Monday, March 09, 2009

MACON, Ga. - FGCU, the 2008 Atlantic Sun regular-season championship roared out of the gates in conference play, sweeping Campbell, led by the hot bat of Zach Maxfield, this week’s selection as the A-Sun’s Player of the Week. Kennesaw State, the pick to win the 2009 championship received a strong performance on the hill from Chad Jenkins, the Pitcher of the Week, the conference announced on Monday.

Maxfield dominated at the dish for FGCU last week, collecting 13 hits as the Eagles went 4-1 with a win against Boston College and a three-game sweep of Campbell over the weekend. The native of North Port, Fla., scored or drove in 16 of the Eagles 47 runs they brought home last week. In the three-game series against Campbell, Maxfield reached safely in his first 11 plate appearances before being retired. In the three-game conference series, criminal justice major batted .923 going 12-for-13 with eight runs scored, two doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, and slugged 1.538. In total, Maxfield went 13-for-16 batting .813 with 13 hits, one walk, one hit-by-pitch, nine runs scored, two doubles, two home runs, nine RBI, .833 ob%, and slugged 1.313 for the week.

Jenkins threw a 7-inning complete game in a dominating 14-2 victory against ETSU. He allowed just two runs on four hits with 12 strikeouts, a career-high. Twice he struck outside and the accounting major from Canton, Ga. recorded at least one strikeout in each inning. Only two runners reached second base after the first inning.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

Other Top Performers

Preston Hale, UNF (Jr. - OF - Lakeland, Fla. - Criminal Justice) -- In four games last week, Hale hit .529 (8-for-17) and scored three runs to go along with an RBI and a double. In last Tuesday's upset win over then-No. 6 Florida State, Hale went 2-for-5 and scored a run. Hale went 2-for-4 in UNF's 4-2 win over Jacksonville on Friday night and had four putouts. He put the game to an end when he chased down a tailing fly ball down the left field line. He tied his career high of four hits against JU on Sunday and had a double, run scored and RBI.

Andrew Martin, Kennesaw State (Sr. - 1B - Duluth, Ga. - Business) -- Had multi-hit and multi-RBI games in all four contests for the Owls. Went 3-for-5 with three RBIs in 13-0 win at Alabama State. In opener with ETSU, went 3-for-5 with three RBIs (including what proved to be the game-winning RBI) and a run scored. In game one of Saturday's doubleheader, went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, two runs scored, and a double. In the second game of the DH, went 3-for-5 with two homers and three RBIs. For the week, had 11 RBIs a slugging percentage of .944.

Brandon McCall, Belmont (Sr. - 3B - Spring Hill, Tenn. - Business Administration) -- Led team in runs scored (8), home runs (3), slugging percentage (1.071), walks (7) and on-base percentage (.571) over Belmont's five games this week. Had a team-high two hits, including first home run of season, three runs scored and three RBIs in Belmont's 12-8 win at Western Kentucky on Mar. 3. He hit his second home run of season, scored two runs and drew a career-high three walks in the Bruins' 12-7 win over USC Upstate on Mar. 6. Finally, in Belmont's 7-5 win against the Spartans on Mar. 7, McCall hit his third home run of the week, scored two runs and drew two walks.

Austin Moyer, USC Upstate (Sr. - SP - Greensboro, N.C. - Undeclared) -- Started both Spartan wins during the week ... Tossed a scoreless first inning in start against Tennessee, the first of seven pitchers who combined to throw a four-hitter ... Eight innings of seven-hit baseball from the freshman helped keep USC Upstate in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against Belmont, while the Upstate offense warmed up to post 11 hits and guide it to a 6-4 win ...Moyer (1-1) collected his first collegiate win by tossing eight frames, allowing seven hits and five walks but just four runs ... Struck out three and didn't allow a run in his final five innings of work ... Got double plays in the fifth and sixth innings and then allowed just one runner reach on an error in the seventh and eighth frames.

Patrick Nathanson, FGCU (So. - SP - Maitland, Fla. - Business Management) -- Went 1-0 with one save last week. Against ACC opponent Boston College, Nathanson threw seven complete innings, only allowing three runs earned runs on three hits while striking out four as the Eagles were victorious over Boston College, 6-4. Just three days later, Nathanson received his first save of the season. In the third game against Campbell, Nathanson came in the seventh inning and struck out six in three innings of work to help the Eagles complete the sweep as they won 5-2. For the week, Nathanson was 1-0 with one save, 10 strike outs, threw 10 innings with only six hits allowed as the Eagles went 4-1.

Jeff Rydman, Campbell (Jr. - SP - Gladstone, Mo. - Sports Management) -- Appeared in two games for Campbell, starting one, finishing with a record of 1-0 for the week (2-0 overall). The Campbell hurler pitched a complete game shutout versus Florida A&M, as the Camels won 7-0. Rydman scattered nine hits in the outing while fanning three batters. Rydman also pitched 3.1 innings versus FGCU. During Rydman's outing versus FGCU, only one run came in to score while striking out two batters.