SPARTANBURG, S.C. – UNCG infielder Austin Embler and ETSU right-hander Micah Kaczor have been named the Southern Conference player and pitcher of the week, respectively, for all games May 6-12. The selections were made by the league office.
Embler helped lead the Spartans to a 2-1 record on the week. He finished the week with a .500 batting average (7-for-14) from the plate and was one of six UNCG hitters to record at least a .400 batting average over the weekend. The redshirt senior opened up the weekend against VMI by going 3-for-5 with an RBI and a double and continued his hot streak into the final two games of the series, going 4-for-9 with three runs, three RBIs and a stolen base. Embler recorded a double and a home run on Sunday and ended the week with a .857 slugging percentage and a .533 on-base percentage.
He currently stands in second, tied with teammate Josh Madole, in hits (52) for the Spartans. This is the second time in his career being honored, the first coming on March 13, 2017.
The Spartans (31-16, 13-8 SoCon) play their final nonconference game against Winthrop (29-19) on Tuesday before closing out the conference regular season against Wofford (31-22, 12-8 SoCon).
Also nominated: Cullen Smith (ETSU), Trent Alley (Furman), Collin Price (Mercer), Jordan Fucci (Samford), Jake Huggins (VMI), Justice Bigbie (Western Carolina) and Brett Rodriguez (Wofford).
The Bucs’ Kaczor pitched nine innings to record his first career complete game shutout on Friday against The Citadel. He allowed just five base runners all game and retired 16 straight hitters to end the game while recording eight strikeouts. The senior from Washington, D.C., became the first ETSU pitcher to throw a complete game this season and the first since 2017 to finish a complete-game shutout.
Kaczor is currently second in the league in earned run average (1.84) and innings pitched (88).
The Bucs (31-17, 10-10 SoCon) will finish out the regular season against conference-leading Samford (37-15, 17-4 SoCon) this weekend.
Also nominated: Rob Hughes (Furman), Tanner Hall (Mercer), Phillip Sanderson (UNCG), Samuel Strickland (Samford), Zak Kent (VMI) and Austin Higginbotham (Wofford).
2019 SoCon Players of the Week
Feb. 18 Jackson Greer, ETSU
Feb. 25 RJ Yeager, Mercer
March 4 Daylan Nanny, Western Carolina
March 11 Immanuel Wilder, Western Carolina
March 18 Kel Johnson, Mercer
March 25 Jordan Fucci, Samford
April 1 Jabari Richards, Furman
April 8 Zach Budzik, UNCG
April 15 Hudson Byorick, Wofford
April 22 Brooks Carlson, Samford
April 29 Hudson Byorick, Wofford
May 6 Dax Roper, Furman
May 13 Austin Embler, UNCG
2019 SoCon Pitchers of the Week
Feb. 18 Shane Connolly, The Citadel
Feb. 25 Jordan Merritt, The Citadel
March 4 Hayes Heinecke, Wofford
March 11 Hayes Heinecke, Wofford
March 18 Zak Kent, VMI
March 25 Shane Connolly, The Citadel
April 1 Austin Higginbotham, Wofford
April 8 Zak Kent, VMI
April 15 Tanner Hall, Mercer
April 22 Chase Walter, Western Carolina
April 29 David Dunlavey, Furman
May 6 Zach Hester, Samford
May 13 Micah Kaczor, ETSU
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