Bowling Green State University Athletics
Christman Earns MAC Honor
April 23, 2001 | Baseball
April 23, 2001
Cleveland, Ohio - The Mid-American Conference today announced the East and West Division Players and Pitchers of the Week for the week ending Apr. 22. Each week, the MAC will honor both an East and a West Division Player and Pitcher of the Week.
This week's Player of the Week from the East Division is Bowling Green's Aric Christman, while Buffalo's Brendan Dunford is the Pitcher of the Week. From the West Division, Western Michigan's Tony Fabrizio is the Player of the Week, while Northern Illinois' Brad Gavelek is the Pitcher of the Week.
East Division Player of the Week
Aric Christman, Bowling Green (Sr., OF, Leipsic, Ohio/Leipsic HS) Bowling Green's Aric Christman is this week's MAC East Division Player of the Week after hitting .522 (12-for-23) with 10 RBIs and 10 runs scored in the Falcons, perfect 5-0 week, four of the wins coming against rival Toledo. Christman, who is the fourth straight Falcon to win the honor, also had three doubles, two home runs and four stolen bases in the series with the Rockets to go with a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .577 on-base percentage. The senior extended his hitting streak to 10 games and registered four multi-hit contests, including a 5-for-6 performance with two doubles, a triple and three runs scored in the Falcons, 22-10 win over Toledo on Saturday.
Other Nominees:
Akron's Sean Manfredonia hit .263 (5-for-19) with eight RBIs, three home runs and five runs scored. Was 2-for-4 with two homers, a pair of runs scored and five RBIs in the Zips, 13-11 win over Kent State.
Buffalo's Eric Huber batted .529 (9-for-17) in five games last week. The junior drove in seven runs, scored three times and collected three doubles and one home run. Huber had four hits against Niagara last Wednesday, the third time this season he has had four hits in a game.
Kent State's John VanBenschoten was 7-for-16 (.438) with eight runs scored, two homers, two doubles and 10 walks, including five in one contest. The junior, who had a 1.062 slugging percentage and a .654 on-base percentage, has reached base in 12 straight plate appearances on seven walks, four hits and once on an error.
Miami's Jason Knoedler batted .364 (8-for-22) in five games last week, driving in four runs, scoring five times, homering three times and stealing two bases. The junior homered from both sides of the plate in the RedHawks, 9-5 win over Marshall and also led off the final two games of the series with a home run.
Ohio's Tony Gandee hit .444 (8-for-18) with 10 RBIs and scored six runs as the Bobcats went 2-3 last week. Twice in the series with Buffalo, Gandee drove in four runs in a game, and also had two doubles and a triple in the four-game set with the Bulls.
East Division Pitcher of the Week
Brendan Dunford, Buffalo (Jr., RHP, Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius College/St. Jude HS) Buffalo's Brendan Dunford is this week's MAC East Division Pitcher of the Week after registering a 2-0 record with a 2.40 ERA. The junior, who limited opponents to a .189 batting average in 15.0 innings, pitched six innings of four-hit relief against Niagara, striking out five en route to the win. Dunford then came back four days later and hurled a complete game six hitter against Ohio, the league,s second-highest scoring team, fanning five and walking two in a 7-1 Bulls, victory.
Other Nominees:
Kent State's Scott Diehl notched the first win of his career against Akron in a 13-1 victory. The junior went six innings and allowed six hits, one run and fanned three while walking one.
Marshall's Steve Fowler improved his record to 5-0 with a five-hit shutout of Miami. In seven innings, Fowler had only two hits leave the infield and struck out four while allowing one walk.
Miami's Chris Leonard ran his record to a league-best 8-1 with a 4-1 victory over Marshall. The sophomore scattered seven hits over nine innings to record his sixth complete game of the season. Leonard, who won his sixth straight decision, struck out two in the victory.
Ohio's Denny McGee notched a complete game victory at Buffalo, going nine innings and striking out eight. McGee gave up 10 hits and three runs -- two of which were earned -- while walking five.
West Division Player of the Week
Tom Fabrizio, Western Michigan (Jr., OF, Oak Forest, Ill./Chicago Marist HS) Western Michigan's Tom Fabrizio is this week's MAC West Division Player of the Week after hitting .412 (7-for-17) as the Broncos split a four-game set with Eastern Michigan. Fabrizio was 4-for-9 with four runs scored, two homers, two doubles and five RBIs in WMU's two victories in the series. He drove in three runs with a double and a homer in the Broncos' 21-4 victory Saturday and totaled two RBIs, a double and a homer in the team,s 8-0 triumph in the series finale Sunday.
Other Nominees:
Ball State's Paul Henry batted .462 (6-for-13) in four non-conference games last week for the Cardinals. Henry, who extended his hitting streak to a career-high 15 games, drove in seven runs, scored three times and also had three doubles.
Central Michigan's Matt Crowley batted .500 (13-for-26) in seven Chippewa games. The senior scored eight times, drove in two and also had a pair of doubles and a triple.
Eastern Michigan's Tony Palazzolo was 6-for-17 (.353) with four runs scored, five RBIs, two doubles and a pair of stolen bases in five Eagle games. One of his swipes led to the gam-winning run in a 12-inning victory, then knocked in the game winner in a come-from-behind win with a double, which was part of a seven-run fifth inning for EMU.
Northern Illinois' Noel Danielson had a hit in all six Huskie games last week, part of a 9-for-20 (.450) performance for the week. Danielson stole three bases, scored seven times and drove in four runs.
Toledo's Tony Miller was 7-for-20 (.350) in five games with 11 RBIs , one home run and three stolen bases. Nine of his RBIs came in Saturday's twinbill with Bowling Green.
West Division Pitcher of the Week
Brad Gavelek, Northern Illinois (Sr., LHP, Elgin, Ill./Larkin HS) Northern Illinois, Brad Gavelek is this week's MAC West Division Pitcher of the Week after tossing a five-hit complete game against Central Michigan. In nine innings, the senior gave up one earned run and struck out five in the 4-2 win over the Chippewas.
Other Nominees: Ball State's Bryan Bullington was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two appearances for the Cardinals. The sophomore struck out five and gave up four hits in seven innings against Butler, then fanned seven and walked one in three innings versus Anderson. For the week, Bullington pitched 10.0 innings, gave up eight hits, struck out 12 and walked one while allowing two unearned runs.
Western Michigan's Shawn Morrison tossed a complete game, four-hit shutout of Eastern Michigan Sunday to help WMU win the final two games of its series with Eastern Michigan. Morrison picked up his fifth victory of the season in the win over the Eagles.
(Courtesy of the Mid-American Conference)
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