Pair of Red Raiders earn weekly honors from Big 12
IRVING, Texas (NEWS RELEASE) - After going a combined 18-for-40 with six home runs and 19 RBIs, Tech’s Austin Green (Co-Player of the Week) and Cade McGee (Newcomer of the Week) were honored by the Big 12 Conference on Monday.
The honors are the first for both Green and McGee this season and the third and fourth overall weekly awards. Freshman TJ Pompey was named the league’s newcomer of the week the week of Feb. 26 while Damian Bravo took home player of the week honors for the week on Apr. 8.
Green started his week in style against No. 2 Arkansas going 5-for-5 against the top-ranked Arkansas pitching staff. For the week, Green went 10-for-20 with four doubles, a pair of home runs and 10 RBIs against a pair of nationally-ranked opponents.
Facing arms with ERAs of 1.00, 1.59, 1.84, 2.56 and 3.38, Green finished a trip e shy of the cycle in Tuesday’s game. Coming to bat twice in the Red Raiders’ six-run frame at No. 2 Arkansas, Green singled off Ark SP Ben Bybee. In his second AB of the game and the inning, Green smoked a two-run double to right that gave Tech a 6-0 lead. The double was just the second that Arkansas righty Christian Foutch has allowed all year. For reference, batters were hitting just .133 and .211 off of Bybee and Foutch.
In Green’s third at-bat on Tuesday, he singled home Kash off of Arkansas righty Gage Wood, before giving the Red Raiders an 8-7 lead with his home run to right off projected All-American, Arkansas closer Will McEntire. The longball was just the second McEntire had allowed in nearly 40 innings of work this season.
In his final at-bat, Green singled off of Arkansas’ Gabe Gaeckle. A National Freshman of the Year candidate, Gaeckle entered Tuesday with a batting-average-against of .143. On Wednesday, Green added his second double of the week, this time against Arkansas lefty Colin Fisher. The double was the first two-base hit Fisher had allowed in 24 innings of work. Green ended up scoring on an RBI single from McGee. F
Following a six-for-11 performance at No. 2 Arkansas, Green continued his strong week on Friday night going three-for-five with five RBIs and three runs scored in Tech’s 15-2 series-opening win over the 22nd-ranked Mountaineers.
The outfielder doubled in the third inning to score a run and hit a clutch grand slam in the sixth, that opened a 7-2 game into an 11-2 Red Raider win. Green added a hit, his 10th of the week in the Red Raider double-header sweep and added an RBI and two walks. For the week, Green scored or drove in 16 of Tech’s 36 runs, and did not make an error in 13 chances in the outfield. The right-fielder also started the game-saving 9-4-2 putout at home plate, that cut down the game-tying run in a 2-1 game in the eighth on Sunday.
A transfer from Gonzaga, McGee turned in the best performance of his Red Raider career, going 8-for 20 on the week with four homers, nine RBIs and five runs scored. McGee drove in at least one run in all five games and had a hit in all five games.
Facing the top-ranked staff in terms of ERA, McGee really shined in Arkansas as the infielder homered in both games against No. 2 Arkansas. His first home run of the week came off of Arkansas’ Ben Bybee, which was only the second home run that Bybee has allowed all season. The two-run bomb put Tech up 2-0.
On Wednesday afternoon, McGee plated the first and last run for Tech in its heartbreaking 5-4 loss at No. 2 Arkansas. The first run came on an infield single while the last run was a 408-foot home run off Arkansas lefty Stone Hewlett in the ninth. The longball which brought Tech to within 5-4, was the first that Hewlett has allowed all season. McGee’s two home runs were a rarity as Arkansas had allowed just 25 home runs in 307.1 inning of work heading into the series.
The third baseman became the first player this season to homer in back-to-back game against the Razorbacks staff that was once again No. 1 in the country in ERA, No. 1 in hits per inning and No. 1 in strikeouts-per-nine.
McGee continued his strong week with a pair of hits and three RBIs in Tech’s 15-2 win on Friday night before going 3-for-8 in the Sunday doubleheader sweep that clinched just the second series sweep of WVU in program-history. On Sunday, McGee homered in both games. The first home run, which came in a 3-2 game in the sixth, traveled 425 feet and left the bat at 108 MPH, while the second home run came in the second inning of Sunday’s nightcap and erased a 1-0 WVU lead. McGee also added nine infield assists and made just one error in the five-game week.
Winners of 11 straight home games and three straight overall, the Red Raiders return to action on Tuesday afternoon when they welcome the Lobos of New Mexico. First pitch from Rip Griffin Park at Dan Law Field is set for 2 p.m.
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