Ball State University Athletics
Ball State Baseball Sweeps MAC West Player of the Week Honors
March 28, 2016 | Baseball
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Ball State baseball team took home both the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week and Pitcher of the Week awards Monday afternoon. Junior shortstop Alex Maloney earned the nod for Player of the Week while junior right-handed pitcher Zach Plesac was tabbed Pitcher of the Week.
Maloney, hailing from Chelsea, Michigan, finished 3-for-4 and scored two runs in Ball State's 9-8 comeback win over Purdue on March 22. In Sunday's win over Miami, Maloney hit two doubles and scored twice in the 9-6 victory. The junior led Ball State in batting average (.438) and hits (seven) for the week. Maloney is one of six position players to start all 25 games thus far for the Cardinals.
Plesac arguably put together one of the best collegiate pitching performances of the season at Miami on Saturday. The righty tossed a two-hit, complete game shutout in the 9-0 win over the RedHawks. He struck out a career-high 11 batters and only allowed one base runner the final four innings. Earlier in the week, Plesac was used in relief against Purdue and tallied the win. The native of Crown Point, Indiana, threw three innings, struck out three batters and gave up just one hit. Plesac currently leads the team in strikeouts (32) and ranks third in ERA (3.03).
Buffalo outfielder Vinny Mallaro (East Player) and Ohio pitcher Jake Rudnicki (East Pitcher) were the other award winners this week.
Ball State (14-11, 2-1 MAC), which has won six of its last eight games, is back in action tomorrow, March 29 with a non-conference game at Valparaiso. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. CT).
For the most up-to-date information on the Ball State baseball team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateBB and @CoachMaloney.
