Hitt and Duke earn USA South Athlete of the Week recognition

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Two Huntingdon student-athletes were named Athletes of the Week by the USA South Athletic Conference on Monday.

Senior Sam Hitt was named the men's lacrosse Defensive Player of the Week and freshman Tucker Duke was named the baseball Rookie Pitcher of the Week.

This is Hitt's third recognition during the first four men's lacrosse Athletes of the Week this season. Duke is the first Rookie Pitcher of the Week for the Hawks this season. While this is Duke's first recognition of the season, he is the fourth Huntingdon pitcher to be recognized this spring.

Hitt, a senior from Finksburg, Md., was recognized for his performance in wins over Wabash and Averett and a loss to Carthage. In the three games, he was 52-for-61 on faceoffs, picked up 45 ground balls and scored four goals.

In a 7-6 win over Wabash, Hitt was 14-for-17 on faceoffs with 14 ground balls and one goal. In a 14-9 loss to Carthage, Hitt was 22-for-27 on faceoffs with 18 ground balls and two goals.

To close the week, Hitt and the Hawks recorded the first shutout in program history in a 13-0 win over Averett. Against the Cougars, Hitt was 16-for-17 on faceoffs with 13 ground balls and one goal.

Through eight games this season, Hitt leads Division III with 146 faceoff wins and 114 ground balls. For players who have taken at least 100 faceoffs this season, Hitt is third in Division III with a 74.9 faceoff winning percentage (146-for-195). He is the Hawks' fourth leading goal scorer this season with 10 goals.            

Duke, a freshman from Pulaski, Tenn., was 2-0 with 10 strikeouts and a 1.29 ERA in two appearances last week. Duke's first win came in a 5-4 victory over Rhodes. In the game, Duke pitched two innings of relief, struck out one, walked three, allowed one hit and one earned run.

In his final appearance of the week, a 5-4 win over LaGrange, Duke entered the game in the fifth inning with the Hawks trailing 4-3. He pitched five scoreless innings of no-hit ball, struck out nine of the 16 batters he faced and gave up two walks. Duke struck out the final two batters to end the game.

For the season, Duke is 3-0 with 14 strikeouts and a 0.69 ERA in 13 innings.

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