Texas Tech baseball senior and freshman infielders Hunter Hargrove and Josh Jung were named Big 12 Player and Newcomer of the Week, respectively, the league announced today.
It is the first honor of the year given out by the conference and first for each member of the Red Raider baseball team. It marks back-to-back years the Red Raiders have received Player & Newcomer of the Week in the same week, as Tanner Gardner and Davis Martin picked up the awards on March 21, 2016.
Hargrove, a native of Mansfield, Texas, got off to a hot start to the 2017 season, recording a .444/.944/474 line behind eight hits in the four games in Starkville, Mississippi, last weekend. Among his eight hits were three doubles and two home runs, along with seven RBI and five runs scored.
Hargrove went 4-for-5 on Opening Day against Western Illinois, coming a triple shy of the cycle with a single, two doubles and a home run. His four hits and four RBI were career highs, making him the first Red Raider to have four or more hits in a game since March 14, 2015.
After four games, Hargrove leads the Big 12 in hits (eight), home runs (two), doubles (three), total bases (17), slugging percentage (.944), hits in a game (four), RBI in a game (four) and total bases in a game (nine).
Only two Red Raiders have a hit in every game this season: Hargrove and Jung. In his collegiate debut, Jung went 2-for-5 with a walk, a run scored and a RBI. Over his first weekend of play, Jung tallied seven hits, including two doubles, three RBI, four runs, nine total bases and three walks.
Along with a hit in every contest this year, Jung has also tallied a team-leading three multi-hit games in 2017. Jung’s batting average of .467 leads the Red Raiders among starting position players, ranks first among Big 12 freshmen and sixth overall in the league. He leads freshmen in on-base percentage (.556), is tied among freshmen in hits (seven) and hits per game (1.75), sitting in second behind Hargrove overall in the conference.
The No. 11 Red Raiders return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 21, for the Lubbock Opening Day against New Mexico State at 2 p.m. at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.
(Courtesy: Texas Tech Sports Information Department)