Half Dozen Recognized for March 7-13 Efforts

Six OCCAC student-athletes received awards from the conference office this week as both the player and pitcher voting for baseball resulted in co-award winners. Clark State’s Kenny Blackmore and Jacob Savina share the Player and Pitcher of the Week honors with Jordan Long and Jaren Slusher of Edison State while Sommer Bourne (Bryant & Stratton) and Kayla Runyon (Edison State) haul in the softball accolades.

SOMMER BOURNE | Softball (Position) Player of the Week
Bryant & Stratton College (OH)
Bourne strung together a 7-game hitting streak and batted .652 (15-23) for the week. She wasn’t settling for singles either, slugging 1.043 with four doubles, a triple and a homerun. Bourne scored 10 runs and drove in eight more tallies during the busy 7-game week.

KENNY BLACKMORE | co-Baseball (Position) Player of the Week
Clark State College
Blackmore registered three consecutive multi-hit games, and batted .636 (7-11) overall during a series win over St. Clair County. He added four RBI, two runs and a triple to his week’s stat line. Blackmore got it done when it mattered most as well, tying the game in the bottom of the seventh of a 7-inning Game Two. The Eagles would tack on one more subsequent run and win the contest.

JORDAN LONG | co-Baseball (Position) Player of the Week
Edison State Community College
Long connected for a hit in 5-of-8 (.625) at-bats as the Chargers took the series from UC Clermont. He smacked a homerun and double to slug 1.125. Long was also responsible for seven runs, driving in five and scoring two himself.

KAYLA RUNYON| Softball Pitcher of the Week
Edison State Community College
Runyon tossed a victorious 5-inning complete game in the Chargers’ win over Jamestown. She surrendered a lone run on just two hits while striking out nine batters. Runyon also went 3-for-3 at the dish with a sizzling six RBI, two triples and a homerun.

JACOB SAVINA | co-Baseball Pitcher of the Week
Clark State College
Savina earns his second weekly honor through the season’s first three weeks by blanking St. Clair County for six innings. He earned the win after scattering three hits and a walk while fanning six batters.

JAREN SLUSHER | co-Baseball Pitcher of the Week
Edison State Community College
Slusher hurled a triumphant 7-inning complete game in a tightly-contested 3-2 Charger win over UC Clermont. His defense let him down a bit in allowing two unearned runs to sneek home, but Slusher limited the damage. No earned runs were charged to the freshman as he sat down nine batters down via the K.