DENVER ? Louisiana Tech outfielder Jericho Jones and right-handed pitcher Luke Burnett have been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for February 12-18.
Jones, a sophomore from Corinth, Texas (Lake Dallas HS), hit .650 (13-20) in five games as Louisiana Tech extended its winning streak to eight in a row. He had a total of 16 RBI, three home runs, three doubles, one triple, was walked twice and scored 11 runs during the week. Jones began the week with a 4-for-5 performance, driving in three and scoring three runs against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. In Saturday’s second game against McNeese State, Tech trailed 10-1 in the seventh inning when Jones hit a three-run homer, his second of the game. In the eighth, he hit a two-run double as the Bulldogs went on to win 15-13. For the game, he was 3-for-5 with six RBI and three runs. On Sunday, he went 2-for-3 with four more RBI to help seal the sweep for the Bulldogs. It is Jones’ second career WAC Hitter of the Week award and second for a Bulldog player this year.
Burnett, a sophomore from Carthage, Texas (Carthage HS), opened the week pitching a perfect inning against Arkansas-Pine Bluff with two strikeouts. On Friday, he threw seven innings against McNeese State and picked up a win after striking out a career-high 14 batters and allowing just two hits with no walks and no runs. For the week, he pitched eight innings, allowing no runs, no walks and two hits and struck out 16 while facing the minimum 24 batters as Tech turned two double plays. It is Burnett’s second career WAC Pitcher of the Week award and second for a Bulldog pitcher this year.
The other player of the week nominations were senior first baseman Kris Sanchez, Hawai?i; senior catcher Konrad Schmidt, Nevada; junior outfielder Joseph Scaperotta, New Mexico State and senior outfielder Chris Balatico, San Jose State.
The other pitcher of the week nominations were senior Mark Rodrigues, Hawai?i; junior Ryan Rodriguez, Nevada; and senior Loren Moneypenny, San Jose State.
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