Muncy Named NCBWA National Hitter of the Week
3/27/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 27, 2012
MORGANTOWN, W.V. - Baylor's Max Muncy was named National Hitter of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) on Tuesday. Muncy joins Josh Ford (2004) as the only Baylor players to ever earn the honor.
Muncy's award comes one day after he was named Big 12 Baseball Player of the Week for the second time in his career. He led the Bears to a 4-0 record last week, including a three-game sweep of Kansas that improved Baylor's record to 6-0 in Big 12 play and gave the Bears their best-ever start in the league's 16-year history.
A junior from Keller, Texas, Muncy hit .500 (9-for-18) with two home runs, two doubles, nine RBI and seven runs scored during the week. He also walked twice, struck out only one time and had 17 total bases for a .944 slugging percentage.
With a home run in the third inning of Saturday's win over Kansas, Muncy snapped Baylor's streak of 15 consecutive games and 499 at-bats without a home run. He also homered in the sixth inning of that game, giving him the Bears' first five-RBI game of the season,.
In Sunday's series finale against the Jayhawks, Muncy stepped to the plate with the game tied 6-6, two runners on and two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. With Kansas' travel curfew looming, Muncy avoided a tie by belting a game-winning two-run double down the right-field line, and the game was called just one pitch later.
Muncy's game-winning double was hit fourth hit of the game, marking the third time he's had a four-hit game in his three-year career. His multi-home run game on Saturday was also the third of his career, and he extended his streak of Big 12 games reaching base safely to 15 straight.
Muncy also had a single and two runs scored in the series opener against Kansas. He helped the Bears to a 6-0 start in Big 12 play - their best start in the league's 16-year history - and back-to-back Big 12 series sweeps for the first time since April 2005.
In Wednesday's win at Sam Houston State, Muncy singled, doubled, drove in two runs, walked and scored a run. He's currently riding a six-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in 15 consecutive Big 12 games dating back to the last nine conference games of 2011.
Muncy ranks in the Big 12's top 10 in seven categories: hits (t-5th, 32), home runs (t-6th, 4), triples (t-6th, 2), RBI (5th, 23), total bases (3rd, 53), walks (t-9th, 16) and slugging percentage (.564). He has started at first base in 107 consecutive games and 143 of 144 team games since arriving on campus.
Baylor returns to action when it travels to Houston to take on the University of Houston at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Cougar Field. Following their lone midweek game against the Cougars, the Bears return home for a three-game Big 12 series against Oklahoma State starting at 6:35 p.m. Friday. This weekend's series is Baylor's annual Military Appreciation Weekend.
BAYLOR'S NCBWA NATIONAL HITTERS OF THE WEEK
Josh Ford (5/16-5/23, 2004)
Max Muncy (5/19-5/25, 2012)
