Anderson Sweeps HCAC Player-of-the-Week Awards after Hot Start

The Anderson University baseball team swept the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Player-of-the-Week awards, which was announced by the conference on Monday.

Anderson opened the season against five teams that either nationally-ranked or receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) preseason poll and put together a 3-2 record.

Due to limited HCAC teams in action the week prior, the player-of-the-week selections account for the previous two weeks. The Ravens suffered a 7-6 loss to No. 17 Wisconsin-Whitewater (2-1) on Feb. 15 in Louisville, Ky. Later that evening, Spalding University (4-3), which is receiving votes nationally, fought to a 4-2 win against the Ravens. Anderson closed out the weekend in Louisville by powering to a 14-6 victory against Spalding on Feb. 16.

Last Saturday, Anderson was slated for two games in Berea, Ohio. The Ravens rolled to an 8-1 win against Baldwin Wallace, which is receiving votes nationally. Anderson then knocked off No. 5 Heidelberg University (1-1) in a walk-off 4-3 victory.

Joe Moran earned both the HCAC Hitter of the Week and the HCAC Pitcher of the Week. He is the first player in the conference to accomplish this feat since HCAC player-of-the-week archiving began in 2005.

Moran went 9-for-16 at the plate, while compiling four doubles, a home run, seven runs scored, three RBIs, three stolen bases, a .563 batting average, a .696 on-base percentage and a 1.000 slugging percentage. Against Wisconsin-Whitewater, Moran went 2-for-4 with a double while plating three runs. He finished 1-for-3 in the first game against Spalding. In the second game against Spalding, Moran contributed a solo homer and a double, while going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Moran turned in a 1-for-3 performance against Baldwin Wallace. He then went 3-for-3 with two doubles and two runs against Heidelberg.

In two starts, Moran has struck out 19 batters, scattered three walks and yielded two runs on eight hits in 12 innings. He also holds a 1-0 record and a 1.50 ERA. Moran fanned nine batters, issued one walk and gave up one run on four hits in six innings against Wisconsin-Whitewater. He then punched out 10 batters, gave up two walks and conceded one run on four hits in six innings for the win against Baldwin Wallace.

The Ravens are slated for three games at Grand Park in Westfield next week. Anderson battles Benedictine University (0-0) on Friday at 4 p.m. The Ravens then take on the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (0-0) on Saturday at 11 a.m. Anderson then squares off with Wisconsin-Whitewater on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.