Big South Announces Baseball Players of the Week - March 17

Big South Announces Baseball Players of the Week - March 17

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Gardner-Webb infielder Ryan Kennell (Westland, Mich.) has been named the Big South Baseball Player of the Week, while High Point’s Wade Walton (Lithia, Fla.) is the Starting Pitcher of the Week for games played March 10-16, it was announced today. In addition, Radford’s Trey Ludy (Roanoke, Va.) was selected as the Relief Pitcher of the Week, while UNC Asheville’s Rylen Stockton (Sarasota, Fla.) is the Freshman of the Week honoree.
 
Kennell batted .650 over four games, going 13-for-20 with five runs, six RBI, two doubles, and a stolen base for Gardner-Webb. He recorded multiple hits in every game, including at least three in three of the four contests, highlighted by a five-hit performance. He slugged .750 and posted a .667 on-base percentage with no strikeouts in 20 at-bats from the leadoff spot. The shortstop went 3-for-5 with a double and a career-high four RBI in Tuesday’s 11-4 win over Western Carolina. He opened the weekend series against UNC Asheville with another 3-for-5 effort Friday, adding a double and a run scored. On Saturday, he delivered a perfect 5-for-5 performance with two runs, an RBI, and a stolen base before capping the series with two more hits, a run, and an RBI in the finale.
 
Walton struck out a career-high 11 batters over 7.0 innings, allowing just four hits and one earned run to earn the win in High Point’s conference opener against Charleston Southern. The right-hander fanned two batters in each of the first four innings and recorded at least one strikeout in all seven before exiting with an 8-1 lead. He held the Buccaneers hitless through four innings and did not surrender an extra-base hit. 
 
Ludy earned two saves in Radford’s conference-opening sweep of USC Upstate, tossing 3.0 hitless, scoreless innings over the weekend. On Friday, he entered in the eighth with a 6-4 lead, striking out two of the first three batters before retiring the side in order in the ninth. He was flawless again on Saturday, setting down all three batters he faced to secure the series-clinching win for the Highlanders.
 
Stockton hit .471 (8-for-17) with five runs, three RBI, three doubles, a triple, and a stolen base across four games. He recorded three multi-hit performances, highlighted by a 4-for-5 effort with two doubles and a triple in UNC Asheville’s conference-opening win over Gardner-Webb. He opened the week by doubling and scoring twice in a 15-10 victory at Queens and closed it with a 2-for-3 outing Saturday night at GWU, adding an RBI, a stolen base, and two more runs. A catcher from Sarasota, Fla., Stockton drove in a run in all three games of the Bulldogs’ series win over Gardner-Webb to kick off Big South play.
 
Also nominated for Player of the Week: Konni Durschlag (High Point), Matthew Rollison (Presbyterian), James Ward(Radford) and Nate Chronis (Winthrop).
 
Also nominated for Starting Pitcher of the Week: Guillermo Garcia, Jr. (Longwood), Drew Stanley (Radford), Clay Edmondson (UNC Asheville) and Brayden Gilley (Winthrop). 
 
Also nominated for Relief Pitcher of the Week: Dominic Guzman (Gardner-Webb), Howell Polk (High Point), Daylight Nguyen-Brown (UNC Asheville) and Amp Phillips (USC Upstate).
 
Also nominated for Freshman of the Week: Wade Walton (High Point), Jake Chadwell (Longwood), Matthew Rollison (Presbyterian), Eli Hudgins (Radford) and Josh Skowronski (Winthrop).