Two position players were selected by the MAC to be co-players of the week. Ball State’s (12-8, 7-1 in the MAC) junior catcher/designated hitter Matthew Rivera and redshirt freshman outfielder AJ Rausch, from Ohio University (10-7, 4-2 in the MAC). The pitcher of the week was senior Jordan Patty of Central Michigan (9-8, 5-1 in the MAC).
Rivera hit for a whopping .615 batting average, with a slugging percentage of 1.308. He plated 11 of the team’s runs over the weekend. He had 17 total bases as well, which included two homers in the third game of the weekend. One of those round-trippers was a grand slam. He drew six walks, which included a walk-off walk when the run-rule was put into effect.
Rausch went 9-17 for the Bobcats in their 4-1 week, with three huge home runs. He hit his first collegiate bomb against Kent State (6-9, 2-4 in the MAC) to give the Bobcats a 4-run lead. Later that game he ended a 12-pitch battle with a inside-the-park homer. Later in the week, while Ohio and Kent St. were tied at 7-7, he broke that tie with a solo homer. He put Ohio in the lead for the first time in that game.
Patty was dominant on the mound for Central Michigan. He pitched 8 shutout innings, just allowing three hits in a 2-0 win over Miami (7-11, 4-4 in the MAC). Patty punched out 8 batters while only giving out one free pass. The season hasn’t started the way Patty probably wanted, with an ERA of 11.57 going into this game, this performance was much needed.
Games to look for this weekend
Kent State at Northern Illinois (3-14, 3-3)
Miami at Toledo (9-10, 4-4)
Akron (5-12, 4-4) at Eastern Michigan (5-11, 1-3)
Ohio at Bowling Green (2-15, 0-8)
Ball State at Western Michigan (4-13, 2-2)
Central Michigan at Iowa (9-8 overall)
