April 7, 2008
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Notre Dame sophomore outfielder A.J. Pollock was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Monday after his torrid hitting continued this past weekend against Rutgers. Pollock is the second Irish player to earn player of the week honors this season (joining junior Evan Sharpley).
Pollock (Hebron, Conn.) carried the Irish to a sweep of Rutgers this past weekend. He batted .545 (6-for-11) with six runs scored, four stolen bases, two doubles, a home run and six RBI. Pollock went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in the seventh inning that gave the Irish a 5-4 lead in the opener (Notre Dame did not surrender the lead again and eventually won 7-5). He followed with a 2-for-3 effort in the 11-2 rout on Saturday. Pollock scored two runs and drove in three on a two-run double and sacrifice fly. He also added a stolen base. In the finale, Pollock went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, three stolen bases and two RBI.
Pollock leads the Irish in batting average (.379), hits (39), RBI (22), stolen bases (12) and multi-hit games (12). He is hitting a robust .500 over his last five games and .395 over the last 10. In fact, since opening the season 3-for-his-first-17 (over a span of four games), Pollock is hitting .419 (36-for-86).
The Irish will return to action this week at Frank Eck Stadium with a pair of non-conference tilts against Valparaiso and Manchester College. First-pitch for the contests is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. and 6:05 p.m. Each can be heard live on ESPN Radio 1490 AM and UND.com.
— ND —