April 27, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - It was a week in which he described as "amazing" on several occasions, and UCF baseball junior Shane Brown (Winter Park, Fla.) received some attention from Conference USA and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper for his performance that included breaking a UCF record and tying an NCAA mark. The second baseman was named the C-USA Hitter of the Week the league office announced Monday, while he also was selected as a CBN Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week.
Brown's accolade from C-USA was the first of his career, and it was the first time since Matt Horwath in 2007 that a Knight was selected as a national player of the week. A total of six players in the country were honored by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, with Brown being one of just three position players to be named to the prestigious list.
During the Knights' 3-1 week, highlighted by a non-conference win over Stetson and a series victory at UAB, Brown tied the NCAA record by reaching base 18-straight times. He went 13-for-18 in those four games for a .722 batting average, 1.333 slugging percentage, .783 on-base percentage and a 2.116 OPS.
That streak started when he had doubles in the seventh and eighth innings in UCF's 13-12 win over Stetson in which it erased a 10-0 deficit April 21. In the Knights' 29-9 win over UAB April 24, the second baseman was 5-for-5 with two more doubles, a homer, three RBI and three runs. He also was hit by a pitch twice and walked once to get aboard all eight times. One day later in a 12-8 loss, Brown went 2-for-3 and reached on two singles, a HBP, BB and fielder's choice to build his streak to 15.
In the series finale, a 12-6 UCF victory, he homered, doubled and singled in his first three at-bats to tie the NCAA mark held by Cal State Northridge's Shaun Larkin in 2002 (UCF's record was 17 by Odie Koehnke in 1985). Even though he flew out in his fourth at-bat, Brown still went 4-for-5 with three runs and three RBI, falling a triple short of hitting for the cycle in the second time in three games.
Overall, Brown scored 10 runs and had five doubles and two homers in the four-game week, striking out just once. In the UAB series alone, Brown got on base 17 of 18 times, going 11-for-13 with a .846 average against the Blazers, while posting a 1.538 slugging, .889 on-base, and 2.427 OPS. For the season, Brown owns a team-high .380 batting average with 15 doubles, six homers, 37 RBI, 32 runs and 13 HBP.
UCF (15-26, 5-10) gets back to work Tuesday when it welcomes USF to town at 6:30 p.m.
Baseball flex pack voucher packages as well as single game tickets are on sale for the 2009 campaign. Call the UCF Ticket Office at (407) 823-1000 for more information. Fans may also visit UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, and is the home of UCF's online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.