MAC Announces Baseball Players & Pitcher of the Week
MAC Baseball Co-Players of the Week
John Ricotta, Ball State, 1B
Senior, Rochester, NY (Athena)
Ricotta batted .591 with 11 RBIs and 6 XBH as Ball State went 5-0 last week. He also added 4 walks for an OBP of .654. In a 3-game sweep over Western Michigan, Ricotta was 10-for-16 with 3 doubles and a home run. He had multiple hits in 4 of the week's 5 games, including a 4-for-5 effort on Saturday and a 4-for-6 game on Sunday.
Griffin Lockwood-Powell, Central Michigan, C/DH
Sophomore, Sioux Falls, S.D. (Sioux Falls Lincoln)
Lockwood-Powell turned in a phenomenal week at the plate as the Chippewas claimed their MAC opening series (2-1) over Ohio. The Sioux Falls, S.D., native slashed at a .727 clip over the three-game stretch with a 1.636 slugging percentage and tallied eight hits, three home runs and seven RBI. In Friday's 5-3 victory, Lockwood-Powell finished 3-of-5 at the dish with a home run and 3 RBI. In Saturday's 12-11 loss, he finished 3-of-4 with a pair of long balls and 4 RBI. Lockwood-Powell also posted a solid outing defensively in Sunday's 6-2 rubber match victory gunning 2-of-2 would-be base stealers.
MAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week
Jack Corbell, Miami, Pitcher
SeniorBloomfield Hills, Mich./Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.)
Corbell was brilliant against defending MAC Champion Kent State on Sunday, shutting them out over 8.0 innings of work. He gave up only five hits and struck out six to help lead the RedHawks to the series victory. Only one Golden Flash runner reached third base during his time on the mound. Corbell improved to his record and lowered his ERA to 1.11 for the season in the victory.
Others Nominated
John Baker, Ball State, RHP
Junior, Hartland, Mich. (Hartland)
Baker pitched 7.0 innings and struck out 11 Saturday in a 10-3 Ball State win. He only allowed 6 hits and finished the 110-pitch outing strong, striking out the last 5 batters he faced.
Neil Lambert, Bowling Green, Infielder
SeniorPontiac, Illinois (Pontiac Township)
Lambert, a senior infielder, could not be kept off the bases during Bowling Green’s conference-opening sweep of Toledo at Steller Field. Lambert posted a .667 batting average and a .833 on-base percentage. Lambert also scored four runs on the weekend, crossing the plate at least one time in every game. Lambert added four hits and six walks, as well. The Pontiac, Illinois native reached base multiple times in all three games, including a two-hit, three-walk performance in the second game of the series. Lambert is now hitting .371 on the season with a .466 on-base percentage.
Andrew Abrahamowicz, Bowling Green, Right-Handed Pitcher
Sophomore, Elyria, Ohio (Elyria Catholic)
Abrahamowicz, a sophomore right-handed pitcher, picked up his first-career win in Bowling Green’s conference’s opener versus Toledo. The native of Elyria, Ohio allowed just one run and three hits over 5.2 innings of work. Abrahamowicz struck out a career-high seven batters while only issuing two walks. The sophomore has posted a 2.39 ERA this season and is holding opponents to a .191 batting average. Abrahamowicz’s start propelled the Falcons to a sweep of Toledo in the Battle of I-75 series.
Jared Kauffman, Eastern Michigan, 2B
Sophomore, Springboro, Ohio (Bishop Fenwick)
Kauffman got a trio of starts at second base as Eastern Michigan opened Mid-American Conference play at Northern Illinois, March 22-24. Kauffman led the Eagles with a .333 batting average, collecting four hits in 12 tries, including a triple. He also drove in a pair of runs and scored another in the weekend set against the Huskies. Over the last four games, he has raised his batting average .052 with six hits in his last four contests.In Sunday's finale, Kauffman notched the third triple of his career as he collected the third two-hit day of the year. He also opened the series with a pair of hits while scoring a run.
Luke McGuire, Eastern Michigan, Pitcher
Sophomore, Shelby Township, Mich. (Stevenson)
McGuire tossed 3.1 innings against Northern Illinois as the Eagles opened Mid-American Conference play in DeKalb, Ill., March 22-24. In relief Friday, McGuire allowed two hits and a run while striking out four in a no decision. He limited the NIU to a .200 batting average, the second-lowest of any Eagle tossing two innings-or-more in the series.
Justin Kirby, Kent State, OF
Freshman, Alpharetta, Ga. (Alpharetta)
Kirby posted a .500 batting average and .714 slugging percentage, collecting seven hits and three walks with three doubles, five runs scored, and 4 RBIs on the week. The Alpharetta, Ga. native has worked his way to the top of the lineup and a starting position in the outfield in his freshman campaign and notched a hit in each of Kent State's four games this week. Taking free passes against Pitt, Kirby led off the top of the sixth with a walk that led to a three-run inning that gave the Flashes the lead and secured the win. Kirby knocked a double in each of the three games against Miami, and went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and three runs (accounting for seven of KSU's 12 runs) in the second game of the series.
John Matthews, Kent State, RHP
Junior, Punxsutawney, Pa. (Punxsutawney)
Matthews collected Kent State's first conference win of the season, snapping Miami's 14-game winning streak Friday evening. The Punxsutawney, Pa. native pitched a season-high 7.0 innings, holding a tough Miami offense that has averaged more than ten hits and eight runs a game to just two runs on five hits while ringing up seven. On the season, Matthews ranks fifth in the MAC in strikeouts (36) and sixth in innings pitched (33.1).
Jordan Stephens, Miami, Second Base/Shortstop
Redshirt Junior, Parker, Colo. (Legend)
Stephens led Miami with a .500 batting average for the week, finishing 5-for-10 with four extra base hits and three RBIS. Against Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday, he hit his first home run since transferring to Miami last season. For the game he finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. He also recorded two hits and an RBI in two starts against Kent State this weekend. Stephens finished with a .545 on-base percentage and a 1.100 slugging percentage for the week. He had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 12 chances.
Jake Dunham, NIU, Catcher
Junior, Plainfield, Ill. (Plainfield North)
Dunham hit .615 this week as NIU went 3-1 with a sweep of Eastern Michigan to open MAC play. The junior catcher drew three walks and had an RBI base hit in Tuesday's midweek game at Chicago State. He was 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored in both Friday and Saturday's wins over Eastern Michigan. Dunham capped the weekend with a 3-for-4 day on Sunday in the Huskies' 9-4 win with three RBI. He slugged his second home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth to give NIU a 4-2 lead. For the week, Dunham had an on-base percentage of .684 with an .846 slugging percentage.
Erik Hedmark, NIU, Pitcher
Freshman, Algonquin, Ill. (Dundee-Crown)
Hedmark earned his first career win on Saturday as NIU defeated Eastern Michigan 4-3 to give the Huskies the series win over the Eagles. The freshman threw a career-high 7.1 innings, scattering five hits with no walks and one strikeout. All three runs he allowed were unearned. Hedmark has allowed three runs or less in four of five starts this season.
Tanner Piechnick, Ohio, INF
Junior, Canonsburg, Pa.(Canon-McMillan)
Piechnick hit a walk-off grand slam in Ohio's first cnference win of the season. Piechnick pinch hit in the bottom of the ninth with Ohio down 11-8 and hit a no-doubt home run to left field to win the game for Ohio, 12-11.
