SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Samford third baseman Taylor Garris and Mercer right-hander Ryan Askew have been named the Southern Conference player and pitcher of the week, respectively, for all games from April 3-9. The selections are made by the league office.
Samford’s Garris hit .667 with four multi-hit games, going 10-for-15 last week. The freshman from Sarasota, Florida, scored five runs, drove in four and hit two home runs. He put together a 1.067 slugging percentage, stole a base and only struck out twice.
In Tuesday’s 11-3 win over Alabama A&M, Garris went 3-for-4 with a pair of singles and a two-run homer, scoring twice. In Friday’s opener at SoCon-leading Mercer, the rookie was 2-for-3 with an RBI. The next afternoon, he turned in another three-hit game, hitting singles in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, scoring twice. He moved up three spots to sixth in the lineup Sunday, closing his weekend with two more hits, including a solo home run in the fifth inning.
Garris’ big week upped his seasonal batting average 54 points to a team-best .387.
The weekly award is the first of his career and the first for a Samford player this year.
Samford (19-13, 2-4 SoCon) hosts 10th-ranked Auburn on Tuesday before welcoming The Citadel (10-19, 2-4) for a three-game league set starting Thursday.
Also nominated: Ben Peden (The Citadel), Christian Bailey (ETSU), Danny Edgeworth (Mercer), Michael Goss (UNCG), Collin Fleischer (VMI), Cameron Blaquiere (Western Carolina) and McClain Bradley (Wofford).
Mercer’s Askew threw his first career complete game Friday, allowing two runs on nine hits in nine innings in the Bears’ 4-2 win over Samford. He matched his season high with seven strikeouts and did not walk a batter.
Askew needed just 105 pitches (78 strikes) to improve to 4-0 on the year as Mercer moved to 8-0 in his starts this season.
The senior from Suwanee, Georgia, allowed RBI singles in the second and seventh innings – the latter to Samford’s Garris – but allowed just two other base-runners to reach third in collecting his first complete game in 44 career starts. He retired the final eight batters of the game in order to lock up the win.
Mercer, which shares the national lead in wins at 28-6 on the season (8-1 SoCon), improved to 17-3 at OrthoGeorgia Park with the sweep of the Bulldogs. The Bears play at Georgia State on Tuesday to kick off an eight-game road swing and head to Lexington, Virginia, for a three-game SoCon series at VMI (17-16, 4-5) starting Thursday.
Also nominated: Aaron Lesiak (The Citadel), Ryan Simpler (ETSU), Andrew Wantz (UNCG), Cody Shelton (Samford), Ryan Bennett (VMI), B.J. Nobles (Western Carolina) and Matt Ellmyer (Wofford).
2017 SoCon Players of the Week
Feb. 20 Chris Cook, ETSU
Feb. 27 Charlie Madden, Mercer
March 6 Will Malbon, VMI
March 13 Austin Embler, UNCG
March 20 JT Thomas, Mercer
March 27 Charlie Madden, Mercer
April 3 Bryson Bowman, Western Carolina
April 10 Taylor Garris, Samford
2017 SoCon Pitchers of the Week
Feb. 20 Matt Frisbee, UNCG
Feb. 27 JP Sears, The Citadel
March 6 Adam Scott, Wofford
March 13 Bryan Sammons, Western Carolina
March 20 Blake Smith, ETSU
March 27 JP Sears, The Citadel
April 3 Josh Winder, VMI
April 10 Ryan Askew, Mercer
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