Valpo's Palace, Milwaukee's Pavlovich Tabbed for Baseball Weekly Awards

INDIANAPOLIS -- Valparaiso sophomore first baseman Nate Palace (Westlake Village, Calif./Oaks Christian) has been named the Horizon League Batter of the Week, while Milwaukee right-hander Joe Pavlovich [(Denmark, Wis./Denmark (Wis.-Oshkosh)] is the League’s Pitcher of the Week, for the week of March 2-8. The accolades are the first of both players’ careers.

Milwaukee (8-3) swept Missouri over the weekend, taking games scores of 7-4, 5-1 and 3-1 in Columbia, Mo. Valparaiso (3-8) went 3-2 on the first leg of its spring break trip, collecting victories at Western Carolina and USC-Upstate.

Across five games, Palace was a machine for the Crusaders, tallying 17 RBIs and scoring 11 runs.

In Saturday’s 17-5 win at USC-Upstate, Palace went 3-for-6 with 7 runs driven in. Two of those hits were home runs, as his two-run shot in the first inning put Valpo ahead, 3-0. In the fourth, Palace’s three-run homer made it 10-2.

Palace’s 17-RBI outburst eclipsed the season totals for seven of the Crusaders’ starting nine in 2014. The sophomore entered the week with just two RBIs on the year.

Pavlovich capped Milwaukee’s sweep of Missouri, starting on Sunday and going six strong innings. Striking out seven, Pavlovich allowed just two hits to collect his first win of the year.

Earlier in the week, Pavlovich flashed his potential in Milwaukee’s exhibition game against the Milwaukee Brewers. In his one inning of work, the righty struck out the side on nine pitches.

Valpo will wrap its trip at James Madison on Tuesday before opening Horizon League play on Friday with a three-game series at UIC. Milwaukee will begin Horizon League play versus Youngstown State, with the winter weather pushing the series to Grand Park in Westfield, Ind.

Horizon League top performers (March 2-8)

• Jeff Boehm, UIC (Sr., 1B) - Boehm slugged two homers in UIC’s series versus Ohio, turning in a 1.429 slugging percentage to go along with six RBIs.
• Sam Koenig, Milwaukee (Sr., OF) - Extended his hitting streak to 11 games as Milwaukee swept Missouri. Koenig went 5-for-13 in the series, clubbing a homer in the opener and driving in four for the series.
• Brett Impemba, Oakland (Jr., DH) - In Oakland’s series win at Southern Miss, Impemba was 4-for-12, pacing the Golden Grizzlies with three runs, two doubles and a .500 slugging percentage.
• Sean Murphy, Wright State (So., C) - Hit .444 in Wright State’s three-game series versus Missouri State.
• Nate Green, Oakland (Fr., RHP) -Coming out of the bullpen on Saturday, Green tossed 5.1 scoreless innings to key Oakland’s comeback win. Green struck out six while allowing just three hits.
• Luke Mamer, Wright State (Sr., RHP) - Took the mound on Saturday for the Raiders, tossing 5.1 innings while allowing just one run.

Batter of the Week
Feb. 16:  Jeff Boehm, UIC (Sr., 1B)
Feb. 23: Gabe Snyder, Wright State (Fr., OF)
March 2: Ryan Fucci, Wright State (Jr., OF)
March 9: Nate Palace, Valparaiso (So., 1B)

Pitcher of the Week
Feb. 16:  Brian Keller, Milwaukee (Jr., RHP)
Feb. 23: Jesse Scholtens, Wright State (Jr., RHP)
March 2: Justin Langley, Milwaukee (So., LHP)
March 9: Joe Pavlovich, Milwaukee (Sr., RHP)