Nike #HLBASE Players of the Week (April 20)
INDIANAPOLIS – Youngstown State’s Nick Caruso hit .538 with a double and a home run and also drove in seven runs on the road to claim Nike #HLBASE Batter of the Week, while UIC’s Jacob Key was just one out shy of tossing a no-hitter at home to earn Nike #HLBASE Pitcher of the Week as the Horizon League announced its baseball weekly honors on Tuesday.
#HLBASE Batter of the Week
Nick Caruso | Youngstown State | Senior | Catcher | Sterling Heights, Mich.
Caruso batted .538 and slugged .846 with seven hits in 13 at-bats over four games at Northern Kentucky this past weekend. Caruso recorded a double, a home run, seven RBIs, 11 total bases, four runs scored and a .571 on-base percentage. The Sterling Heights, Mich., native went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored in the series opener on Friday before going 1-for-3 with a double in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday. Caruso then set new career highs with four hits and six RBIs in YSU’s 18-6 win in the series finale on Sunday. He finished the game 4-for-4 with a three-run home run, three singles and three runs scored. Caruso became the first Penguin since Blaze Glenn in 2019 to record six RBIs in a game.
#HLBASE Pitcher of the Week
Jacob Key | UIC | Redshirt Senior | Right-Handed Pitcher | Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Key fell one out shy of throwing the 11th no-hitter in UIC history with his complete game, one-hit, shutout over Purdue Fort Wayne. The graduate student allowed a walk in the fourth and a batter to reach via error in the eighth, and had retired the first two in the top of the ninth when the Mastodons broke it up with an infield single. Key picked the runner off of first to end the game and complete the 1-0 victory. The Murfreesboro, Tenn. native threw his team-leading third complete game of the season while striking out a pair in the effort.
2021 Nike® #HLBASE Batters of the Week
February 24 – Matt Bottcher, UIC
March 2 – Turner Grau, Youngstown State
March 10 – Quincy Hamilton, Wright State
March 16 – Tyler Black, Wright State
March 23 – Quincy Hamilton, Wright State
March 30 – Matt Bottcher, UIC
April 6 – Dominick Bucko, Youngstown State
April 13 – Joshua Figueroa, UIC
April 20 – Nick Caruso, Youngstown State
2021 Nike® #HLBASE Pitchers of the Week
February 24 – Jon Snyder, Youngstown State
March 2 – Jake Schrand, Wright State
March 10 – Collin Floyd, Youngstown State
March 16 – Austin Cline, Wright State
March 23 – Brandon Deans, Oakland
March 30 – Collin Floyd, Youngstown State
April 6 – Cristian Lopez, UIC
April 13 – Collin Floyd, Youngstown State
April 20 – Jacob Key, UIC