SALISBURY, Md. – After hitting safely in over three-quarters of his at-bats for the week, outfielder
Andrew Kell of the fourth-ranked Salisbury University baseball team
won his second straight Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Player of the Week award, announced by the league office on Monday.
Kell, a junior from Columbia, Md., batted a scintillating .765 with multi-hit efforts in all five of the Sea Gulls' wins for the week. Kell racked up five extra-base hits, including two home runs, to complement five RBIs, five stolen bases, 11 runs scored, and a whopping 2.140 OPS. He set the tone during his first game of the week, clocking two doubles and a homer against Lycoming last Tuesday.
Through 13 games this season, including nine starts, Kell is slashing .629/.714/1.200 with 18 runs, six doubles, one triple, four homers, 15 RBIs, and five steals, plus a pair of outfield assists from center. Kell, who now has enough at-bats to qualify for the statistical leaderboard, ranks fourth in all of Division III in batting average and leads the league by over 200 points. He also slots third nationally in slugging, fourth in on-base percentage, 37th in home runs, and 40th in total bases (42).
Kell's second consecutive weekly nod gives Salisbury four-of-six C2C Player of the Week awards this season, including
Kyle Brex on Feb. 19 and
Tim Petrucelli on Mar. 4.
With Kell setting the table at the top of the order, the Sea Gulls bested Lycoming, Messiah, and Virginia Wesleyan in midweek action before sweeping a doubleheader at Ursinus on Saturday. SU outscored the opposition 65-24 over the quintet of games.
Kell and the Sea Gulls return to action with a home tilt against McDaniel on Wednesday at 3 p.m. before visiting Washington (Md.) on Friday and Haverford for a Saturday twin bill.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football and men's and women's swimming, and the Coastal Lacrosse Conference for men's lacrosse. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 23 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 197 conference championships, and 45 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
