Brinley & O?Hearn earn Southland honors
3/4/2014 3:13:00 PM | Baseball
After taking down three straight nationally-ranked opponents last week, pitcher Ryan Brinley and first baseman Ryan O'Hearn both received Southland Conference Player of the Week honors.
Brinley picked up his first career win after starting and tossing seven innings against No. 10 Rice last Tuesday at Reckling Park. He allowed just one run on two hits while striking out two Owls.
The sophomore returned to the mound Sunday in relief against No. 15 Texas. He came into the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth and got out of the jam before pitching a scoreless ninth to give the Kats a chance to get back in the game.
O'Hearn's stellar week was highlighted by a pair of home runs against No. 26 Texas Tech Saturday. The junior first baseman blasted the first pitch he saw for a homer and his second long ball provided the winning runs in the sixth inning. He also narrowly missed hitting a grand slam, but did drive in a run with a sacrifice fly.
He had three hits in Tuesday's win over Rice and drove in the first run of the game on a single. O'Hearn also got a hit and scored a run in SHSU's narrow loss to Texas Sunday.
The No. 20 Bearkats host the No. 17 Rice Owls Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. at Don Sanders Stadium. Fans will get their first opportunity to see the Kats at home since jumping into the national rankings after their run at the Houston College Classic.
