PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced the first winners of the league’s 2019 weekly baseball honors.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nick Gonzalez * Fr. * SS * USF
Gonzalez had a consistent performance at the plate in his first collegiate series, batting .500 (7-for-14) through three games against Samford. The rookie shortstop registered multiple hits in each game, recording a .714 slugging and .500 on-base percentage, while tallying four runs and three RBIs. He hit a home run in his debut at-bat Friday in a 7-4 win, finishing the night 2-for-4 with three RBIs. He added two more hits on Saturday and had three hits and two runs in Sunday’s 4-1 rubber-match victory.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Jacob Wallace * Jr. * RHP * UConn
Wallace earned two saves through 3.1 scoreless innings in a series win against No. 4 Louisville. Wallace came out of the bullpen and fired two scoreless frames to lock down his first save of the season in a 3-2 season-opener win Friday night. He racked up three strikeouts and did not allow a hit while securing the final six outs. Wallace returned to the mound on Sunday, recording a four-out save to give UConn its first series win over a top-five ranked opponent since 2004. Wallace had four strikeouts over the weekend while allowing no hits.
WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Griffin Bernardo * So. * 3B * UCF
Bernardo had a hit in each game and batted .455 (5-for-11) with a .909 slugging and .538 on-base percentage in UCF’s opening-weekend sweep over Siena. He added two doubles, two RBIs, four runs scored and one home run to his weekend line. Bernardo went 2-for-2 with a double and a homer, scoring the game-winning run in UCF’s 3-2 walk-off win Friday night. He had two hits, including an RBI double on Saturday.
Christian Fedko * So. * 2B/DH * UConn
Fedko, The American’s 2018 Rookie Position Player of the Year, batted .429 through Opening Weekend in UConn’s 2-1 series win over No. 4 Louisville. He hit a double in Friday’s one-run victory and hit a grand slam in the third inning of Sunday’s 8-3 rubber-match win. He finished the weekend with a 1.000 slugging percentage, a .636 on-base percentage and four walks.
Alec Burleson * So. * LHP/DH/1B * ECU
Burleson tossed 5.0 innings and struck out four batters against Radford on Friday to earn the opening-day win, while also going 4-for-5 with an RBI in that game. As a first baseman and designated hitter, he had a hit in Game 2 and 3 of the series sweep, finishing the weekend with a .600 batting average (6-for-10), three RBIs and two sacrifice flies.
Alex Hicks * Sr. * RHP * Memphis
Hicks struck out eight batters through 5.0 shutout innings, scattering three hits to earn the win in a 6-3 victory against Indiana on Saturday in Game 2.
Kody Hoese * Jr. * 3B * Tulane
Hoese had a six hits through Tulane’s series sweep against George Washington, which included back-to-back walk-off wins. The junior third baseman led the Green Wave with a .429 batting average, four RBIs, four runs scored and a .714 slugging percentage. Hoese was 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs in a 13-inning walk-off win Saturday. He scored three runs and had two hits, including an RBI double in a 16-6 win on Sunday.