Week 14: Baseball Players of the Week

Player of the Week: Troy LaNeve, Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt’s Troy LaNeve finished the week batting .429 with a pair of multi-hit outings for the Commodores. He recorded at least one hit and a run scored in each of Vanderbilt’s wins on the week. Three of his six hits went for extra bases, and he helped Vanderbilt walk it off against Kentucky, blasting a two-run homer in the ninth to win the game, marking the Commodores’ first walk-off win of the season. He hit a three-run homer late to ice the game and help Vanderbilt clinch the series with a 8-2 win on Friday.

Pitcher of the Week: Richard Fitts, Auburn

Auburn’s Richard Fitts pitched a career high 8.0 shutout innings in the series and SEC Tournament clinching win at Missouri Friday. Fitts faced one over the minimum, retiring the first 14 batters he faced before allowing a two-out single in the fifth and then proceeding to sit down the final 10. He matched a season high with seven strikeouts, and his outing was the longest by an Auburn starting pitcher since Mar. 9, 2019.

Newcomer of the Week: Will Bednar, Mississippi State

Mississippi State’s Will Bednar threw a career high 112 pitches in a career-best eight innings of work without allowing a run to earn his sixth win of the season – all coming in SEC play. In eight innings against Alabama, Bednar struck out 11 and allowed multiple base runners in just one inning and only one reached third base. He posted four perfect innings, allowed one base runner in three frames and issued a walk and a single in the eighth, before ending his 11th start with a strikeout looking.

Freshman of the Week: Cayden Wallace, Arkansas

Arkansas’ Cayden Wallace collected three hits, including two homers, and drove in four runs in Thursday’s series opener against No. 9 Florida, powering No. 1 Arkansas to a 6-1 win. The true freshman, who finished with a team-leading four hits and a team-best four runs scored on the weekend, helped the Razorbacks sweep the Gators, grab their SEC-record 10th conference series win of the season and secure their second ever outright SEC regular-season title.