Monday, April 20, 2009

MACON, Ga. - Kennesaw State junior Chad Jenkins tossed his second consecutive shutout against A-Sun competition, setting the tone for a pair of doubleheader wins against Mercer Saturday afternoon, and Ric Bishop's four RBI in the series finale helped the Owls complete the sweep of the Bears. On Monday, Jenkins earned his second Pitcher of the Week honor of the season, and Bishop notched the first Player of the Week award of his career, the conference office announced. The duo is the second pair of teammates to sweep weekly honors this season, joining UNF’s Ryan Puskar and John Atteo.

Jenkins extended his scoreless innings streak to 27.1 innings with a complete game four-hitter against Mercer. The Canton, Ga. native retired the last 20 batters he faced and did not walk a batter. In his last three starts, Jenkins has tallied two shutouts and a combined shutout.

Bishop went 13-of-26 for the week, including a 9-for-17 performance during the series against Mercer. The Columbus, Ga. native had seven RBIs against Mercer, thanks in part to a 5-for-7 game with a 3-run homer in the series finale.

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:
Chas Byrne, ETSU (Johnson City, Tenn. – P – So. – Sports Management) – Byrne set the tone for the Bucs with a complete game win over USC Upstate as the Bucs went on to sweep the Spartans. Byrne threw a complete game gem allowing only two runs scattering eight hits and struck out a career high nine while only walking one. The Johnson City native picked up his fourth win of the season to tie him for the team lead.

Chris Sale, FGCU (Lakeland, Fla. – P – So. – Criminal Justice) – Sale received his only start last week against Rex Brothers in game one of the three-game set against Lipscomb. Sale received the win as he threw eight full innings, allowed only one run on five hits with eight strike outs. In Sale’s first three innings of work, he allowed only one hit while striking out two. After the Lipscomb got on the board with a run in the fourth, Sale would only allow one hit, and struck out six in his last four innings of work to earn his fifth win of the season.

Dylan Craig, Belmont (Signal Mountain, Tenn. – OF – Fr. – Biology) – Had a career-high four hits at Tennessee on Apr. 14. In Belmont's 4-3 at Murray State on Apr. 15, Craig drew two walks. He had three hits and two RBIs in contest at Stetson on Apr. 18.

Stephen Wickens, FGCU (Whitbey, Ontario – SS – So. – Business Management) – Wickens lead the Eagles last week, batting .615 as the Eagles went 4-0 with win over UCF and a three game sweep over Lipscomb last week. For the week, Wickens went 8-for-13 with two runs scored, eight hits and five RBI. Wickens hit safely in all four games last week, recording multiple hits in three of the Eagles four games. At UCF, Wickens racked up three hits, two stolen bases with a run scored and an RBI. Against A-Sun foe Lipscomb, Wickens batted .556 going 5-for-9 with a stolen base, a run scored and four RBI.