Here are the players of the NECBL Players of the Week.
Player of the Week Infielder/Outfielder Travis Jones Junior Valley Blue Sox Texas
Jones started all six games for the Blue Sox last week, and he had a hit in all but one of them – including a pair of two-hit outings and a three-hit night, as well. The Texas product shared the league lead with three home runs and batted 9-for-23 (.391) on the week; only one player had more hits than he did in that span. Jones also scored six runs, drove in another six, drew three walks and stole four bases. His OPS of 1.245 was eighth-highest in the league last week, as well.
Those numbers come after finishing with a .300 batting average and 16 multi-hit games as a sophomore with the Longhorns this past spring.
Pitcher of the Week
LHP Braxton Wilks Senior North Adams SteepleCats Abilene Christian
Like the field Jones was against, Wilks also was pitted against some solid pitching across the board last week, but he was the only one to pitch double-digit innings (10) while not allowing an earned run over the course of two separate starts. The southpaw out of Sugar Land, Texas, recorded five innings in both of his starts against Winnipesaukee (June 13) and division-leading Keene (June 19) and won them both; his first outing featured four strikeouts, two walks and only one hit yielded, while his second included three strikeouts, no walks and five hits allowed.
Wilks was a two-way player at ACU last spring after transferring from junior college; he played in over 40 games and finished with 29 hits, while logging three relief appearances out of the bullpen, as well.
Honorable Mentions
Batters
Dean Lockery (Ocean State/Central Connecticut) – Finished 9-for-17 at the plate with a league-high .529 batting average and scored four runs with three stolen bases to help the Waves go 6-0 on the week.
Jack Morock (Keene/Iowa Western C.C.) – Led the league with 10 hits in 22 at-bats (.455 average) while adding a pair of doubles, two RBIs and two solen bases.
Hezekiah Randolph (Valley/New Orleans) – No other player in the league scored more than him last week, finishing with eight runs while going 9-for-25 (.360) at the dish with two doubles, two homers and five RBIs.
Stephen Scott (Newport/Vanderbilt) – Drove in a league-high nine runs on seven hits, batting .318 with four runs, a double, two homers and five walks.
Jesse Uttendorfer (Danbury/NJIT) – League’s top speed threat last week, finishing 6-for-7 in stolen bases, leading league in total swiped bags over that span while adding five hits and six runs scored.
Pitchers
Jack Connolly (Plymouth/Notre Dame) – Nearly unhittable in two relief outings, striking out eight in only three scoreless innings while yielding just one hit and one walk.
Jordan Fulbright (Ocean State/UNC Asheville) – Won both games he started as part of a 6-0 week for the Waves, who have won seven straight; Fulbright fanned three and worked around four hits over nine innings with a 1.00 ERA.
Andrew Gist (Newport/Georgia) – Was the only pitcher in the league with a double-digit strikeout total, fanning 11 in eight innings over the course of two appearances (one start).
Robert Hitt (Ocean State/Quinnipiac) – Closed out three of Ocean State’s six wins last week, going a perfect 3-for-3 in save opportunities while fanning seven over 3-2/3 innings with just one run, one hit and one walk issued.
Cole Whitney (Sanford/St. John’s) – Was excellent in two appearances (one start), allowing no runs while striking out nine over 7-2/3 scoreless innings.
