Monday, April 11, 2011

MACON, Ga. – Stetson’s Nick Rickles and Jacksonville’s Chris Anderson helped their respective teams to conference sweeps of Kennesaw State and Mercer and in the process earned their first career Atlantic Sun Baseball Weekly Awards, announced Monday by the league office.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Nick Rickles, Stetson (C – Jr. – Loxahatchee, Fla. – Sports Management)
• First Career A-Sun Player of the Week award
• Led No. 25 Hatters to sweep of Kennesaw State who entered series in second place
• Hit .417 with two doubles, a home run, six RBI and four runs scored
• Registered the winning run in series finale
• Has yet to strikeout this season in 122 at-bats

OTHER NOMINEES:
• Nate Woods (1B/DH, Belmont): Tallied three doubles, home run and five runs scored in series win against USC Upstate
• Alex Bacon (OF, UNF): Drove in a team-best nine RBI in series win at Campbell with seven hits
• Trey Richardson (3B, USC Upstate): Hit walk-off solo shot in bottom of 10th to give Spartans win against Belmont
• Bryce Grady (IF, Campbell): Hit. 688 with eight RBI and six runs scored including seven hits against UNF
• Dan Gulbransen (OF, Jacksonville): Notched grand slam against Mercer in fifth inning of series opener to help Dolphins to 7-6 win
• Matthew Scruggs (OF, ETSU): Hit .583 to guide Bucs to a series sweep of Lipscomb with three extra-base hits

PITCHER OF THE WEEK:
Chris Anderson, Jacksonville (Fr. – Lino Lakes, Minn. – Sports Management)
• First Career A-Sun Pitcher of the Week
• Recorded one win and two saves in Jacksonville road sweep of Mercer
• Failed to allow an earned run in 5.2 innings of relief and only three hits with seven strikeouts
• Earned saves in games one and two of series with the Bears
• Capped series by pitching final three innings of 10-inning game to earn the win

OTHER NOMINEES:
• Josh Davis (SP, Belmont) – Led Bruins to 5-1 victory against USC Upstate by allowing on ly two hits and one earned run
• Chriss Knauff (RP, USC Upstate) – Pitched final four innings of 10-inning game against Bruins to earn victory in relief
• Frank Zier (SP, Campbell) – Tossed first complete of the season in a 5-1 win against UNF in game one of Saturday doubleheader
• John Long (RHP, ETSU) – Limited Lipscomb to one run on five hits in eight innings of series opener

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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 five 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.