Winthrop baseball earns two weekly honors from the Big South Conference
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Winthrop baseball earned themselves two different weekly honors from the Big South Conference. Junior infielder Grant English was honored as Big South Player of the Week for the games played March 19-25. In addition, sophomore Zach Peek was given the honor of being Big South Starting Pitcher of the Week. This was the second time for Peek this season.
English recorded a .706 (12-for-17) batting average. In addition, the junior had nine RBI and six runs scored, as he lead the Winthrop eagles offense to four different victories over last week. Prior to the Eagles’ conference series against the Longwood Lancers, English finished 2-for-4. He had a run scored in Winthrop’s 3-0 shutout which led to a win over Davidson.
“This a huge honor for me with this being my first Big South player of the week. Also with my teammate, Zach Peek getting, receiving Big South pitcher of the week this just shows a glimpse of how hard we have been working this season,” English said. “We go out each day with a purpose to get better. This is probably the best team I’ve been a part of since coming to Winthrop so I’m expecting big things out of the Eagles this season!”
Against the Lancers, English went 10-for-13 (.769) and followed with a 5-for-5 mark with five RBI, and three runs scored in the series finale on Saturday the 24th. English dominate with the highest batting average, slugging percentage (1.118) and on-base percentage (.667) in the Big South league last week.
Peek hurled a complete game shutout for the first time in a complete game of his career. Peek struck out eight and led to a 8-0 win over the Lancers. The sophomore did this in game two of a doubleheader against the Longwood. He only allowed three hits, and only one walk. This Virginia native became the first pitcher in the Big South conference to reach 50 strikeouts on the year.
“I owe the award to the guys on the field around me. I’ve seen first hand the work these guys put in on and off the field, and am blessed to play with them,” Peek said. “Ultimately it’s all about us playing good baseball and having fun, and I think we’re doing a great job.”
The Winthrop Eagles are back on the road this week, taking on conference opponent Gardner Webb April 6-8 in Boiling Spring, N.C., then returning to the Winthrop ballpark for their next series the following weekend.
