Kent State's Parks, Ohio's Levy Earn Weekly Honors
MAC Player of the Week
Aaron Levy, Ohio, INF
Sophomore, Cincinnati, Ohio
Sophomore Aaron Levy was absolutely on fire for Ohio's first series win this weekend. Levy had an impressive on-base percentage of .667 over weekend, reaching base 10 times. Levy had a home run, a double with 10 total bases over the weekend while walking four times. Levy hit .545 during the weekend and had at least one RBI in every game, with two coming in the series opener.
MAC Pitcher of the Week
Pavin Parks, Kent State, INF/RHP
Senior, Uniontown, Ohio/Manchester
Parks was instrumental in the Flashes' thrilling 12-inning win over Indiana in Bloomington Wednesday night. Parks recorded the win on the mound, closing out the game with 4.2 innings of work with eight strikeouts. The Uniontown, Ohio native stepped to the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning and closed the door on the Hoosiers to hold the tie and force extra innings before eventually picking up the win in the 12th inning. Starting the game at second base and hitting clean-up, Parks scored three runs for the Flashes, hitting in a run and walking twice.
Other Nominees
Ross Messina, Ball State, OF
JR, Kansas City, Mo.
Messina helped Ball State to a pair of wins that extended its winning streak to 8. Messina had a walkoff RBI in the 13th inning against Kent State on Friday. Messina also homered in the Ball State win, that lifted the Cardinals to a 4-0 MAC record.
Cam Brown, Central Michigan, RHP
Junior, Pontiac, Ill. (Pontiac Township)
Brown posted another strong outing this past weekend as the Chippewas claimed the three-game conference sweep over Northern Illinois at home. Making the start in the night cap of Friday's twin bill, the Pontiac, Ill., native worked 7 innings allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits with four punch outs to earn the the victory. With the win, Brown now boasts an unblemished 5-0 record on the season which paces the MAC and is tied for 3rd in the NCAA.
Jason Sullivan, Central Michigan, 2B
Senior, Bartlett, Ill. (St. Francis)
Central Michigan senior second baseman Jason Sullivan continued his steady offensive production at the plate this past week helping propel the Chippewas to four-straight victories to open their home schedule. The Bartlett, Ill., native finished the week batting at a .400 clip with six hits, six runs, eight total bases and five RBI. In Tuesday's 6-2 home-opening win over Grand Valley, Sullivan finished 2-of-4 with a double and an RBI. On Friday's MAC double header with Northern Illinois, he went a combined 3-of-8 with a double and RBI. On Saturday's 14-10 victory over the Huskies in the series finale, Sullivan finished 1-of-3 with three RBI and while reaching base on a pair walks.
Holden Cook, Eastern Michigan, RHP
Sophomore, Oklahoma City, Okla. (Murray State)
Cook made three appearances for Eastern in relief, tossing five innings of near-perfect baseball for the Green and White. Allowing just one earned run, Cook racked up four strikeouts and held opposing batters to just a .222 batting average over the course of his efforts. Only allowing two walks in three appearances, Cook compiled a 1.80 ERA for the week.
Zachary Owings, Eastern Michigan, 3B/1B
Junior, Saline, Mich. (Saline)
Owings had a week to remember, leading Eastern in its two wins over the University of Northwestern Ohio (March 26) and Concordia University (Mich.) (March 27), respectively, before putting together a strong three games at Miami, March 29-31. During the five game stretch, Owings compiled a .500 batting average, going 11-for-22 at the plate with four extra-base hits, and eight RBI’s. In his best performance of the week, against Concordia, Owings blasted his first career grand slam, as part of a 3-for-4 hitting performance. In addition to his 11 hits, Owings tallied 18 total bases and 0 strikeouts during the week. Owings currently ranks inside the Mid-American Conference’s top-10 in six offensive categories, including hits, triples, and home runs, RBI, at-bats, and slugging percentage.
Nick Urbantke, Miami, Pitcher
Junior, Lorena, Texas (Lorena)
Urbantke had two solid outings in relief this past week. The lefty threw a solid 4.0 innings against No. 11 Louisville, allowing only two unearned runs and giving up three hits. He struck out two. He followed that up with a 2.0 inning outing against Eastern Michigan on Saturday, keeping them off the board and allowing only two hits.
Landon Stephens, Miami, Third Baseman
Junior, Hamilton, Ohio (Hamilton)
Stephens had a big week for the RedHawks culminating in two walk off hits in the weekend series against Eastern Michigan. He recorded hits in all four games this week, starting with a 2-for-4 performance against No. 11 Louisville on Tuesday. Stephens was 2-for-4 with two RBI in the opener against the Eagles Friday, culminating in driving home the winning run in the 7-6 victory. After getting another RBI and scoring a run in Miami's 13-3 win on Saturday, Stephens again stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth on Sunday with the score tied at 6. He ripped a single to left center allowing the runner to score from second easily and give the RedHawks their second walk-off win in as many days.
Edward Kutt IV, Ohio, RHP
Sophomore , Westlake, Calif. (Westlake)
Kutt IV was crucial in both of Ohio's wins this weekend. Kutt IV tossed 6.0 innings of relief in Sunday's 12-4 win over BG, earning his first win of the season. Kutt IV fanned eight batters in the relief outing that began in the first and allowed just one run and four batters to reach while on the mound. Kutt IV tossed the sixth, seventh and eighth in Ohio's 12-2 win over the Falcons on Saturday, fanning three batters and allowing three batters to reach base. Kutt IV's ERA over the past week was 2.00.
