Cincinnati’s Kerrington Cross (player), Oklahoma State’s Harrison Bodendorf (pitcher) and Kansas State’s Keegan O’Connor (newcomer) were tabbed as recipients of the Big 12 Baseball weekly awards for games ending May 4.
Cross led the Bearcats to a sweep over then-No. 25 Kansas including a 10-RBI game to clinch the series on Saturday, falling one RBI shy of the all-time Big 12 record. The senior infielder finished 9-for-17 on the weekend including a 5-for-7 performance in Saturday’s 18-14, 10-inning thriller over the Jayhawks. The Brownsburg, Indiana native launched three home runs to tie the single-game program records for home runs and total bases (14). He recorded multiple hits and scored in each of the three games. Cross leads the Big 12 with a .535 on-base percentage and a .412 batting average while being tied for the second-most hits in the league with 68.
Bodendorf earned the win as Oklahoma State prevailed 12-0 in the series-opener against UCF. The junior southpaw worked eight shutout innings and held a UCF team that ranks 11th nationally with a .319 batting average to four hits on Friday. The Temecula, California native struck out seven batters while issuing only one walk to pick up his Conference-leading eighth win this season.
O’Connor became just the fifth Wildcat in school history to hit three home runs in a game when he tied the school record in the second game of the series against BYU. The Andover, Massachusetts native finished a double shy of hitting for the cycle and a grand slam shy of the home run cycle with a 5-for-6 performance in the 18-4 win over the Cougars. For the game, the senior catcher led all players in RBI (6), hits (5) and runs (4), while becoming the first Power 4 player with 16 total bases in a game this season. O’Connor followed it up with a 3-for-5 showing with one run and one double in the weekend finale to clinch the series win. He is tied for the Conference lead in home runs with nine in Big 12 play and the second-most for the season with 15.