Ford Named National Player of the Week
5/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 25, 2004
WACO, Texas - Baylor designated hitter Josh Ford was named co-National Player of the Week along with Bowling Green State infielder Andy Hudak, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association announced Tuesday. Ford also earned Big 12 Conference Player of the Week honors, sharing the weekly award with Cory Patton of Texas A&M.
On the week, Ford hit .611 (11-for-18) with four home runs, six RBI, eight runs, two doubles, a triple, a 1.500 slugging percentage and a .682 on base percentage. Ford also became the first Baylor player to hit for the cycle in a Big 12 game, doing so Sunday at Texas Tech. His average jumped 29 points to a season-high .313, and his slugging percentage jumped 91 points to a season-high .577.
As dominant as Ford was all week, he was even more dominant in the series against Texas Tech. Ford hit .727 (8-for-11) against the Red Raiders with three home runs, including two round-trippers in the Saturday game, six runs, five RBI, a 1.816 slugging percentage and a .786 on base percentage. He reached safely in each of his final eight plate appearances after a fly-ball out to the warning track in right-center during the third inning of Saturday's game.
This is the fourth time this season and the second consecutive week in which a Bear has earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors. Ford earns the honor for the second time this year. He also joins Cory VanAllen as the second Bear this season to earn a national player of the week honor; VanAllen was named national pitcher of the week by Collegiate Baseball after combining with Zane Carlson on a no-hitter in mid-February.
This marks the first time in the eight-year history of the Big 12 that Baylor has earned player of the week honors four times, topping the team's total of three in 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2003. Including two pitcher of the week recipients (VanAllen and Mark McCormick), the Bears have six Big 12 weekly honorees this season, most in the program's history.
Additionally, eight Bears were named Academic all-Big 12 Conference Tuesday. Baylor had six first-team recipients, most of any team in the conference. The Bears' overall tally is the most by a Baylor team since the 2000 team had 10 honorees, while the six first-team recipients matches the 1998 and 1999 teams with the most first-team selections in the program's Big 12 history.
Tyler Bullock, Zach Dillon, Michael Griffin, Ryan LaMotta, Andy Pape and Sean Walker were first-team selections, while Jared Clements and Kevin Sevigny earned second-team honors.
Nominated by each school's director of student-athlete services and media relations offices, the 2004 baseball academic all-league squad consisted of 29 first-team members and 17 second-team honorees. First-team members consist of those who have maintained a GPA of at least 3.20, while second-team members are those who have a GPA between 3.00 and 3.19.
To qualify, a student-athlete must participate in at least 60 percent of his team's games. A pitcher must appear in at least 35 percent of his team's games or pitch at least one inning per team game. Senior student-athletes who have spent at least two years with their teams are given exemption from the participation requirements. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic service.
To date, three publications and/or web sites have named their 2004 all-Big 12 teams. Here is a list of Baylor's post-season honorees:
Reid Brees
First Team, Dallas Morning News
First Team, www.Big12Baseball.com
Second Team, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Tyler Bullock
First-Team Academic all-Big 12 Conference
Jared Clements
Second-Team Academic all-Big 12 Conference
Zach Dillon
First-Team Academic all-Big 12 Conference
Josh Ford
Second Team, Dallas Morning News
Michael Griffin
First-Team Academic all-Big 12 Conference
Ryan LaMotta
First-Team Academic all-Big 12 Conference
Mike Pankratz
Second Team, Dallas Morning News
Andy Pape
First-Team Academic all-Big 12 Conference
Kyle Reynolds
Third Team, www.Big12Baseball.com
Kevin Sevigny
Second-Team Academic all-Big 12 Conference
Drew Sutton
Third Team, www.Big12Baseball.com
Trey Taylor
Third Team, www.Big12Baseball.com
Sean Walker
First-Team Academic all-Big 12 Conference
Abe Woody
Second Team, www.Big12Baseball.com
Baylor begins play in the Big 12 Tournament at Ameriquest Field in Arlington as the sixth seed Wednesday against third-seeded and 22nd-ranked Texas Tech at 10 a.m. CDT.
