Valparaiso's Manning and Wright State's Henn Named Baseball Players of the Week

INDIANAPOLIS -- Valparaiso junior Chris Manning and Wright State senior Casey Henn have been named Horizon League Baseball Players of the Week for the period of May 13-19.

Manning picked up batter of the week accolades for the first time this season after helping lead the Crusaders to a perfect 4-0 week last week.

The junior from Lake Forest, Calif., hit .313 during the week and hit his third home run of the season to help the Crusaders clinch the third-seed in the upcoming Horizon League tournament.

His home run came in the third game of Valpo’s series against Youngstown State as the Crusaders were looking for the sweep. Down 1-0, Manning blasted a pitch over the leftfield wall to tie the score as Valparaiso went on to win the game, 3-2.

For the week, Manning scored three runs and stole one base as he added to his season totals in both categories. The Valparaiso outfielder finished the regular season ranked seventh in runs scored (34) and tied for fifth in stolen bases (11).

Henn, pitching in Nischwitz Stadium for the final time as a Raider last Thursday night, struck out a season-high 11 as Wright State won the series-opener against UIC, 3-2.

The senior righthander allowed only three hits in 7.2 innings of work as Flame batters only had a combined .115 batting average against him. None of the three hits went for extra bases.

The 11 strikeouts give Henn 77 for the season, 14 more than the closest Horizon League pitcher.

Other Horizon League Top Performers (May 13-19)
Ryan Boss, UIC (Sr., OF) - Boss hit .375 (3-8), scoring one run and driving in two more in the series against Wright State. The Flames won two of the three games in the series to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Horizon League tournament.
Mark Fowler, Wright State (Jr., OF) - Fowler hit .417 in the Raiders series against UIC. He was 2-for-3 with the game-winning RBI in the 8th inning in Wright State’s lone win of the series. He added two more RBIs on Friday night as he went 2-for-5 at the plate.
Karch Kowalczyk, Valparaiso (Jr., RHP) - Kowalczyk threw 2.1 innings in relief last week, recording saves in both of his appearances. He only allowed one baserunner (via a walk) as he lowered his ERA to 0.42.
Michael Porcaro, Milwaukee (So., 2B) - Porcaro helped lead UWM to a doubleheader sweep of Northern Illinois by getting on base in six of seven at-bats. He finished 2-of-3 with four walks, scored three runs and drove in a pair.
Tim Suminksi, UIC (Sr., LHP) - Suminksi tossed three shutout innings of middle relief against Wright State on Saturday as the Flames won 1-0. He struck out three and allowed only one hit in his appearance.
Jake Tuttle, Milwaukee (Fr., LHP) - Tuttle allowed just two hits and added a strikeout in 5.0 scoreless innings against NIU to pick up the win.

Horizon League Batters of the Week
Feb. 11-17          Will Fadness, Milwaukee
Feb. 18-24          Alex Grunenwald, UIC
Feb. 25-Mar. 3    Drew Dosch, Youngstown State
Mar. 4-10            Alex Grunenwald, UIC
Mar. 11-17          Kieston Greene, Wright State
Mar. 18-24          Garrett Gray, Wright State
Mar. 25-31          Marcus Heath, Youngstown State
Apr. 1-7              Phil Lipari, Youngstown State
Apr. 8-14            Justin Kopale, Wright State
Apr. 15-21          Drew Dosch, Youngstown State
Apr. 22-28          John Loeffler, Valparaiso & Sam Koenig, Milwaukee
Apr. 29-May 5     Michael Timm, Wright State
May 6-12            Will Fadness, Milwaukee
May 13-19          Chris Manning, Valparaiso

Horizon League Pitchers of the Week
Feb. 11-17          Tomas Michelson, UIC
Feb. 18-24          Robert Switka, Youngstown State
Feb. 25-Mar. 3    Joey Begel, UIC
Mar. 4-10            Cale Tassi, Milwaukee
Mar. 11-17          Jake Long, Milwaukee
Mar. 18-24          Jake Long, Milwaukee
Mar. 25-31          Jake Long, Milwaukee
Apr. 1-7              Patrick O’Brien, Youngstown State
Apr. 8-14            Tomas Michelson, UIC
Apr. 15-21          Karch Kowalczyk, Valparaiso
Apr. 22-28          Chris DeBoo, Valparaiso
Apr. 29-May 5     Karch Kowalczyk, Valparaiso
May 6-12            Tomas Michelson, UIC & Cale Tassi, Milwaukee
May 13-19         Casey Henn, Wright State