Baseball

ASC Baseball Players of the Week (2) | Massimini, Finn, Collins

AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Games: February 16-18, 2024
 
CO-HITTER OF THE WEEK – Connor Massimini, OF, So., East Texas Baptist
East Texas Baptist sophomore outfielder Connor Massimini (Fort Worth, Texas) faced some of the toughest pitching in D3 against #6 Lynchburg, #12 Birmingham Southern and Millikin (RV). In the upset win over Lynchburg, he went 2-of-4 with 2 RBI in a 5-0 win over the national champions. Only up 1-0 in the eighth inning, Massimini doubled in two runs for a 3-0 lead. Against Millikin's ace, he went 3-of-4 with a double and two runs scored in a come from behind win. ETBU was down 4-0 and came back to win, 6-5. Against BSC, he went 2-of-4 with a triple and one run scored.
 
CO-HITTER OF THE WEEK – Luke Finn, RF, Sr., UT Dallas
UT Dallas senior right fielder Luke Finn (Lucas, Texas) was a big part of the Comets' season-opening three-game sweep of Texas Lutheran. He hit .417 (5-for-12) with six runs, three home runs and a stolen base in the series. In Friday's game one, a 15-5 win, Finn blasted a solo home run. He followed with a two home runs, including a walk-off shot to leadoff the bottom of the 11th in a 6-5 victory. Finn then went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and a RBI in Saturday's 12-0, seven-inning finale.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Sayers Collins, RHP, Gr., East Texas Baptist
East Texas Baptist graduate student right-handed pitcher Sayers Collins (Frisco, Texas) combined for a no-hitter with Will Croft against the reigning national champions. He struck out seven batters in seven innings of work. It is the first no-hitter known in over 20 years for ETBU baseball. He faced 21 batters and retired 16 straight batters going 1-2-3 in the second through sixth inning and the first batter in the seventh inning.
 
OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES AT THE PLATE
Mary Hardin-Baylor senior outfielder Kaden DeBerardinis (Conroe, Texas) helped the Cru to three wins over the weekend with a .818 slug percentage. In game two against the Roos, deBerardinis hit a two-run homerun to take the game into extra innings. He followed that in the next frame with a walk-off RBI single to secure to 8-7 win for UMHB. deBerardinis recorded a .364 batting average on the week, going 4-11 with two doubles. He scored four runs while driving in five more.
 
Ozarks senior first baseman Nicholas Bennett (Little Elm, Texas) blasted two home runs and drove in five RBI over two games for the Eagles. For the week, he went 5-for-7 and posted a 1.428 slugging percentage. He went 3-for-3 with a pair of homers and five runs batted in against Principia. He went 2-for-4 against Centenary.
 
Howard Payne junior center fielder William Burford (Sugar Land, Texas) had the walk-off hit in a 5-4 win over University of Dallas this past week. Burford finished 3-of-5 from the dish while earning one RBI and scoring one run.
 
McMurry sophomore third baseman Riley Hood (Abilene, Texas) was a force at the plate for the War Hawks, coming up with some big hits at crucial times to fuel the fire and lead his team to a series win over St. Thomas. Hood went 5-for-11 with two RBI and four runs scored and added a walk and stolen base.
 
LeTourneau senior outfielder Dane Jones (Keller, Texas) broke the LeTourneau NCAA-era record with his 23rd career home run in game one of a series at Redlands. In the series, Jones homered twice and went 4-for-11 with three extra-base hits, three RBIs, and four runs scored. He was 1-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs in game one before going 3-for-4 with a homer, double, and two runs scored in game two.
 
Sul Ross State junior second baseman Primo Vasquez (El Paso, Texas) went 3-for-4 with three singles and an RBI in the series opener against Southwestern. He had another three-hit performance in game two with a pair of singles, double, and RBI. He finished the series 7-for-13 with two doubles and had a pair of runs scored and batted in. He also stole two bases.
 
Concordia Texas senior catcher Efren Sanchez Jr. (Georgetown, Texas) was efficient during the Tommy Boggs Classic. He went 3-6 at bat with a team-high four walks.
 
OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES ON THE MOUND
UT Dallas junior right-hander Tobin Oler (Carrollton, Texas) threw a one-hit shutout in a 12-0, seven-inning win against Texas Lutheran on Friday. In his Comet debut, Oler struck out three, walked five and the only hit was a bunt single. He threw the 12th one-hitter in UTD history.
 
Concordia Texas sophomore pitcher Rowdy Hoadley (Georgetwon, Texas) collected his first win of the season in a 4-0 victory over Schreiner. Hoadley tossed 5.0 innings and allowed no runs on three hits, no walks and three strikeouts. He kept Schreiner at bay as their average was only .200. Hoadley played a major part in the Tornados' first non-conference shutout at home since 2016.
 
Howard Payne junior pitcher Bryson Adare (Bastrop, Texas) earned the win in a 5-4 victory over the University of Dallas this past week. Across two games Adare pitched 3.1 innings with only two hits allowed and no runs scored. He posted an opponent batting average of .200 and had one strikeout.
 
Ozarks junior right-handed pitcher Will Utchman (Gainsville, Mo.) struck out ten in just five innings of work to pick up the win against Principia College on Saturday. During his outing, he did not allow a walk and gave up only three hits. In his final inning, Utchman struck out the side to end the inning.
 
McMurry freshman right-handed pitcher Ethan Wendel (Louis, Texas) came in and saved game three for the War Hawks to clinch a series win over St. Thomas. He allowed two runs on four hits in 5.2 innings of relief. He added three strikeouts and picked a runner off.
 
LeTourneau junior right-handed pitcher Dalton Pickett (Euless, Texas) had a strong start for LeTourneau in the series opener at Redlands. The right-hander went six innings allowing just five hits and two runs with two strikeouts and left the game with a 3-2 lead. He threw 88 pitches in his outing and four of the five hits he allowed were singles.
 
Mary Hardin-Baylor senior right-handed pitcher Andrew Acierni (Waco, Texas) opened the 2024 season for the Cru, pitching the first seven innings of the Cru's 12-2 run rule win Friday night. He recorded a 1.29 ERA on the night while adding 12 strikeouts. Acierni only allowed one earned run on four hits.