Texas Tech baseball’s Hunter Hargrove and Brian Klein have been named Big 12 Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week, the league announced today.
It’s the second time this season Hargrove has picked up the honor, previously doing so after the first week of the 2017 season. Klein’s nod makes him the eighth different Red Raider to earn one of the conference’s weekly awards this season and the third to win the Newcomer accolade.
Tech’s total of nine Big 12 in-season awards are the most the Red Raiders have ever had in one year and lead the other member institutions this season by three. Other award winners in 2017 include: Michael Davis (April 17), Orlando Garcia (April 10), Tanner Gardner (March 13), Steven Gingery (Feb. 27), Josh Jung (Feb. 21) and Grant Little (March 27).
Hargrove & Klein both recorded a Big 12-high nine hits last week, as Hargrove led the Red Raiders with a .500 batting average, followed closely by Klein at .474. Hargrove’s week extended his conference-leading hit-total to 66, his double figures to 19 and total bases to 104.
Klein drove in a Big12-best 10 runs over the week and scored eight, while Hargrove added six RBI and runs scored. As a unit, Tech tallied 61 runs on 67 hits over five games last week, which included the first 20+ run-performances in the same week since back-to-back games against Alabama A&M in 2012.
Three of Klein’s 10 RBI came on a go-ahead, three-run homer in the second game of the series against No. 2 TCU. His two-out blast gave the Red Raiders a 6-4 lead in the sixth inning, which would hold to even the series against the Horned Frogs.
In Albuquerque, Klein posted a career-day in the 27-15 getaway game, tallying four hits and six runs driven in, while scoring two of his own. Included in his four knocks were a double and his first collegiate home run.
The No. 5 Red Raiders hit the road for Columbus, Ohio, to take on Ohio State at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium on May 2-3.
(Courtesy: Texas Tech Athletics Communications)