RRAC Baseball Players and Pitchers of the Week
May 6, 2008

WACO, Texas – R.J. Harris and Justin Parks of Northwood University (Texas) earned a share of the Red River Athletic Conference Baseball Player of the Week award for their heroics in the 2008 RRAC Baseball Championship, while their teammate, Kyle Gainey, is this week’s Pitcher of the Week for the dates of April 28-May 4.

Harris, a sophomore right fielder from Fort Worth, Texas, was 11-for-16 at the plate as the fourth-seeded Knights made a perfect 4-0 march through the conference tournament. He finished with a flourish by going 10-for-10 as Northwood took two consecutive games from top-seeded Texas Wesleyan University. Harris hit all six times at the plate with three doubles and five RBIs as Northwood advanced to the title game with an 18-9 win. Then, in the championship, he collected four more hits with three runs scored and an RBI. For the tournament, he collected six runs scored, seven RBIs and five walks.

Parks, a senior centerfielder from Burleson, Texas, closed out the tournament by homering in three consecutive games. His three-run homer was the difference in a 6-3 win over Huston-Tillotson University (Texas). He blasted another in the first match-up with TWU while driving in four runs and collecting three more hits. Parks also contributed a solo shot in the championship game as Northwood held on to win 13-12. In all, he scored 10 times and drove in eight runs with a slugging percentage of .944.

Gainey, a sophomore pitcher from Wylie, Texas, tossed a complete game, four-hitter in his only appearance of the tournament, the victory over HT. He allowed two earned runs while striking out seven in nine innings of work.

Northwood advances to the NAIA Region VI Baseball Championship with an overall record of 26-23 on the season. The Knights were 8-7 in conference play during the regular season.

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