ACU’s Eager, UCA’s Cleveland Garner Southland Baseball Weekly Honors
FRISCO, Texas – Abilene Christian’s Colton Eager and Central Arkansas’ Tyler Cleveland are the Southland Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, the league announced Monday. Weekly awards are presented by
Hercules Tires.
Eager had four of his seven hits go for extra bases in a 3-1 series win against UIW over the weekend, hitting .467 with a .933 slugging percentage and eight RBI. Up next, the Wildcats (22-17, 13-11 SLC) head to Houston for a four-game slate with Houston Baptist, beginning with a 2 p.m. CT first pitch on Friday.
Cleveland dazzled in three appearances on the mound last week for the Bears, picking up two wins and a save and totaling 18 strikeouts over 12 innings of work. UCA (14-21, 9-15 SLC) went 4-1 on the week, earning a win over in-state foe Arkansas State on Tuesday before taking three-of-four versus Stephen F. Austin over the weekend. The Bears wrap up a nine-game homestand with Northwestern State in town for four games, starting at 6 p.m. Friday.
Hitter of the Week – Colton Eager, Abilene Christian – Junior – Outfielder – North Richland Hills, Texas
Though he collected a hit in each of the four games against the Cardinals, Eager did the most damage in game two, going 4-for-4 with a career-high three RBI and finishing a single shy of hitting for the cycle. In the third inning, he put the Wildcats on the board with a three-run homerun, his ninth of the season. After UIW regained the lead, Eager tripled in a run as part of a four-run fourth that put ACU back on top 8-6. He helped pad the Wildcat lead in the sixth with a run-scoring double, his second of the contest. Eager added to his RBI total for the week with a two-run base knock in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Honorable Mention: Taylor Daniell, Central Arkansas; Preston Faulkner, Southeastern Louisiana; Salo Iza, New Orleans; Brendan Ryan, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; Daunte Stuart, Northwestern State.
Pitcher of the Week – Tyler Cleveland, Central Arkansas – Freshman – East End, Ark.
Cleveland shut the door on a 5-3 win over Arkansas State, striking out four and allowing just one hit across the final two innings to pick up his sixth save of the season. In the following game, he got the call in the 10
th inning of a 9-9 ballgame and struck out a pair before UCA walked it off in the home half of the inning.
The freshman closer transitioned to a starting role for the team’s series finale against the ‘Jacks, going the distance in the 9-0 shutout. Cleveland struck out 12 batters, opposite just one walk, and scattered three hits over nine frames. He struck out two SFA hitters each in the first, fifth and final three innings.
Honorable Mention: Kayden Cassidy, UIW; John Gaddis, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; Donovan Ohnoutka, Northwestern State; Brennan Stuprich, Southeastern Louisiana.
Southland weekly award winners are nominated and voted upon by each school’s sports information director. Voting for one’s own athlete is not permitted. To earn honorable mention, a student-athlete must appear on 25 percent of ballots.
2021 Southland Baseball Players of the Week
April 26 – Colton Eager, Abilene Christian; Tyler Cleveland, Central Arkansas
April 19 – Tyler Finke, Southeastern Louisiana; Will Warren, Southeastern Louisiana
April 12 – Colton Cowser, Sam Houston; Brennan Stuprich, Southeastern Louisiana
April 5 – Chase Kemp, Lamar; Levi David, Northwestern State
March 29 – Colton Cowser, Sam Houston; Will Kinzeler, Southeastern Louisiana
March 22 – Nate Fisbeck, McNeese; Levi David, Northwestern State
March 15 – Gaige Howard, New Orleans; Chris Turpin, New Orleans
March 9 – Colton Eager, Abilene Christian; Will Kinzeler, Southeastern Louisiana
March 2 – Clayton Rasbeary, McNeese; Will Dion, McNeese
Feb. 23 – Luke Marbach, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; Collin Kulivan, New Orleans