Jake Smith Named C-USA Hitter of the Week
February 27, 2006 | Baseball
Feb. 27, 2006
IRVING, Texas - East Carolina senior catcher Jake Smith was named Conference USA Hitter-of-the-Week announced by league officials Monday. The announcement marks ECU's first player of the week winner this season and the first Pirate to be named hitter of the week since Ryan Jones earned the recognition May 3, 2004.
Smith, a Greensboro native, led the Pirates to three victories last week, batting 8-for-18 (.444) with two doubles, a home run and 10 RBI. He hit safely in each game and drove in all of his 10 runs during ECU's three wins. Smith opened the week by going 3-for-6 against Duke with two doubles, a career-high five RBI and three runs scored. He also went 5-for-12 during the Keith LeClair Classic, hitting his second homer of the season while collecting four RBI in a 3-for-5 performance against UNC Wilmington.
On the year, Smith is second on the team with a .375 average while he leads the club in most offensive categories including homers (2), RBI (14), doubles (3), hits (15), total bases (24) and slugging percentage (.600). In addition to his early success at the plate, Smith has caught eight attempted basestealers through the Pirates' first 10 games.
ECU (7-3) is hosting Duke Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 4 p.m. before Stony Brook comes to Greenville for a weekend series, March 3-5.
