IRVING, TX.-- The C-USA Hitter of the Week honor went to Old Dominion junior 3B P.J. Higgins, who had multiple hits in each game with five extra-base hits and six RBI.UAB junior RHP James Naile has been named the Conference USA Pitcher of the Week after throwing seven hitless innings in the Blazers 4-0 series-opening shutout victory over No. 12 Rice.
Higgins batted .481 from the lead-off spot last week, notching multiple hits in each outing and totaling 13 hits for the Monarchs. He doubled in three straight games and finished the week with a pair of home runs in ODU's 11-2 victory in the series finale at UTSA. Higgins drove in six runs and scored five times, posting an .815 slugging percentage and a .500 on base percentage for the week. Higgins currently has an 11-game hitting streak and an 18-game on-base streak.
Naile turned in a dominant effort for the Blazers over Rice in the first game of the series Friday night, providing the spark that allowed UAB to claim a series vs. the Owls for the first time since 2011. The redshirt junior from Charleston, Mo. threw seven hitless innings vs. the league's leading offensive team, posting eight strikeouts in the 4-0 shutout. He cruised through seven innings to earn his fifth win of the season, bringing his team-leading ERA among starters down to 1.71 with just 12 earned runs allowed in 63.0 IP on the year.
2015 WINNERS:
Hitter of the Week - Feb. 16 - Michael Adkins, C, Middle Tennessee; Feb. 23 - John Clay Reeves, C, Rice; Mar. 2 - Christian Dicks, OF, Florida Atlantic and Anderson Miller, OF, WKU; Mar. 9 - Ricky Santiago, 3B, Florida Atlantic; Mar. 16 - Josh Eldridge, OF, Old Dominion; Mar. 23 - Edwin Rios, 1B, FIU; Mar. 30 - Ronnie Jebavy, OF, Middle Tennessee; Apr. 6 - Brendon Sanger, OF, Florida Atlantic; Apr. 13 - James Naile, RHP, UAB.
Pitcher of the Week - Feb. 16 - Kyle Miller, RHP, Florida Atlantic; Feb. 23 - Tyler Clancy, LHP, Louisiana Tech; Mar. 2 - James McMahon, RHP, Southern Miss; Mar. 9 - Cord Cockrell, RHP, Southern Miss; Mar. 16 - Greg Tomchick, Old Dominion and Brock Hartson, UTSA; Mar. 23 - Phil Maton, RHP, Louisiana Tech; Mar. 30 - James McMahon, RHP, Southern Miss; Apr. 6 - Sean Labsan, Florida Atlantic and Jordan Stephens, Rice; Apr. 13 - P.J. Higgins, 3B, Old Dominion.