ECU junior Bryant Packard has been named the American Athletic Conference Player-of-the-Week, while sophomore Jake Kuchmaner was selected to the Honor Roll the league office announced Monday afternoon.
The Greenville, N.C. native, who earned his second career weekly award, batted a team-best .550 (11-for-20) during ECU’s 4-1 week. He tallied multiple hits in four games, drove in at least one run (five total) in four contests and scored at least one run (nine total) in all five games. Against UNCW, Packard recorded three doubles, drove in a run and scored three times. At ODU, he plated a run and scored once, and in the three-game set against Tulane he tallied eight hits, drove in three and scored five times. On the week, Packard reached base 15 times (11 hits, one walk, three hit by pitches), raised his batting average 23 points over the weekend from .360 to a team-high .383 while slugging .850
Kuchmaner garnered AAC Honor Roll accolades after helping the Pirates clinch their fifth AAC series of the season against Tulane. The Waxhaw, N.C. native, worked into the ninth inning (8.1) for the third time this season, allowed two runs (both earned) on six hits. He struck out six batters (all looking) registering at least one punch out in five of nine frames, including two in the eighth. Of the six hits he allowed, two went for extra bases (both doubles) and on the season he is surrendering 4.72 hits per game, which ranks sixth nationally.
With the duo’s honors, it marks the 13th time this season a Pirate has earned AAC weekly accolades following Jake Agnos (pitcher/Feb. 25; pitcher/April 1; pitcher/April 22), Turner Brown (honor roll/March 11), Spencer Brickhouse (player/March 25), Alec Burleson (honor roll/Feb. 18; player/Feb. 25; honor roll/April 1), Kuchmaner (pitcher/March 11; pitcher/March 18, honor roll/April 29), Packard (player/April 29) and Jake Washer (honor roll/April 22).
ECU (33-11, 13-2) will be back in action on Friday, April 3 when it travels to Cincinnati for a three-game conference series. First pitch at Marge Schott Stadium is set for 6 p.m. (ET).
