WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army baseball players
Kirk Porter and
J.P. Polchinski have earned accolades from the Patriot League and the Army Athletic Association for their performances in a four-game sweep of Lehigh over the weekend.
Porter was named the Patriot League Pitcher of the Week and the Army Athletic Association Athlete of the Week, while Polchinski was tabbed the Patriot League Player of the Week.
A sophomore right-hander from Lake Zurich, Ill., Porter was dominant in a nine-inning, complete game 12-0 victory. He scattered three hits, struck out three and earned the victory. For the second straight week, he flirted with a no-hitter. He carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning against Lehigh and did not allow a single runner to reach third base. Only four Lehigh runners advanced into scoring position. Porter retired eight in a row and 10 of the next 11 batters before allowing a hit in the fifth inning.
Porter extended his personal scoreless streak to 15 innings and is now 4-2 on the season. He has allowed just 13 hits and two runs over his last three league starts and boats a 3-1 mark and 2.93 earned run average in conference games. It was the first league and AAA honor for Porter. He extends a streak of four consecutive weeks when an Army baseball player was honored as the Athlete of the Week, joining
Kevin McKague and two-time winner
Ben Koenigsfeld. He is the third player to earn league Pitcher of the Week accolades, joining
Matt Fouch and Koenigsfeld.
A senior from Jamestown, N.C., Polchinksi earned his first Patriot League Player of the Week citation this season by hitting .444 (8-18) with three doubles, a triple and two runs in the four-game sweep against Lehigh. The third baseman scored five runs and knocked in seven runs while posting a 1.056 slugging percentage against the Mountain Hawks. For the week, Polchinski helped Army go 4-1 with a .381 batting average.
Polchinski hit a three-run homer during the first game of the Lehigh series that jump-started the 6-4 win. He led Army’s 5-2 win in the third game with a double and triple and wrapped up the series with three hits, including a home run to earn his second career Player of the Week nod. Polchinski is the second straight Army player to be named the league’s Player of the Week, following McKague’s performance a week ago.
Army, 20-16, will host Binghamton in a non-conference game Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at Doubleday Field and conclude conference competition at Lafayette this weekend. Army is tied with Bucknell for first place in the league with a 10-6 mark and can clinch a playoff berth with one victory this weekend.
Courtesy: Army Athletic Communications
