Baseball Player of the Week: Jake Blinstrub, Georgia Southwestern
Blinstrub had multiple hits in three of four games last week, all against nationally-ranked opponents. The graduate student outfielder from Peachtree City, Ga., hit .444 with three doubles, a home run and six RBIs. He opened with a 2-for-4 outing against #15 West Georgia with two doubles and three RBIs in a Hurricanes win. Against #13 Columbus State, he went 6-for-14 over three games as GSW won two. He went 3-for-5 in the opener with a two-run home run and three driven in. He doubled in game two and added another hit in game three. Blinstrub leads the Peach Belt in batting average and is tied for second in doubles, tied for third in runs and tied for fourth in stolen bases.
Baseball Pitcher of the Week: Nick McCollum, Georgia Southwestern
McCollum pitched a complete-game shutout as the Hurricanes beat #13 Columbus State 8-0 to open their three-game set. The junior from Richmond Hill, Ga., scattered 11 hits but issued no walks and struck out four as he went the full nine innings. He retired the first six batters he faced in order. All 11 hits he allowed were singles and he never allowed more than two in any inning with no Cougar reaching third base. He finished the game with 119 pitches thrown for his second complete game of the season. McCollum is currently second in the PBC in strikeouts, third in innings pitched, sixth in ERA and fourth in fewest walks allowed.
Baseball Freshman of the Week: Tyler Overholt, Lander
Overholt made three relief appearances on the mound for the Bearcats, pitching 4.1 innings in all with no runs allowed and two wins. The lefty from Abbeville, S.C., started the week with a three-strikeout performance to shut down Limestone in the ninth inning to seal the win. He would then come in to pitch 1.2 innings of the first game against Georgia College & State University, allowing one hit and striking out three to earn the win. He returned in the final game of the series with GCSU, throwing 1.2 innings with three strikeouts to earn the victory in a narrow 6-4 contest that gave Lander the series. Overholt improves to 3-3 on the season with 22 strikeouts in 25 innings of relief work.
For a complete list of baseball weekly award winners, please click here.