UIC's Jurich, Oakland's Paulson Named Baseball Players of the Week

INDIANAPOLIS -- UIC senior Alex Jurich and Oakland junior Jake Paulson have been named Horizon League Baseball Players of the Week for the period of Feb. 24-Mar. 2.

Jurich earned Batter of the Week honors after hitting .444 for the Flames in their three games at Little Rock, Ark. He opened the weekend with five RBIs in UIC’s 14-6 win over IPFW. He started the scoring with an RBI single in the top of the 1st inning. In the eighth inning with UIC down 6-5, Jurich hit his first career grand slam to give the Flames a 9-6 advantage. He finished the game with a career-high five RBIs.

He kept the momentum going in the second game of UIC’s doubleheader, giving the Flames a 2-0 lead over host Arkansas-Little Rock in the first inning with a two-run RBI single. He finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBIs -- to give him a total of 8 RBIs on the day -- but the Flames fell to UALR, 9-5.

For the weekend, Jurich hit .444 and finished with eight RBIs and one run scored. He finished with an on-base percentage of .533 and did not strikeout in 13 plate appearances.

Paulson earned Pitcher of the Week accolades after allowing just one earned run and four hits in seven innings of work in Oakland’s 7-3 victory over New Mexico State. He struck out five in the game, while allowing Aggie hitters to hit just .167 against him.

Paulson is now 2-0 on the season and has 13 strikeouts and a 2.03 ERA in his two starts on the year.

Other Horizon League top performers (Feb. 24-Mar. 2)
Mike Brosseau, Oakland (So., SS) – Brosseau hit .444 in Oakland’s four-game series at New Mexico State. He finished the series with eight hits, four runs scored and four runs driven in. 
Alex Larivee, Youngstown State (Fr., IF) – Larivee batted .500 (7-of-14) and had a hit in all five YSU games last week. He was 3-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored in YSU’s 2-1 win over Appalachian State.
Chris Manning, Valparaiso (Sr., OH) - Manning hit .333 in Valpo’s three-game series at McNeese State. He hit two home runs in Sunday’s game and finished the series with a 1.083 slugging percentage. He also had three runs scored and seven runs batted in in the series.
Patrick O’Brien, Youngstown State (Sr., RHP) – O’Brien allowed one run over six innings in YSU’s win over Appalachian State. He allowed five hits and two walks. He retired nine of the last 11 batters he faced.
Mitchell Schulewitz, UIC (Fr., RHP) - Schulewitz tallied his first career win in UIC’s victory over IPFW. He gave up one earned run in four innings of work and struck out four batters. He now has 13 strikeouts in 12.2 innings of work this season.
Cole Webb, Valparaiso (Sr., RHP) - Webb earned the win in Friday’s series opener against McNeese State. He pitched seven innings, allowing three earned runs, while striking out two and walking none.

Horizon League Batter of the Week:
Feb. 17: Spencer Mahoney, Valparaiso (Jr., SS)
Feb. 24: Robby Enslen, Oakland (Jr., OF)
Mar. 3: Alex Jurich, UIC (Sr., C)

Horizon League Pitcher of the Week:
Feb. 17: Joey Hoelzel, Wright State (Sr., RHP)
Feb. 24: Travis Hissong, Wright State (Jr., RHP)
Mar. 3: Jake Paulson, Oakland (Jr., RHP)