FRISCO, Texas – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s Luke Marbach is the Southland Conference Hitter of the Week and New Orleans closer Collin Kulivan earns Pitcher of the Week honors, the league announced Tuesday. Weekly awards are presented by Hercules Tires.
Marbach paced the Islander offense in the team’s opening weekend sweep of Central Michigan, slashing .556/.692/1.111 with four RBI and three extra-base hits in the series.
A&M-Corpus Christi is slated for four matchups with Houston, beginning with a 3 p.m. CT first pitch in Houston on Tuesday before hosting the Cougars for a three-game set this weekend. The Kleberg Bank College Classic will be played at Whataburger Field at 6 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
Kulivan had ice in his veins last weekend, entering in tough spots and securing saves and Privateer wins in both his appearances against Southern.
The Privateers (2-1) take on Pelican Cup foe Tulane at 6 p.m. Tuesday and host ULM for a three-game series this weekend, beginning with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch on Friday.
Hitter of the Week – Luke Marbach, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – Senior – Infielder – New Braunfels, Texas
Though he didn’t record a hit in the season opener, Marbach drove in the tying run in the bottom of the ninth on a fielder’s choice. He also crossed the plate for the team’s first run after drawing a walk to lead off the opening frame, stealing second and third, and scoring on an Itchy Burts sacrifice fly.
In the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader, Marbach emerged with a 3-for-3 performance, starting with the first of two doubles to lead off the first. He doubled in his second at-bat to put the Islanders on the board and homered in his following plate appearance to extend the lead to 3-0.
Marbach followed with another multi-hit outing in the series finale, reaching for a third-straight game in the leadoff spot with a single to start off the Islanders half of the first and coming around to score. He replicated that in the seventh with another base knock and later scoring to push the lead to 6-3.
Honorable Mention: Jacob Burke, Southeastern La.; Grayson Tatrow, Abilene Christian; Luther Woullard, New Orleans.
Pitcher of the Week – Collin Kulivan, New Orleans – Junior – Relief Pitcher – New Orleans, La.
Getting the call out of the bullpen with the bases loaded, Kulivan responded by punching out Judah Wilbur to oust the Southern rally. He tallied another strikeout in the bottom of the ninth, securing a save and a 10-5 season-opening win for New Orleans.
In the rubber match of the series, Kulivan relieved Brad Randazzo after a two-run single cut the Privateer lead to 6-3. After Kulivan surrendered a base hit that brought the tying run to the plate, he sat down Brendon Davis on strikes to put an end to the threat. Kulivan struck out the first two batters of the final frame and retired Jahli Hendricks on a fielder’s choice to pick up his second save of the series.
Honorable Mention: Henry Bird, A&M-Corpus Christi; Trey Shaffer, Southeastern La.; Austin Spinney, Houston Baptist.
Southland weekly award winners are nominated and voted upon by each school’s sports information director. Voting for one’s own athlete is not permitted. To earn honorable mention, a student-athlete must appear on 25 percent of ballots.
2021 Southland Baseball Players of the Week
Feb. 23 – Luke Marbach, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; Collin Kulivan, New Orleans.
{Courtesy: press release from the Southland Conference}
