MCN’s Harden, UIW’s Rollins Grab Final Southland Baseball Weekly Honors
FRISCO, Texas – McNeese’s Payton Harden is the Southland Conference Hitter of the Week, and UIW’s Carson Rollins is the league’s Pitcher of the Week, the league announced Monday. Weekly awards are presented by
GEICO.
The conference leader in hits (73) and batting average (.371), Harden enjoyed a successful weekend at the plate, hitting 8-for-14 (.571) with 10 RBI and six runs scored. With a sweep of HBU, the Cowboys (30-21, 15-9 SLC) claimed their fifth regular-season conference title and first since 2017.
Rollins took to the mound in the third inning of the Cardinals’ regular-season finale and logged 6.2 innings of relief to finish out the game. He registered a career-high eight strikeouts and allowed just one run on three hits in his longest relief appearance to date.
Earning the top-seed in the 2022 Southland Baseball Tournament, McNeese will host its side of the bracket May 19-21 at Joe Miller Ballpark, beginning against No. 8 UIW at 6 p.m. CT Thursday.
Hitter of the Week – Payton Harden, McNeese – Junior – Outfielder – Atascocita, Texas
In the first of three-straight wins over HBU to wrap up the regular season, Harden capped off a seven-inning third with an RBI double and drove in two more with a base knock in the following frame. During the Cowboys’ 10-run fifth, he blasted his first home run of the year to balloon the lead to 19-2. Harden finished the day with career-highs in both hits (five) and runs (six). Down 7-2 in the second inning of the series finale, Harden’s two-run shot ignited the McNeese comeback as the Pokes outscored the Huskies 14-2 over the final eight innings.
Honorable Mention: Issac Williams, New Orleans; Bo Willis, Northwestern State; Josh Caraway, A&M-Corpus Christi.
Pitcher of the Week – Carson Rollins, UIW – Redshirt Junior – Reliever – Katy, Texas
Rollins made an immediate impact in his long relief bout on Saturday, retiring the first seven Islanders he faced. He finished with a season-high eight punchouts, including a pair each in the sixth and seventh frames. Rollins surrendered just one run on three hits across 6.2 innings of work. This marks his first career weekly honor.
Honorable Mention: Jack Williams, New Orleans; Nick Heckman, Nicholls; Ethan Francis, Northwestern State; Will Kinzeler, Southeastern.
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.
2022 Southland Baseball Players of the Week
May 16 – Payton Harden, McNeese; Carson Rollins, UIW
May 9 – Preston Faulkner, Southeastern; Andrew Landry, Southeastern
May 2 – Andruw Gonzales, McNeese; Beau Blanchard, New Orleans
April 25 – Pearce Howard, New Orleans; Cameron Foster, McNeese
April 18 – Bryce Grizzaffi, Southeastern; Tyler Theriot, Nicholls
April 11 – Ridge Rogers, UIW; Brandon Mitchell, New Orleans
April 4 – Pearce Howard, New Orleans; Jaime Ramirez Jr., Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
March 28 – Alec Paz, Nicholls; Johnathan Harmon, Northwestern State
March 21 – Amani Larry, New Orleans; Adam Guth, Southeastern
March 14 – Garrett Felix, Nicholls; Collin Horton, New Orleans
March 8 – Brendan Ryan, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; Cameron Foster, McNeese
March 1 – Pearce Howard, New Orleans; Michael Garza, UIW
Feb. 22 – Jake Miller, HBU; Grant Rogers, McNeese