BTN.com staff, BTN.com staff, May 6, 2014
The Big Ten on Tuesday announced its Big Ten Baseball Players of the Week. See all of the honorees and what they did to earn the distinctions in this post.
Player of the Week: Casey Fletcher, Illinois, Jr., OF
- Belted five home runs last week, hitting three against Southern Illinois on Wednesday and two more versus Michigan State on Saturday, and drove in 10 runs to help Illinois to a 4-0 record
- Became the seventh Illini player to hit three home runs in a game, driving in five runs against the Salukis
- Drove in three runs in Saturday?s win against the Spartans, including a walk-off RBI single in a 5-4 victory
- Notched his second walk-off hit of the weekend on Sunday, singling home two runs to secure a 10-9 triumph to end the week with a 1.824 OPS
- Wins his first career Big Ten Player of the Week award
- Last Illinois Big Ten Player of the Week: Ryan Nagle (March 3, 2014)
Pitcher of the Week: Joey DeNato, Indiana, Sr., LHP
- Pitched seven shutout innings to earn the win on Friday night against Purdue
- Struck out seven while scattering just five hits to record his 10th win of the season
- Carries a 2.06 season ERA and improves his career record to 34-9
- Wins his third career Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honor
- Last Indiana Big Ten Pitcher of the Week: Joey DeNato (April 21, 2014)
Freshman of the Week: Ben Miller, Nebraska, DH
- Hit .600 during a three-game sweep over Penn State, scoring five runs while driving in two more
- Had two hits in each game versus the Nittany Lions and scored two runs on Saturday and Sunday
- Went 1-for-3 in a midweek win against Nebraska-Omaha with a walk and a run scored
- Wins his first Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor
- Last Nebraska Big Ten Freshman of the Week: Ryan Boldt (April 28, 2014)