Powell wins AAC Player of the Week award

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. - Two five-RBI games and a historic power surge has led to awards recognition for Union outfielder Luke Powell.

A week of domination at the plate resulted in Powell being named Appalachian Athletic Conference Baseball Player of the Week, the AAC announced Monday afternoon.

He started off white-hot in a 17-6 win over Georgetown last Tuesday, going 4-for-4 with a home run, two doubles, five RBIs and a 1.000 on-base percentage. He followed that up by going 3-for-6 with three runs scored in two wins over 14th-ranked Bryan on Saturday, but saved his best for the series finale.

Powell homered in each of his first three at-bats, tying a program record for most home runs in a game and led Union to an 11-3 win and series sweep of the Lions, the AAC's second-place team.

Powell is now tied for eighth in the AAC in both home runs (12) and RBIs (41), sixth in batting average (.409) and fifth in slugging percentage (.773). Most importantly, he helped the Bulldogs counter a six-game losing streak with a four-game win streak, clinching them a berth in the AAC Tournament in the process.

Union travels to Pikeville for a non-conference game Tuesday then heads to Point for a critical three-game AAC series this weekend. The Skyhaws will come into the series 12-11 in league play, a half-game ahead of the 11-11 Bulldogs.