Wright State's Murphy and Oakland's Koons Named Baseball Players of the Week

INDIANAPOLIS – Wright State freshman Sean Murphy and Oakland senior Tim Koons have been named Horizon League Baseball Players of the Week for the period of April 28-May 4.

Murphy was terrific at the plate in Wright State’s sweep of Youngstown State this past weekend to garner his second Batter of the Week honor of the season. Murphy was 8-of-10 at the plate, with one double, two triples and a home run, while also stealing five bases in the three games versus the Penguins. He started the series with a 3-for-3 effort, hitting a double, triple, scoring three times and driving in four more, while also stealing three bases in WSU’s 14-12 win. On Saturday, the Centerville, Ohio native was 3-for-4 at the plate, hitting another triple and scoring three runs for the second consecutive game in the Raiders’ 16-11 victory. In the series finale, Murphy went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a stolen base and two runs scored.

For the week, Murphy was 9-of-14 (.643) at the plate and slugged 1.286, while reaching base at a .737 clip. He scored nine runs, drove in five and walked four times.

Wright State (28-18, 21-2) has won 13 consecutive League contests and have clinched the Horizon League regular season title and No. 1 seed in the HL Tournament. The Raiders return to action this week with four home games. They host Dayton on Wednesday evening before beginning a three-game series versus Valparaiso on Friday.

Koons picked up Pitcher of the Week accolades after throwing a complete game shutout to defeat Valparaiso on Saturday. The senior righthander went the distance on the mound allowing just three hits with seven strikeouts and three walks for his second victory of the season.

He is the first OU pitcher to toss a nine-inning complete game shutout since Aaron Wick in 2011 at Western Michigan. It is only the second complete game shutout in Oakland’s DI history.

Other Horizon League top performers (Apr. 28-May 4):
Robby Enslen, Oakland (Jr., OF) – Enslen batted .455 (10-of-22) and slugged .545 last week for the Golden Grizzlies. He led the team in hits and RBIs (4) last week. 
Alex Jurich, UIC (Sr., C) – Jurich had four multi-hit games last week as the Flames went 5-0. The highlight of the week was a 4-for-4 effort in UIC’s win over Bradley. He finished the week 11-of-18 at the plate with eight runs scored and five more driven in.
Dalton Lundeen, Valparaiso (So., LHP) – Lundeen recorded this third complete game of the season, allowing just one earned run, while lowering his League-best ERA to 2.10. He allowed five hits and struck out eight Oakland batters in the outing. 
Phil Lipari, Youngstown State (Sr., IF) – Lipari had hits in all four games last week and had multiple hits in three. He was 3-for-4 with a run and a double in the win over Kent State on Wednesday. Lipari finished the week batting .500 (8-of-16) at the plate, with five runs scored and one more driven in.
Luke Mamer, Wright State (Jr., RHP) – Mamer struck out 13 batters in two appearances last week. He struck out six, while giving up three runs in five innings against Xavier. He picked up the win in the series finale against Youngstown State, striking out seven in five innings.
Tomas Michelson, UIC (Jr., RHP) – Michelson posted his fourth career complete game in the Flames series-opening win over Milwaukee. It was his second straight complete game. He gave up five hits and allowed one earned run, while striking out seven Panther batters.
Michael Morman, Valparaiso (Sr., OF) – Morman hit .476 (10-of-21) at the plate last week for the Crusaders. He scored six runs and had three RBIs as he hit one double and a home run in last week’s games. He also stole two bases and is now a perfect 15-for-15 on stolen bases this season.
Pat Wilson, Milwaukee (Sr., 1B) – Wilson paced the Panthers offense during the week, batting at a .462 clip in the three games. He went 6-for-13 in the series against UIC, scoring once and driving in another. 
Jared Wright, Youngstown State (So., LHP) – Wright allowed one earned run in 5.2 innings of work last week. He did not surrender a run in 2.2 innings in the start at Kent State. He pitched three innings in relief  in YSU’s series at Wright State.

Horizon League Batter of the Week:
Feb. 17: Spencer Mahoney, Valparaiso (Jr., SS)
Feb. 24: Robby Enslen, Oakland (Jr., OF)
Mar. 3: Alex Jurich, UIC (Sr., C)
Mar. 10: Sean Murphy, Wright State (Fr., C)
Mar. 17: Kieston Greene, Wright State (Sr., OF)
Mar. 24: Tyler Detmer, UIC (Jr., OF)
Mar. 31: Ryan Solberg, Milwaukee (Sr., OF)
Apr. 7: Alex Lee, UIC (Jr., INF)
Apr. 14: Mark Johnson, Valparaiso (Jr., OF)
Apr. 21: Jeff Limbaugh, Wright State (Sr., LF)
Apr. 28: Kieston Greene, Wright State (Sr., OF)
May 5: Sean Murphy, Wright State (Fr., C)

Horizon League Pitcher of the Week:
Feb. 17: Joey Hoelzel, Wright State (Sr., RHP)
Feb. 24: Travis Hissong, Wright State (Jr., RHP)
Mar. 3: Jake Paulson, Oakland (Jr., RHP)
Mar. 10: Dalton Lundeen, Valparaiso (So., LHP)
Mar. 17: Joey Hoelzel, Wright State (Sr., RHP)
Mar. 24: Robby Sexton, Wright State (So., LHP)
Mar. 31: Jack Andersen, UIC (So., RHP)
Apr. 7: Dalton Lundeen, Valparaiso (So., LHP)
Apr. 14: Dalton Lundeen, Valparaiso (So., LHP)
Apr. 21: Cody Peterson, Milwaukee (Jr., RHP)
               Cole Webb, Valparaiso (Sr., RHP)
Apr. 28: Andrew Elliott, Wright State (Jr., RHP)
May 5: Tim Koons, Oakland (Sr., RHP)