Smith, Mooney Named Southland Baseball Players of the Week
FRISCO, Texas - Texas State right-handed pitcher Carson Smith has been named the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week and Sam Houston State second baseman Ryan Mooney has been named the conference hitter of the week, the league office announced Monday.
Smith set a career high when he struck out 14 batters in pitching eight shutout innings in a 3-0 victory over UTSA on Friday. The junior from Midland, Texas (Midland Christian), limited the Roadrunners to just two hits (both singles) and a .083 team batting average for the game. His strikeout total was the most for a Texas State pitcher in a game since 2007. Also a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week as selected by Collegiate Baseball, Smith turned in his 10th consecutive quality start, which is tied for the seventh longest active streak in the nation, as he lowered his Southland Conference-leading ERA to 1.88 for the season while increasing his strikeout total for the year to 97, the most in the Southland. He is 7-3 this season. Texas State, which has won its last four games, is 31-16 over and leads the league by three games with a 20-7 record.
Mooney helped lead the Bearkats to a 4-0 week that included a three-game sweep of Stephen F. Austin, which entered the series tied with Texas State for the league lead. The senior from The Woodlands, Texas (The Woodlands), was 8-for-17 last week with four doubles and two runs batted in. He had a slugging percentage of .706 and an on-base percentage of .526 to help Sam Houston to its firsts sweep of the Lumberjacks since they resumed playing baseball in 2006. He was 3-for-5 in each of the final two games of the series, including the finale when he had two of his four doubles. For the season, Mooney leads the team with a .357 batting average. Sam Houston State has won its last four games to improve to 33-17 overall and 16-11 in the Southland, which has the Bearkats in third place.
Honorable mention for pitcher of the week goes to McNeese State right-hander Jordan LeGros, Sam Houston State right-hander Brandon Kimbrel, Nicholls right-hander Seth Webster and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi right-hander Phillip Garcia. Honorable mention for hitter of the week goes to McNeese State shortstop Jace Peterson, Texas State third baseman Kyle Kubitza, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi outfielder Matt Holland, Southeastern Louisiana outfielder Cody Gougler and UTSA catcher Tyler Carpenter. To receive honorable mention, a player must receive votes from 25 percent of the Southland baseball sports information contacts.
Each school's SID nominates and votes for the players of the week, though is not permitted to vote for his or her own player.
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