COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Coming as no surprise, Tennessee Tech baseball player Brandon Thomasson was named adidas® OVC Player of the Week Monday morning. The junior designated hitter left voters little choice in the matter after posting mammoth numbers for the Golden Eagles last week.
In four games, Thomasson hit .467 (7-for-15) with three walks, four runs scored, a double, three home runs, eight RBI, a 1.133 slugging percentage and a .579 on-base percentage.
Less than a week after smashing his first career home run as a Golden Eagle (a walk-off blast against Illinois), the junior crushed a solo shot to left center field to give Tech a 1-0 lead on Saturday. For good measure, the DH delivered another tater the very next inning, jettisoning a three-run shot over the left field wall to essentially put the Purple Eagles out of the contest.
On Sunday, Thomasson struck again, this time delivering in a clutch situation. With the Golden Eagles trailing by four in the sixth inning, the designated hitter torched a three-run, no-doubter over the Quillen Field sign in left field, brining the team within just one run of a five-run comeback. Tech would later score the tying run and win in 11 innings.
Thomasson currently leads the OVC in home runs with four moon shots this season. He also currently sits tied for second in the nation in the category.
Here's a look at the rest of the awards in the OVC this week:
Player of the Week
Others Nominated: Jordan Hankins, Austin Peay; Matt Beaty, Belmont; Sean Hagen, Eastern Kentucky; Griff Gordon, Jacksonville State; Noah Zipko, Murray State; Cole Bieser, Southeast Missouri; Wade Collins, UT Martin.
Pitcher of the Week
Joe Greenfield, RHP • Jr., 6-4, 215 • Orland Park, Ill. • Eastern Illinois
Greenfield tossed a complete game shutout in Eastern Illinois' 2-0 win over Alcorn State at the Southern Miss Invitational on Saturday. The junior scattered six hits (none after the sixth inning) and struck out six batters while walking just one Alcorn State batter. He held ASU batters to just a .194 batting average and retired the final 10 batters he faced in picking up his first victory of the season. Greenfield currently ranks second in the OVC with a 0.66 E.R.A. through 13.2 innings of work.
Others Nominated: Tyler Rogers, Austin Peay; Chase Brookshire, Belmont; Anthony Bazzani, Eastern Kentucky; Taylor Shields, Jacksonville State; Noah Smallwood, Morehead State; Andrew Bramley, Murray State; Hank Williams, Jr., Southeast Missouri; David Hess, Tennessee Tech; John Skubina, UT Martin.
