RICHMOND,
Va. – Freshman first baseman
Brendan Butler of Towson University has been named as the co-winner of the Colonial
Athletic Association Baseball Rookie of the Week award, it has been announced
by CAA officials.
Butler shared the award with freshman designated
hitter Corey Dick of UNC Wilmington.
After sitting out four games with an ankle injury,
Butler (below) returned to action on Saturday afternoon and played in the final two
games of the Tigers' CAA weekend series against George Mason University.
In two games, he batted .667 with four hits in six
at bats. He had a triple, a home run and five runs scored and four runs batted
in, helping the Tigers sweep George Mason for the first time ever.
On Saturday, Butler had a triple and a single while
scoring three runs in the Tigers' 11-3 win over the Patriots. He also walked
once and drove in a run. In the series finale on Sunday, Butler went
two-for-three two runs scored and three RBI's in an 8-4 victory over the
Patriots. With the Tigers clinging to a 4-2 lead in the fifth inning, he
blasted the first home run of his college career, a two-run homer that gave
Towson a 6-2 advantage. With the lead trimmed to 6-4 in the bottom of the
seventh inning, his safety squeeze bunt scored another run, giving the Tigers a
7-4 lead.
Against the Patriots, Butler batted .667 with a
.750 on-base percentage and a 1.500 slugging percentage.
A 50th-round draft pick by the Baltimore
Orioles last June, Butler is the Tigers' second-leading hitter with a .362
batting average.
In 15 games, he has scored 11 runs with one double, one
triple, one homer and a team-leading 13 runs batted in. With a .508 on-base
percentage, he is second on the team and ranks fourth in the CAA.
The Tigers, who moved into a second place tie in
the CAA with William & Mary and Hofstra, have a 9-9 overall record.
The
Tigers return to action on Wednesday afternoon when they visit Delaware State
University for a 3:00 p.m. The Tigers resume their CAA schedule this weekend
with a three-game series at the University of Delaware.