Belton, Thornell Named Southland Baseball Players of the Week
Southland Baseball News and Stats (PDF)
FRISCO, Texas – Sam Houston State senior right-hander Greg Belton has been named the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week and Stephen F. Austin senior infielder Kyle Thornell has been named the Southland hitter of the week presented by UniversalCoin.com, the league office announced Monday.
Belton notched two wins on the week and a pair of saves, striking out 13 hitters in eight innings of work without allowing a run scored. The relief pitcher permitted three hits, while holding Baylor and Abilene Christian to a .115 batting average in four appearances to help the Bearkats go 4-0 on the week. In the Sunday finale, Belton tossed the final 4 1/3 innings, fanning four batters, leading Sam Houston to a 2-1, 13th-inning win against the Wildcats.
Thornell hits .667 against UIW in six at bats. In game one, he bashed a pair of three-run home runs, providing six of the seven SFA runs in the game. The following afternoon, he hammered another three-run shot that also held up to be the game-winning scores. He hit safely in all three games tallying a 2.167 slugging percentage. His three homers brought his career total to 17 – the 10th-most all-time on SFA’s career list.
Honorable mention for pitcher of the week goes to Lamar senior right-hander Billy Love and Nicholls junior right-hander Cole Stapler. Honorable mention for hitter of the week goes to Lamar senior outfielder Jacoby Middelton, New Orleans junior shortstop Aaron Palmer and Northwestern State sophomore third/second baseman David Fry.
Each school’s sports information director nominates and votes for the players of the week, though is not permitted to vote for his own player. To receive honorable mention, a player must receive votes from 25 percent of the Southland sports information directors.