March 4, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. — After belting three home runs during a five-game week, Kentucky sophomore left-handed pitcher/first baseman A.J. Reed has been named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, it was announced on Monday afternoon by the league office.
Reed earned SEC Player of the Week for the first time in his career and was also named Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week on Monday. Reed joins Vanderbilt lefty Kevin Ziomek, the SEC Pitcher of the Week, and Texas A&M outfielder Jonathan Moroney, the SEC Freshman of the Week, as the conference office award winners.
A 6-foot-4, 245-pound product of Terre Haute, Ind., Reed hit .526 (10-for-19) during the five-game week, with a double, three homers and 15 RBI. A preseason All-America selection by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, Reed collected a 1.053 slugging and a .609 on-base percentage during the week as the seventh-ranked Wildcats extended their winning streak to seven games.
In the home-opening win over Murray State on Tuesday, Reed ripped a first-inning, three-run homer to give UK an early lead, finishing with four RBI. In a series-opening win over Akron, Reed started on the mound and worked his first quality start of the year, tossing six innings and allowing two runs with four strikeouts. At the plate, he went 4-for-5 with five RBI and a no-double blast over the rightfield fence. He homered for the second consecutive game on Saturday to help UK clinching the series, going 3-for-4 with three RBI. In the series finale, Reed ripped a double off the centerfield wall to clear the bases and up his RBI total to 15 in five games.
In 11 starts at the plate in 2013, Reed leads the SEC with four homers, batting .409 with 11 runs. On the mound, Reed – the first consensus first-team freshman All-America honoree in UK history – has made three Friday-night starts, with a 2-1 record and a 4.70 ERA. In his career, Reed has hit .320 with eight homers and 65 RBI and has a 7-4 record with a 3.00 ERA on the bump.
Reed is the second Wildcat to win SEC Player of the Week in the first three weeks of 2013. Junior second baseman J.T. Riddle reached base in 14-of-18 trips on opening week to be named SEC Player of the Week on Feb. 19.
Kentucky (10-1) will host Cincinnati on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET at Cliff Hagan Stadium and Xavier at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The games will be broadcast live on the UK IMG Radio Network, with the Voice of UK Baseball, Neil Price, calling the action. Fans in Lexington can hear the games live on WWTF 1580-AM and online at UKathletics.com.
