SSBR Players/Pitchers of the Week, 2/19-2/25

With it being our 2nd season here at Sooner State Baseball Report, we are trying some new things out to make our coverage even better. One of those things is awarding a Player of the Week and a Pitcher of the Week for the various levels. Each week we will send out a nomination form to each head coach and we will pick from those nominations.

We have awards in the small college division (NCAA D2, NAIA, NCCAA) and the junior college division.

Here are your winners for the week.

It is getting harder and harder each week to pick just one.

Small Colleges

Player of the Week

Lance Barnett (INF/OF), Cameron University

We’ve got a couple of “firsts” in the SSBR Players/Pitchers of the Week’s short history. Barnett is the first 2-time winner of the weekly award and the first back-to-back winner.

Last week Barnett had a big week, but this week was even better. In a week where Cameron had a chance to win only their 2nd conference series in 2 years, Barnett did all he could.

His line: G 4, AVG .579 (11-19), 4 HR, 3 2B, 6 RBI, 2 SB, 7 R

Other nominations:

Gage Ninness, USAO: AVG .529 (9-17), 2 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, 2 BB, SB, 6 R
Joel Escalante, Rogers State: AVG .466 (7-15), 2 HR, 3 2B, 8 RBI
Phoenix Nelson, Southwestern Christian: AVG .500 (6-12), OBP .689, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 3 SB, 5 R

Pitcher of the Week

Gabriel Figueroa (RHP), Southwestern Christian University

Figueroa has been the workhorse for SCU and we saw performances like this from Figueroa in 2023. Who can forget his 9.2, 13 K performance vs MACU in the NCCAA Championship game last year?

While Figueroa has been more than good this year, his latest performance jumps out. He threw a complete game (7 innings) vs Ecclesia and was dominant for all but 1 pitch.

His line: CG (W), 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 15 Ks, 0 BB, HBP

You read that right – 15 of the 21 outs he got were of the strikeout variety.

Other nominations:

Elijah Tolsma, USAO: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 5 K, BB
Alek Trukki, Rogers State: G 2, 2-0, 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 K
Ariel Tejada, Southwestern Christian: G2, GS 1, 2-0, 7 IP, 4 H, R, 11 K

*We don’t usually list more than one player/pitcher per team, but Tejada’s performance last week was too good not to.

Junior Colleges

Player of the Week

Nate Anderson (CF), Redlands CC

Not much has gone right for the Redlands Cougars. They’ve lost several close games so far this year and their record is 4-15 as they head into Region play this weekend.

A bright spot for them has been center fielder, Nate Anderson in the lead off spot. Anderson has hit .419 in the lead off spot and giving teams fits at the top of the lineup. This past week was no different as he drove Dallas College Cedar Valley crazy in their 4 games.

His line: .625 AVG (10-16), .667 OBP, 3 2B, 3 3B, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 6 SB, 4 R

Other Nominees:

Cooper Smith, NOC Enid: .538 (7-13), GS, 2B, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 4 R
Elijah Alexander, Connors State: .500, 2 HR, 2 2B, 12 RBI
Andrew Tinsley, Murray State: .625, 5 2B, 10 RBI, 2 SB, 8 R
Landen Johnson, NOC Tonkawa: .529 (9-17), 2 HR, 2 2B, 3B, 8 RBI, 6 R
Izac Sizemore, Carl Albert State: .500 AVG, .611 OBP, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 4 BB, 6 R

Pitcher of the Week

Liam McKinney (LHP), NOC Tonkawa

Let’s face it, relievers don’t get the same amount of recognition as starting pitchers do. So when a reliever has a dominant week and gets 2 “W’s” for his team, then he should be recognized for it.

The freshman from Norman High had an impressive 2 games out of the bullpen for the Mavericks last week. In their game at Rose State, McKinney came in early with the game still in doubt and handled the Raiders over 3.2 innings to allow the Mavs’ bats take over the game. In the game against Southeast Arkansas, McKinney came in with the Mavs down 1-0 and pitched 4.1 scoreless innings to allow the Mavs to come back and win 5-1.

If that isn’t what a reliever is supposed to do (and do it well), then what are we even talking about?

McKinney’s line: G 2 (2 W), 8 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 7 K, 2 BB

Other nominees:

Jabe Schlehuber, NOC Enid: 5.0 IP, 3 H, ER, 4 K, BB
Rolfy Dapaula, Connors State: 5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, K, BB, HBP
Cade Sims, Redlands CC: CG 7.0 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 5 K, BB
Cash Kuiper, Murray State: 5.0 IP, 5 H, R, 0 ER, 9 K, BB

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