March 24, 2010

 

CollegeBaseballInsider.com National Players of the Week

 

National Player

Hunter Morris (Huntsville, Ala.)

Auburn junior infielder

 

Morris went 10 for 16 (.625) in a three-game SEC sweep at Georgia. Morris belted four home runs and knocked in 14. He had one double, two stolen bases and a slugging percentage of 1.438. Morris went 4 for 6 with five RBI in Friday’s opener against the Bulldogs and 5 for 6 with two homers on Sunday.

 

 

National Pitcher

Chris Hernandez (Miami, Fla.)

Miami (Fla.) junior left-hander

 

Hernandez pitched his first career complete game in a 3-1 ACC victory over Duke on Friday at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Hernandez allowed one run on two hits with one walk and six strikeouts. He gave up a double in the third and a single in the fifth. Hernandez lowered his ERA to 1.97.

 

Regional Players of the Week

  

Northeast Player

Danny Brock (Loveland, Colo.)

Saint Louis senior first baseman

 

Brock went 9 for 16 (.563) with three homers, eight runs and 12 RBI in leading the Billikens to three wins in four games. Brock posted a slugging percentage of 1.188. He had a three-run homer on Saturday in a 12-8 win over nationally-ranked Kansas. Brock leads SLU with 10 homers and 36 RBI.

 

Northeast Pitcher

Teddy Kaufman

USF senior left-hander

 

Kaufman tossed a complete-game shutout Tuesday in a 4-0 victory over in-state rival UCF. Kaufman allowed four hits and struck out 14, the highest total in the Big East this season. Kaufman is the fourth Big East hurler to notch nine innings in a game in 2010 and the first to record a shutout.

 

Southeast Player

Matt Rice (Johnson City, Tenn.)

Western Kentucky junior catcher

 

Rice ripped opposing pitching, hitting .538 (14 for 26) in five games with seven doubles, two homers, 11 runs and 13 RBI. He had at least one hit in each outing and had multiple hits in four games. Rice had two doubles and a grand slam in a 17-2 win at Vanderbilt. He had three doubles and four runs in a 15-3 win at VCU.

 

 

Southeast Pitcher

Zach Osborne (Houston, Texas)

Louisiana-Lafayette senior right-hander

 

Osborne went the distance in a 3-1 Sun Belt win Friday at South Alabama with a career-high 13 strikeouts. He surrendered three hits, two walks and one run in nine innings. Osborne allowed the leadoff hitter to reach only once. He held the Jaguars hitless over the final four innings.

 

 

Central Player

Tyler Huelsing (Munford, Tenn.)

Memphis senior outfielder

 

Huelsing went 10 for 18 (.556) in five games with four homers, 10 runs and 12 RBI. Huelsing hit safely in all five games, with multiple hits in each of the last four. In a three-game sweep of Tennessee Tech, Huelsing batted .538 with a double and four home runs. He had two homers, including a grand slam, in Sunday’s finale.

 

Central Pitcher

Jaden Dillon (Bridge City, Texas)

McNeese State sophomore right-hander

 

Dillon went 10 innings in his first start as McNeese State posted a 4-3 Southland win over Southeastern Louisiana, handing the Lions their second loss. Dillon allowed four hits and two earned runs in the complete-game victory with two walks and four strikeouts. Dillon raised his record to 3-0.

 

 

West Player

Jeff Cusick (Mission Viejo, Calif.)

UC Irvine senior infielder

 

Cusick hit .500 (8 for 16) with five runs and nine RBI as the Anteaters posted a 4-0 week. He homered in a mid-week win over San Diego. Cusick went 4 for 4 in the series opener against Gonzaga. He was 2 for 3 with two runs in Saturday’s victory over the Bulldogs. Cusick had a bases-clearing double in Sunday’s finale.

 

West Pitcher

Matt Hauser (Newport Beach, Calif.)

San Diego senior right-hander

 

Hauser earned a win and a save against nationally-ranked Rice, allowing one hit and no runs in 3.1 innings. Hauser entered in the eighth on Friday with the bases loaded and two outs. He got a groundout to end the rally and retired the Owls in the ninth for his third save. Hauser got the win on Saturday with one hit in two scoreless innings.

 

Note - regional players of the week are chosen based on their conference affiliation. To see our list of regions, click here.

 

(photos courtesy of Media Relations Offices)

(Morris photo by Todd Van Emst of Auburn)