NORFOLK, Va. – Coppin State's
Jordan Hamberg was named the MEAC Baseball Player of the Week while teammate
Rashad Ruff earned Pitcher of the Week honors, it was announced by the league office on Monday afternoon. This is the third time this season that Hamberg has been named the Player of the Week whereas Ruff is receiving his first collegiate weekly award.
A sophomore from South Plainfield, N.J., Hamberg was impressive on both sides of the diamond, hitting .529 (9-for-17) with three runs, five RBI, a double, two home runs and seven walks at the plate. On the mound, Hamberg threw 6.0 innings and struck out 12 batters in Coppin's victory over Maryland Eastern Shore in the series finale on Sunday.
Hamberg started the week with a 1-for-3 performance in a midweek tilt against Mount St. Mary's where he scored and drove in a run while drawing four walks. He followed up with a two-hit performance in the opener against the Hawks where he drove in a run, recorded a double, drew a walk and stole a base. In the opening game of Saturday's doubleheader, he went 3-for-3 with a home run before drawing a pair of walks in the nightcap.
While dominating on the mound on Sunday, he was equally impressive in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Hamberg put the Eagles ahead with a solo home run in the first before recording an RBI single in the third to make it a 2-0 game. On the rubber, he struck out seven of the first eight batters he faced and ended his outing by fanning three of the last four.
For the season, Hamberg is plastered all over the league leaders in both hitting and pitching categories while being named a candidate for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award. Hamberg ranks second in the MEAC in hitting (.368), slugging (.675), OPS (1.143) and home runs (8) while ranking third in on-base percentage (.468) and fifth in runs (30), RBI (30), doubles (8) and stolen bases (11).
Pitching wise, he is 5-1 while leading the league in earned run average (3.52), strikeouts (73), opposing batting average (.232) and strikeouts per nine innings (12.3) where he ranks in the Top 40 nationally. Hamberg ranks second in wins, fewest runs allowed and fewest hits allowed.
Ruff made three relief appearances last week and picked up a pair of victories in the four-game series against Maryland Eastern Shore. In 6.0 total innings, Ruff allowed just two runs on two hits while striking out 11. Following a midweek outing against The Mount, Ruff struck out four over 2.0 innings in the series opener against the Hawks. He came back two days later, retiring all nine batters he faced over the final 3.0 innings and striking out six.
A sophomore from Moreno Valley, Calif., Ruff is 3-4 with a save on the season, striking out 45 batters in 34.0 innings of work while recording a 6.35 ERA.
Winners of eight of its last ten conference games, Coppin (21-25, 17-11 MEAC) leads the league by three games and returns to action on Wednesday, May 4 at Towson for a 3 pm first pitch. The Eagles will then host Delaware State in a four-game MEAC series on May 6-8 at Bachman Sports Complex in Glen Burnie, Md.
