SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Samford third baseman Hunter Swilling and Furman right-hander Will Gaddis have been named the Southern Conference player and pitcher of the week, respectively, for all games May 16-21. The selections are made by the league office and are the final ones of the 2016 season.
No. 4 seed Furman (27-28, 14-10 SoCon) will face No. 5 seed ETSU (26-28) at 9 a.m. Wednesday and sixth-seeded Samford (32-24, 13-11) will take No. 3 seed UNCG (37-19, 15-9) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the SoCon Baseball Championship at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C.
The Bulldogs’ Swilling hit .429 over four games last week, with five of his six hits going for extra bases as he put together a slugging percentage of 1.071. Swilling scored six runs and drove in four, drawing three walks and getting hit by pitches twice in accumulating a .579 on-base percentage.
The junior from Columbus, Ga., had a double, a walk and a run against Alabama on Tuesday. In Thursday’s doubleheader sweep of VMI, Swilling reached base six times, hitting a home run, drawing two walks and being hit by a pitch in the opener before hitting a single and being hit by another pitch in the nightcap. He had two RBIs in the first game.
Swilling added three more extra-base hits in Saturday’s extra-inning loss to the Keydets, hitting two doubles and a homer, scoring twice and knocking in two runs.
Also nominated: Bret Hines (The Citadel), Jeremy Taylor (ETSU), Charlie Madden (Mercer), Ryne Sigmon (UNCG), Matt Pita (VMI), J.D. Long (Western Carolina) and Derek Hirsch (Wofford).
Gaddis threw seven innings of shutout ball Thursday as the Paladins picked up a 2-0 win over Wofford. The sophomore allowed three hits and three walks in improving to 9-3 overall, 7-1 in the SoCon and 6-0 at home. He struck out four.
Gaddis was perfect through 3 1/3 innings before allowing consecutive one-out singles in the fourth. He recovered with a fly out and a groundout to escape the jam.
He worked around a leadoff walk in the fifth and got an inning-ending double play to escape a bases-loaded rally in the sixth before retiring the side in order in the seventh.
The weekly award was the second in three weeks for Gaddis, who leads the league in wins and innings pitched. The win helped the Paladins to their fourth straight series win to end the regular season.
Also nominated: Lee Haeberle (ETSU), Kevin Coulter (Mercer), Matt Frisbee (UNCG), Mikhail Cazenave (Samford), Taylor Durand (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
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
May 2 Hagen Owenby, ETSU
May 9 Deon Sanders, Furman
May 16 Andrew Bullock, Western Carolina
May 22 Hunter Swilling, Samford
2016 SoCon Pitchers of the Week
Feb. 22 JP Sears, The Citadel
Feb. 29 Ryan Askew, Mercer
March 7 Josh Winder, VMIac
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
May 2 Elliot Lance, Wofford
May 9 Will Gaddis, Furman
May 16 Adam Scott, Wofford
May 22 Will Gaddis, Furman
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