UCF Freshman Sweeney Takes Home C-USA Hitter of the Week HonorsUCF Freshman Sweeney Takes Home C-USA Hitter of the Week Honors

UCF Freshman Sweeney Takes Home C-USA Hitter of the Week Honors

May 23, 2010

By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com

Orlando, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - One of the smallest players on the 2010 UCF baseball roster put up some huge numbers this past weekend, and freshman Darnell Sweeney was rewarded for his efforts Sunday. The 5-foot-11, 160-pound freshman was selected as the Conference USA Hitter of the Week after leading the Knights to a series victory at Tulane May 20-22.

Sweeney pummeled the Green Wave to the tune of an .846 batting average after going 11-for-13 at the dish. The shortstop out of Miramar finished the series with a 1.385 slugging percentage, a .800 on-base percentage and a 2.185 OPS. Sweeney drove in 10 runs, scored eight times and delivered four doubles and a homer. He was issued one walk without striking out, stole a base, and of the four outs he did make at the plate, two were on sacrifices and another was a RBI fielder's choice.

Entering the week with a .329 season average, Sweeney raised it to .358 to finish with the third-highest mark on the team. That also ranks among the top true freshmen in the entire country.

He kicked off the series by going 4-for-5 on May 20, falling a triple shy of hitting for the cycle while driving in five runs. One day later he went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, three RBI and two runs. And guiding UCF to a 17-6 seven-inning win in the finale, Sweeney was 5-for-5 with a double, two RBI, four runs and a stolen base.

UCF opened the 2010 campaign by grabbing the first C-USA Hitter of the Week award when Beau Taylor was honored by the league office, and then it closed this season out with the weekly accolade thanks to Sweeney's performance.

For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures, and become a follower of the Knights at Twitter.com.