Powell and Crawford named USA South Athletes of the Week

Powell and Crawford named USA South Athletes of the Week

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Two Huntingdon baseball players were recognized as Athletes of the Week by the USA South Athletic Conference on Monday.

In the third Athletes of the Week for baseball this season, Wes Powell was named Player of the Week and John Crawford was named Pitcher of the Week. Powell is the first Player of the Week for the 22nd-ranked Hawks this season. Crawford is the third different Huntingdon pitcher to be recognized this season.

Powell, a junior shortstop from Cantonment, Fla., was recognized for his performance in six games. During that stretch, Powell batted .545 (12-for-22) with eight RBIs, five runs, six doubles and two stolen bases. He had a slugging percentage of .818 and an on-base percentage of .607.

In a three-game sweep of Averett, Powell was 6-for-10 with three RBIs, two runs and three doubles as the Hawks won 9-7, 7-1 and 12-6. In a 2-1 win over Millsaps, Powell had one hit and an RBI. Trailing 1-0 in the seventh inning, Powell bunted to bring in the tying run. An error on the play allowed the go-ahead run to score.

In the final two games recognized this week, an 11-7 and 6-3 sweep of Maryville, Powell was 5-for-9 with four RBIs, three runs, three doubles and two stolen bases.

For the season, Powell is batting .457 (21-for-46) with 10 RBIs, 12 runs, six doubles and three stolen bases. Powell is tied for second in the USA South and seventh in Division III in hits and is tied for third in Division III in doubles. He leads the Hawks with a .587 slugging percentage, a .527 on-base percentage, is tied for the team lead in runs and is second on the team in RBIs.

Crawford was recognized for his performance in three appearances on the mound. The junior from Hoover, Ala., earned two saves in 3 1/3 scoreless innings, struck out nine of the 13 batters he faced, allowed two hits, walked one and forced one ground out.

Crawford earned a save in a 9-7 win over Averett, striking out two of the four batters he faced in the ninth inning. In a 2-1 win over Millsaps, Crawford entered the game in the eighth inning with a one-run lead, two outs and the bases loaded. Crawford struck out the first batter he faced to end the eighth inning and struck out three of the four batters he faced in the ninth inning to earn the save.

In his final appearance, an 11-7 win over Maryville, Crawford ended the game by striking out three of the four batters he faced.

For the season, Crawford leads the Hawks and is tied for fourth in Division III with three saves. He also has 13 strikeouts, three walks and has allowed two hits in 5 1/3 innings.

To view the entire list of USA South Athletes of the Week, click here.