Oklahoma State’s Roc Riggio (player), Juaron Watts-Brown (pitcher) and Oklahoma’s Easton Carmichael (newcomer) earned Big 12 baseball weekly awards for games ending March 12.
Riggio led Oklahoma State to a 6-0 week that included series wins over Arizona State and Utah Tech as he posted a team-high .476 batting average to go along with five doubles, a triple, two home runs, four RBIs and a 1.716 OPS. The sophomore went 10-for-21 at the plate and scored 11 runs, racked up 23 total bases, walked eight times and stole two bases while playing error-free baseball at second base. The Simi Valley, California native posted four multi-hit games and had a record performance in the second game of a doubleheader against Utah Tech on Saturday. In that contest, he went 4-for-5 at the plate, with all four hits being doubles. The four doubles tied the OSU single-game record, and he was the first Cowboy to achieve that feat since 1991. With his hot hitting, Riggio extended his streak of reaching base safely to 12 games.
Watts-Brown was dominant in the series opener against Utah Tech, racking up a season-high 13 strikeouts in 6.2 innings en route to his second win of the year. The right-hander allowed just one run on three hits and two walks to lower his season ERA to 1.99, which ranks as the fourth best in the Big 12. The 13 strikeouts was a career-high in an OSU uniform and just three shy of the 16 he had last season in a no-hit performance against UC Riverside while at Long Beach State. The Hanford, California native now leads the Big 12 in strikeouts with 35, and he ranks third in opponent batting average (.165) and fourth in innings pitching (22.2).
Carmichael hit .571 (12 for 21) and recorded 13 RBIs in five games to lead Oklahoma to a 5-0 record last week. He also hit two home runs, two triples and scored six runs. In OU's weekend road sweep at Houston, the freshman went 8-for-14 with eight RBIs, a home run, two triples and four runs in the three-game set. He registered a 1.048 slugging percentage and a .591 OBP for the week (1.639 OPS). On Friday night, the Prosper, Texas native went 4-for-5 with a triple and three RBIs, and on Saturday he hit a three-run home run, tripled, drove in four runs and scored twice to help OU clinch the series. He added another two hits and an RBI on Sunday. In the midweek series against UNLV, he went 4-for-7 with five RBIs, including a 3-for-3 performance off the bench Tuesday. Carmichael has hit safely in seven consecutive games.
Big 12 Baseball Player of the Week:
Feb. 20: Austin Davis, TCU
Feb. 27: J.J. Wetherholt, West Virginia
March 6: Nolan McLean, Oklahoma State
March 13: Roc Riggio, Oklahoma State
Big 12 Baseball Pitcher of the Week:
Feb. 20: Brendan Girton, Texas Tech
Feb. 27: Blaine Traxel, West Virginia
March 6: Cam Brown, TCU
March 13: Juaron Watts-Brown, Oklahoma State
Big 12 Baseball Newcomer of the Week:
Feb. 20: Kevin Bazzell, Texas Tech
Feb. 27: Janzen Keisel, Oklahoma State
March 6: Nolan Schubart, Oklahoma State & Louis Rodriguez, TCU
March 13: Easton Carmichael, Oklahoma