State's Daryl Norris Tabbed SEC Freshman Of The Week
Norris, from Fairhope, Ala., was honored Monday as the SEC Freshman of the Week after posting impressive numbers both at the plate and on the mound for Mississippi State.
The 2010 Alabama Player of the Year impressed first on the mound. The right-hander fanned five of the seven batters he faced in two sterling innings of game-closing relief as State blanked Akron 11-0 Friday in its 2010 season-opener.
Norris then made his defensive debut as the Bulldogs' starting first baseman a day later, legging out a double and a three-run triple in a 3-for-5 plate performance against the Zips. He capped his debut weekend with a 2-for-3, three-RBI showing as the designated hitter in State's weekend finale against 2010 NCAA Tournament entrant Lamar.
When the dust settled on the weekend's competition, Norris had compiled a team-best .625 batting average, a 1.000 slugging percentage and a Southeastern Conference-leading eight RBI.
"We are really proud of Daryl," said Bulldog head baseball coach John Cohen. "For a freshman, his maturity and work ethic are very advanced. His ability to both hit and pitch at such a high level has made Daryl invaluable to our club."
The SEC on Monday also named Florida sophomore shortstop Nolan Fontana as the SEC Player of the Week and LSU freshman right-hander Kurt McCune as the SEC Pitcher of the Week.
MSU resumes its 14-game season-opening homestand this week, hosting Northwestern State Tuesday (4 p.m.) and entertaining first-time opponent Belmont in a three-game weekend series at Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium. First pitch for Friday's series-opener is set for 4 p.m.