University of Minnesota Athletics
Welch Earns Second-Straight Weekly Big Ten Award
5/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MJunior shortstop Scott Welch became just the second conference player this season to earn Big Ten Player of the Week honors in consecutive weeks. The Missoula, Mont. native led Minnesota to a weekend split with Iowa, maintaining the Golden Gophers' lead in the race for a league championship. Welch batted .538 (7-13) during the series with five RBI and one run, while posting a slugging percentage of .923 and an on-base percentage of .571. He recorded multiple hits in three of the four games, including the third game of the series when he was a perfect 2-for-2. In that 8-5 win, he collected five of the team's eight RBI, including the game-winning home run.
Welch, who currently ranks third in the Big Ten with a .395 batting average, is the third Golden Gopher to earn Conference Player of the Week accolades. Teammates Jason Kennedy (Feb. 18) and Ben Pattee (Mar. 11) have also earned the award, while Jay Gagner (Mar. 5) and Craig Molldrem (Apr. 8) have each earned Pitcher of the Week praise.
Minnesota travels to Columbus, Ohio this weekend to battle second-place Ohio State for the regular-season title. The Golden Gophers (16-8) are currently a half of a game ahead of the Buckeyes (16-9) in the standings, and need to win two of the four games to clinch the crown.
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