Baseball

ASC Baseball Players of the Week (1) | Wagner, Matthews

AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Games: February 9-11, 2024
 
HITTER OF THE WEEK – Brett Wagner, OF, Gr., East Texas Baptist
East Texas Baptist graduate student outfielder Brett Wagner (Lake Jackson, Texas) batted over .400 taking on a strong regional opponent in Pomona-Pitzer hitting .455. He was 2-of-3 in game one win with five RBI. He hit a home run in game two and had a double in game three. He also scored in every single game and had one strikeout in 11 at-bats.
 
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – David Matthews, LHP, Sr., Concordia Texas
Concordia Texas senior left-handed pitcher David Matthews (Teague, Texas) was near perfect in his debut on opening day. In a 10-4 win over Hardin-Simmons, the senior southpaw struck out a career-high eight batters and allowed no runs on only three walks in 4.1 innings.
 
OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES AT THE PLATE
LeTourneau junior designated hitter Xander Nabors (Conroe, Texas) had a pair of multi-hit games and hit two home runs in a doubleheader versus Millsaps to open the season. In game one, he went 2-for-4 with a run scored. In a game two loss, Nabors homered twice and had a triple as he went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
 
Howard Payne senior right fielder Tanner Benson (Frisco, Texas) hit .625 (5-for-8) with four RBI, three runs scored, and a .625 slugging percentage in a 2-1 weekend versus Schreiner University. Benson went 2-for-3 and had two RBI, two runs scored, and was walked one time to help lead the Yellow Jackets win 14-6 in the series finale.
 
Hardin-Simmons senior center fielder Nick Ellington (Mansfield, Texas) drove in five runs in the Cowboys lone win of the weekend against Texas Lutheran. He had a home run and pushed the lead out in the eighth inning with a three-run double.
 
Concordia Texas senior catcher Efren Sanchez Jr. (Georgetown, Texas) came out on fire as he went 4-4 with two RBI and two runs scored in the season opening 10-4 win over Hardin-Simmons on Friday. He then was walked in one of his two at bats against Texas Lutheran in the second game of the day at the Concordia Classic. The senior catcher posted a slugging percentage of .833, on base percentage of .714, and an OPS of 1.547.
 
McMurry junior center fielder Koy Carpenter (La Vernia, Texas) was able to finish off a series against the Redlands with a .417 batting average. He led the War Hawks in batting average and hits (5). He was also able to hit one of the two doubles that the War Hawks had. He also was able to keep a 1.000 OPS throughout the series.
 
Ozarks senior center fielder Cole Clark (Clarksville, Ark.) started the season off hitting .556 in the Eagles first series against St. Thomas University (Texas). Clark had a double in the first game of the season and totaled four walks over three games to help him post a .692 on-base percentage. He played flawless defense owning a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
 
OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES ON THE MOUND
Hardin-Simmons senior right-handed pitcher Caidon Livingston (Lorena, Texas) was sharp in his first outing of the year. He went five innings and struck out six allowing only one unearned in a win over previously unbeaten Texas Lutheran.
 
East Texas Baptist junior right-handed pitcher Jagger Neely (Montgomery, Texas) had a great opening day performance going four of the nine innings for the win over Pomona-Pitzer. He recorded six strikeouts and just one extra base hit in four hits overall. He retired the side in the second inning with two strikeouts.
 
Howard Payne Junior right-hander Brayden Ferrie (Rowlett, Texas) picked up the win in a 6-4 victory over Schreiner University this past week. Ferrie pitched six innings and struck out two batters while giving up seven hits.
 
McMurry junior right-handed pitcher Gabriel Aragon (Fort Worth, Texas) was able to lead the War Hawks to their first win of the season. He held a Redland Bulldogs offense to two runs, after the team scored nine the previous game. Aragon went six innings and tallied up three strikeouts and only gave up two runs and five hits.
 
Ozarks junior right-handed pitcher Will Utchman (Gainesville, Mo.) tossed three innings and did not allow an earned run in the Eagles series opener. Utchman struck out four during his appearance and limited his opponents to a .167 batting average.