Baseball 4/15/2024 3:00:34 PM

ASC Baseball Players of the Week (10) | Burnaman, Vera

AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Games: April 9-10; Apr. 12-13, 2024

HITTER OF THE WEEK – Dylan Burnaman, SS, Jr., East Texas Baptist
East Texas Baptist junior shortstop Dylan Burnaman (Sugar Land, Texas) led ETBU to an ASC sweep of HSU hitting over .600 with 9 RBI and two home runs. In the final game, he was 4-of-5 with 3 RBI and a home run in the 14-5 win. On Saturday in the first double header game, he was 3-of-5 with 6 RBI and three runs scored. He brought in the first run to tie the game at one in the third inning and then had a 2 RBI single in the sixth and a 3 RBI home run in the seventh. He also went 3-of-6 in game one with a double. In 17 at-bats, he never walked or struck out and had one sacrifice. ETBU won the games, 10-5, 14-3, and 14-5. This is the second ASC Hitter of the Week for Burnaman this spring.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Ryan Vera, LHP, Gr., UT Dallas
UT Dallas graduate student left-handed pitcher Ryan Vera (Friendswood, Texas) broke the UT Dallas career wins record with his 23rd in a three-hit, 1-0 shutout performance against Mary Hardin-Baylor Saturday. He struck out four batters, allowing just one walk and one hit batter in the complete game, seven-inning victory. Vera’s performance evened the series and set the team up for a series win that keeps the Comets in striking distance of first and in position for a first-round bye.

OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES AT THE PLATE
Mary Hardin-Baylor senior third baseman Rhett Grosz (Hewitt, Texas) hit .500 last week against UT Dallas, slamming a trio of home runs. He opened the series going 3-for-4 with three home runs in the Cru's 9-1 win over UT Dallas. Grosz also got on base with a walk in that in that contest, driving in six total runs. He followed that with one hit in four at-bats in the Saturday doubleheader, also scoring a run. Grosz combined for four hits and two balks on the week.

Howard Payne junior first baseman Seth Bowman (Fort Worth, Texas) had a strong weekend at the plate for the Yellow Jackets batting .600 on ten at-bats. Bowman helped lead HPU to a 12-11 win over the Ozarks where he drove in two runs off a double to left field to give the Jackets a 12-11 lead in the top of the 9th. Bowman batted 3-for-6 and notched three RBI in the win.

Ozarks sophomore catcher/right fielder Jake Dempsey (McKinney, Texas) posted a .500 batting average and a .833 slugging percentage to help the Eagles win two of three against Howard Payne. Dempsey ignited the Eagles in the series finale with a grand slam. He drove in five runs over the series and had a three-hit game in game two.

McMurry junior Ty Nelson (Scottsdale, Ariz.) led the War Hawks in hits over their series win with LeTourneau. Nelson was able to come up with eight hits on 13 at bats. He batted .615 over the series. Nelson scored twice and had a double that drove in a run.

Concordia Texas senior second baseman/left fielder Aaron Gomez (Corpus Christi, Texas) was on fire at the plate, going 9-14 (.643) with a .786 slugging percentage and .706 on base percentage in the series sweep over Sul Ross State. He also produced eight runs, three walks, two RBIs, two doubles and two stolen bases. The Corpus Christi native tallied at least three hits and two runs in every game, and he is now on a seven-game streak of multiple hits. In the 4-3 game one victory, Gomez went 3-4 (one double) with two runs scored and a stolen base. In the 13-11 comeback in game two, Gomez batted .500 (3-6) with three runs, two RBIs, one walk and a stolen base. He then helped CTX complete the series sweep with a 3-4 batting performance (one double), three hits, three runs, and two walks in the 18-4 run-rule victory.

UT Dallas graduate student first baseman Zach Landry (Dallas, Texas) hit .455 (5-for-11) with three runs scored and two RBI as the Comets went 2-2 on the week. He also drew four walks and was hit by a pitch for an on-base percentage of .625.

LeTourneau junior outfielder Xander Nabors (Conroe, Texas) batted .455 (5-for-11) with a 1.318 OPS, one homer, and two runs scored on the week for LeTourneau. He had a hit in all three games versus McMurry, including going 3-for-4 with a home run, RBI, and two runs scored in a 9-3 game two victory.

OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES ON THE MOUND
East Texas Baptist graduate student right-handed pitcher Sayers Collins (Frisco, Texas) earned his 8th win of the year going six innings of a seven-inning game recording his first double-digit strikeout game of the year with 11. He retired the sided in the sixth inning. He held HSU to just one run as the Cowboys had been averaging 6 runs a game the past six games.

McMurry sophomore Hunter Poe (Midland, Texas) was able to lead the War Hawks to a win in game three that secured the series against LeTourneau. Poe made seven innings in the start, allowing a run, and striking out eight batters.

Ozarks sophomore right-handed pitcher Isaiah Lemke (Gentry, Ark.) tossed 7.1 innings and struck out seven to pick up the win in game three for the Eagles and secure crucial ASC series win.

Mary Hardin-Baylor junior right-handed pitcher James McGlumphy (Round Rock, Texas) pitched the Cru's win over UT Dallas, throwing eight innings in UMHB's 9-1 win over the Comets. He allowed just one run in the outing, facing 30 total batters. McGlumphy talked just three with only four hits allowed in his appearance.

Concordia Texas junior left-handed pitcher Mason Brandenberger (Clifton, Texas) made two appearances and recorded two saves in the first two game of the series sweep over Sul Ross State. In the 4-3 game one victory. Brandenberger entered the game with his team leading 4-2 and two men on base. He then forced two fly-outs to the outfield to secure the win. In a 13-11 game two thriller, Brandenberger found himself in a similar situation with the tying run at the plate and only one out. After allowing a base-hit, the southpaw struck out the final two batters of the game to earn his second save of the night.

LeTourneau junior right-handed pitcher Dalton Pickett (Euless, Texas) picked up the win as he went four strong innings in LeTourneau's 9-3 win over McMurry. He allowed just four hits, all singles, and did not walk a batter as he notched the win.