SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Susquehanna University senior Chad Walters (Oley/Oley Valley H.S.) is this week's MAC Commonwealth Conference Baseball Player of the Week as he hit .700 (7-for-10) with a double, three runs batted in and a run scored – also extending his hitting streak to 16 games as the team split two games. The conference leader in batting, now at .470 (31-for-66), he extended that streak to 18 games with a single in each game of Monday's MAC Commonwealth doubleheader at Albright.
Walters went 4-for-5 with two RBI, also making his first collegiate start in left field and fielding both his defensive chances cleanly in Susquehanna's 7-5 win last Wednesday at York (Pa.). He followed that the next day by going 3-for-5 with a double, RBI and run scored as the DH in an 8-5 loss to Wilkes.
"Right now, Chad's in the zone. He's seeing the ball very well and has always had one of the sweetest swings on the team," said second-year Susquehanna head coach Tim Briggs. "You can't hit much better than he is right now."
With three games remaining in the regular season, Walters current batting average and on-base percentage (.545) are the second highest in a season at Susquehanna (Records: .500 batting average, Dan Barker, 1988; .561, Barker, 1988). He leads the team in doubles with seven (0.33 per game), is third among the regulars in slugging percentage (.576), is tied for third in walks (11), and is fifth in RBI (17/0.81 per game). Walters has primarily been the team's designated hitter this season, but did also play three games at first base and two games in left field – fielding all 29 of his chances cleanly.
While he will graduate this spring, Walters will be student-teaching during the fall semester and is planning to serve as one of the baseball team's assistant coaches. The plan is for him to run the team's fall program while Briggs serves as defensive coordinator for the Crusader football team.
He is a history major and the son of Russ and Eileen Walters.
Susquehanna is presently 12-12-1 overall, 7-5 and tied for second in the MAC Commonwealth Conference going into Wednesday's non-conference game at Division I Bucknell. The Crusaders are tied with Elizabethtown for second in the MAC Commonwealth Conference standings – just a half-a-game behind first-place Widener (7-4). The Pioneers have to make-up the rained out second game of a doubleheader with Messiah Tuesday – with Messiah taking the opener 6-0 on April 15. If Messiah wins game two, there will be a four-way tie for first-place with Elizabethtown, Messiah, Susquehanna and Widener – all at 7-5 heading into the final doubleheaders Saturday. Susquehanna has the tiebreaker advantage in that situation by virtue of sweeps over both Messiah and Elizabethtown, and a split with Widener. The Crusaders close their regular season and conference schedules with a doubleheader at Juniata (20-11-2, 6-6 MAC CC) Saturday at 1 p.m.
