Blair and Knowles win final weekly awards
Youse's Orioles second baseman Patrick Blair (Wake Forest/Baltimore, Md.) has been named the Player of the Week in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League for the week of July 19 through July 25. Blair began the week in the midst of a season-high 12-game hitting streak and posted four straight multi-hit games from July 19 to July 23, going 9-for-16 in that stretch with a double, triple, and two home runs. For the week, Blair drove in a League-high seven runs and scored five of his own on ten total hits and four walks. Blair's torrid final week pushed his season average to .348, second best in the League.
Also considered: Josh Conway (Redbirds/Coastal Carolina), Ben Winter (Redbirds/Towson), Stuart MacInnes (Express/Texas Pan American), Ryan Collins (Big Train/Mississippi State), Harry Slade (Orioles/UNC-Greensboro), and Fran Whitten (T-Bolts/Maine-Orono).
Alexandria Aces starter Max Knowles (North Carolina Wesleyan/Clinton, N.C.) has been named the Pitcher of the Week in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League for the week of July 19 through July 25. After making his only relief appearance of the season on July 22 and retiring both batters he faced, Knowles started two days later and tossed a seven-inning shutout against the Braves. The lefty allowed just four hits and a walk and struck out a season-high 13 batters. Both of Knowles' shutouts in 2010 came against the Braves, and the win marked his third in three tries against his Northern Virginia rivals. The weekly award was the second of the season for Knowles, who was also named the Ripken League Pitcher of the Week for Week 1.
Also considered: Tyler Austin (Redbirds/Towson), Matt Wainman (Braves/William & Mary), Blake Geiger (Orioles/Richmond), Cameron Love (Big Train/San Francisco), Derrick Brewer (Braves/Radford), and Alex Sunderland (T-Bolts/Claremont-McKenna).
