Clemson, NC State claim ACC Baseball Weekly Honors
GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.org) – Clemson senior infielder Grayson Byrd is the Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Player of the Week, while NC State sophomore right-hander Reid Johnston has been named the ACC Pitcher of the Week.
ACC baseball weekly honors are determined by a vote of a media panel and are announced each Monday throughout the regular season.
Byrd led Clemson to a 4-0 record in four road games on the week by going 9-for-15 (.600) with two doubles, two triples, one homer, seven RBIs, 10 runs, six walks, a 1.200 slugging percentage and .714 on-base percentage. He reached base in 15 of his 21 plate appearances and had at least one hit and scored at least two runs in all four games. He did not commit an error in 15 chances in the field.
In the Tigers’ three-game ACC sweep at Virginia Tech, Byrd was 6-for-10 (.600) with one double, one triple, one homer, three RBIs, eight runs, six walks and a .750 on-base percentage, as he reached base in 12 of his 16 plate appearances. Along with going 3-for-3 with a homer, two RBIs, three runs and two walks on Friday, he made a diving stop of a grounder with the potential tying run on first base to end the game in Clemson's 6-4 win.
On the season, the Milton, Georgia, native is hitting .327 with 25 runs, nine doubles, two triples, three homers, 24 RBIs, a .425 on-base percentage and two steals in 28 games.
NC State’s Johnston threw his first career complete-game shutout as the Wolfpack blanked visiting Virginia, 3-0, in the second game of their ACC series on Saturday. The sophomore from Enfield, North Carolina, pounded the strike zone early and often, as he matched his career high with seven strikeouts and walked only one batter. The walk followed the lone three-ball count he had on the night in the opening inning, as Johnston fired 72 strikes on 104 pitches.
It marked the longest outing of Johnston’s career, surpassing his previous career long of 6.2 innings. He struck out the side in the top of the first, providing the momentum he needed to accomplish something that hadn’t been done by a Wolfpack pitcher since June 1, 2013. It was just the second shutout this season by an ACC pitcher and one of five complete games by a conference hurler.
Johnston surrendered six hits, all singles. He retired the side in order four times and improved his earned run average (ERA) from 2.93 to 2.21, which ranks among the top 10 in the ACC.
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