers of the Week
Feb. 22 JP Sears, The Citadel
Feb. 29 Ryan Askew, Mercer
March 7 Josh Winder, VMI
March 14 Matthew Milburn, Wofford
March 21 Tristan Baker, Western Carolina
March 28 JP Sears, The Citadel
April 4 Andrew Wantz, UNCG
April 11 Parker Curry, Samford
April 18 Matt Frisbee, UNCG
April 25 Bryan Sammons, Western Carolina
-www.SoConSports.com-