Hitter of the week
Trey Furrey- Jessup (CA)- The honors of NAIA Ball Player of the Week for this past week go to Trey Furrey. The Senior infielder for the Jessup University Warriors had himself a weekend at the plate. He went 10-for-16, including three homeruns, while collecting eleven RBIs and walking twice. His productive weekend in the batter’s box helped the Warriors sweep Oregon Tech on Friday and Saturday.
Pitcher of the week
Mason Longoria- University of Houston -Victoria (TX)- Junior pitcher Mason Longoria earned the honors of NAIA Ball Pitcher of the Week. In his start with the University of Houston – Victoria Jaguars, he threw a complete game shutout versus Wayland Baptist. In seven innings, he allowed just three hits, while walking two and striking out eight. The shutout deemed to be important, as the Jaguars scored just once in the 1-0 victory. UHV stayed undefeated in their first weekend, winning all four games against Wayland Baptist.
Team of the week
Ottawa University Arizona (OUAZ) of the Golden State Athletic Conference had a solid start of their 2024 season. The Spirit took on Taylor University (No. 9) and was able to capture three wins in a four-game series.
The Friday game was won by the score of 7-2, Nathan Tarver led his team with two hits, while also collecting two RBIs.
A day later, the OUAZ Spirit really got the bats going. In the fifth inning, they scored ten runs, helping them to their 14-1 victory. Zach Hangas and Brandon Smith split the duties on the mound, keeping Taylor to only one run.
Taylor fought back in the third game of the series, which was a seven-inning game following the previous game on Saturday. Thanks to an offensive outburst in the third inning, Taylor was able to plate four which was enough to secure a 4-3 victory.
The final game which was played on Sunday was another slugfest, a total of 22 runs were scored by both teams combined. OUAZ came out on top, scoring thirteen versus Taylor’s nine. The Spirit’s lead-off batter, Nicholas Lustig had himself a day at the plate going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI. Sergio Alfaro can also look back on a good day at the plate, collecting four RBIs to help his team secure the victory.
-Milan van der Breggen - Staff Writer