SPARTANBURG, S.C. – ETSU catcher Hagen Owenby and Samford right-hander Mikhail Cazenave have been named the Southern Conference player and pitcher of the week, respectively, for all games from May 15-20. The selections are made by the league office and are the final ones of the 2017 season.
ETSU's Owenby hit .412 and slugged .824 with two homers, a double, five runs scored and eight RBIs as the Bucs went 3-1 with a sweep of VMI to end the regular season.
In Tuesday's 6-4 loss to UNC Asheville, Owenby, serving as the designated hitter that day, drew a walk and had an RBI groundout.
The junior from Knoxville, Tennessee, then turned in three multi-hit games against the Keydets, starting with a 3-for-5 effort Thursday that included a two-run homer and an RBI single. The following day, he hit another first-inning home run, a three-run blast, in a 2-for-5 day. He scored twice and recorded his first stolen base of the season. Owenby wrapped up his week Saturday with two more hits, a walk and an RBI as ETSU completed the sweep.
The weekly award is the third of Owenby's career.
ETSU finished the regular season 27-27 overall and 9-15 in league play to claim the seventh seed in the upcoming Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field in Greenville, South Carolina. The Bucs will face No. 2 seed Western Carolina (28-26, 15-8 SoCon) on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Also nominated: Taylor Cothran (The Citadel), Andrew Moritz (UNCG), T.J. Dixon (Samford), Bryson Bowman (Western Carolina) and Kody Ruedisili (Wofford).
Samford's Cazenave went eight strong innings in a 4-0 win over UNCG on Thursday, limiting the Spartans, who entered the contest with the nation's third-best team batting average, to just two hits and a walk. He struck out four as Samford won the opener en route to the series win.
The Rainbow City, Alabama, senior faced just one over the minimum through the first four innings and did not allow a runner to reach second in his eight innings. Cazenave retired his final 11 batters in order.
The weekly award is the first of Cazenave's career.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 31-24 overall mark and a 11-13 SoCon record, earning the sixth seed in the SoCon tournament. Samford will face No. 3 seed UNCG (31-21, 14-10) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Also nominated: JP Sears (The Citadel), Griffin Krieg (ETSU), Grant Schuermann (Furman), Dan Loats (UNCG), Bryan Sammons (Western Carolina) and Adam Scott (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
April 17 JT Thomas, Mercer
April 24 Matt Smith, Western Carolina
May 1 Carson Waln, Wofford
May 8 Tyler Tharp, VMI
May 15 Ryan Hagan, Mercer
May 21 Hagen Owenby, ETSU
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
April 17 Matthew Quarles, Furman
April 24 Robert Broom, Mercer
May 1 Stephen Jones, Samford
May 8 JP Sears, The Citadel
May 15 Will Gaddis, Furman
May 21 Mikhail Cazenave, Samford
-www.SoConSports.com-