NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee’s Gabe Jennings and Vanderbilt’s Hunter Owen were named the baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association for their efforts in contests from March 13-19.
Jennings batted .500 (9-for-18) with two doubles, a triple, one homer and nine RBIs in four games for the Blue Raiders. The Lebanon, Tenn., native was 4-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and six RBIs in a midweek victory against Tennessee Tech, posting a two-run single in the fourth, a two-run double in the fifth, a solo homer in the seventh and an RBI double in the eighth.
The junior collected three hits, including an RBI triple, in the first of a three-game series against Western Kentucky. He singled and drove in a run in the second game of the series and added a single and a stolen base in the series finale with the Hilltoppers. Jennings is batting .270 with three doubles, four home runs, 21 RBIs and 15 runs scored in 19 games this season.
Owen tossed a complete-game, two-hit shutout against Ole Miss in the second game of a weekend series for the Commodores. The South Portland, Maine, native walked one and threw just 96 pitches in Vanderbilt’s first nine-inning, complete-game shutout since Jack Leiter’s no-hitter vs. South Carolina in 2021.
Owen retired the final 23 batters he faced in the contest, striking out 11 against the defending national champions. The lefthander improved to 2-0 with a 2.20 ERA in five starts this season, tossing 28.2 innings and giving up 19 hits with nine walks and 35 strikeouts. Opponents are batting just .184 against him.
2022-23 TSWA BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
February 21 – Jack Roode, University of the South (Player); Jaden Hamm, Middle Tennessee (Pitcher)
February 28 – Jared Dickey, Tennessee (Player); Chase Burns, Tennessee (Pitcher)
March 7 – Blake Burke, Tennessee (Player); Chase Dollander, Tennessee (Pitcher)
March 14 – Cole Turney, Cumberland University (Player); Jaden Hamm, Middle Tennessee (Pitcher)