CARBONDALE, Ill. – SIU first baseman Philip Archer was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, the league announced on Monday. Archer earned the honor for the second time this season.
SIU went 4-0 last week to improve to 24-6 on the season. In the week, Archer went 8-for-18 with three doubles, two home runs and 12 RBIs. He had a hit in every game and scored seven runs over the four games. Against Austin Peay, Archer was 4-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and seven RBIs. His slash line for the week was .444/.450/.944.
Archer earned the MVC’s Player of the Week honor for a second time this season. He also was named MVC Player of the Week on March 1 after SIU’s three-game road sweep at Mercer. In all, an SIU player has earned the award four times this season, with J.T. Weber and Tristan Peters also earning the award once each.
SIU’s records for MVC Player of the Week date back to 2003. In that time, only Archer and Alex Lyon (2018) have earned the MVC’s weekly offensive award twice in one season. (P.J. Finigan (2005) and Brad Harrison (2018) have earned the MVC’s Pitcher of the Week award three times in a season.)
SIU’s entire offense was dominant for SIU’s 4-0 week:
- Brad Hudson was 9-for-15 (.600) with a home run, four runs scored and five RBIs (.600/.625/.800)
- Cody Cleveland was 7-for-13 (.538) with a double, two home runs, four runs scored and five RBIs (.538/.538/1.077)
- Philip Archer was 8-for-18 (.444) with three doubles, two homers, seven runs scored and 12 RBIs (.444/.450/.944)
- Vinni Massaglia was 5-for-13 with two doubles, two homers, three runs scored and five RBIs (.385/.438/1.000)
- J.T. Weber was 6-for-16 with two doubles, a home run, four runs scored and nine RBIs (.375/.353/.688)
- Tony Rask was 5-for-14 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI (.357/.357/.429)
- Ian Walters was 5-for-15 with two doubles, three walks, four runs scored and five RBIs (.333/.524/.467)
- Tristan Peters was 3-for-10 with two doubles, eight walks, eight runs scored and two RBIs (.300/.600/.500)
- Nick Neville went 4-for-16 with a double, a triple, four walks, seven runs scored and two RBIs (.250/.429/.438)
(Slash lines include the following: batting average / on-base percentage / slugging percentage)
As a team, SIU hit .372/.463/.655 with 15 doubles, a triple, and eight home runs. SIU scored 50 runs in the four games (12.5 runs per game). At the halfway mark of the 2021 season, SIU’s offense leads the nation in runs scored (273), hits (338) and slugging percentage (.553). SIU also ranks in the top-five nationally in batting average (3rd, .325), home runs (4th, 51), and on-base percentage (5th, .424).
UP NEXT: SIU travels to Bradley for a four-game MVC series this weekend.
