Creighton's Brinkman, Michigan earn weekly baseball honors

Michigan used a walk-off bunt to continue its historic stretch, while Creighton’s Clark Brinkman plowed through pitching during a career week.

Let’s take a deeper look at this week’s Team and Player of the Week:

Team of the Week

With a perfect 3-0 record last week, the Michigan Wolverines (24-11, 11-0 Big Ten) captured their 20th win in a row, pushing them to the program’s longest winning streak since 1987. It is also tied for the third longest in team history and currently sits second nationally among active streaks. The Wolverines handled Penn State in two of three with 19-5 and 14-2 wins in games one and three respectively, but it took a walk-off squeeze bunt in the 11th inning of game two to keep the streak alive.

Quick Michigan facts:

• The streak started with an 8-6 win vs. Bowling Green March 16th
• Wolverines have pitched four shutouts and won three one-run games during the streak
• Last Loss: March 14 in its home opener against NAIA DII Lawrence Tech… to start the season with a 4-11 record

Quite a streak.

This is @umichbaseball’s longest winning streak since 1987 and tied for third-longest in program history. #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/K0r4IoAKKB

— Michigan Athletics (@UMichAthletics) April 23, 2018

Honorable Mention

• Auburn put on an offensive show during its 4-0 week, outscoring opponents 56-12. The 56 runs are the most for the Tigers in a four game span since 2002, when the team plated 60 runs. They also swept Alabama in Tuscaloosa for the first time since 1976.
• Staying in the SEC, Mississippi State (who took two of three from now-No. 6 Ole Miss a few weeks back) swept No. 3 Arkansas in front of more than 10,000 home fans over the weekend. The Bulldogs rallied for all six of their runs in the final three frames of a 6-5 game one victory to set the tone for the series.
• Out west, the UCLA Bruins torched USC pitching, outscoring the Trojans 42-6 in a three-game series sweep. UCLA has won six of its last seven games and has scored 10 or more runs 11 times this year, including four times in the last seven games.

Player of the Week

Before last week, Creighton’s Clark Brinkman had one home run to his name this season. That changed in a hurry as the junior swatted four homers in a three-game series vs. Xavier, including two in the second game to plate five runs. Brinkman finished the week with eight RBI to push his total to 25 on the season. To round out the series, Brinkman went 4-4 with two RBI, bringing his average to .352 on the season.

• Batting average has not dropped below .331 this year
• Has recorded at least one hit in all but eight of the team’s 34 games
• 17 multi-hit games this year, including six games with three or more hits, and two games with four hits

Two run BLAST for Brinkman brings Bluejays within a run. pic.twitter.com/01FG2BlOTA

— Creighton Baseball (@CU_Baseball) April 22, 2018

Honorable Mention

• Connor Van Hoose from Bucknell threw a seven-inning no-hitter in game one of a doubleheader with Lehigh. The no-no was the fifth in program history.
• Maine pitcher John Arel saw his fair share of rarity in a seven-inning no-hit performance. The sophomore struck out 12 on his way to a no-hitter, but a walk, two timely stolen bases and a wild pitch in the third inning allowed UMass Lowell to plate its only run, handing Arel’s squad a bizarre 1-0 loss. His no-no is the 21st across the NCAA this year, besting the 1973 record of 19 for the most ever tossed in a single collegiate season.
• Florida State’s Steven Wells has been scorching at the plate in his last 5 games, reaching base in 22 of 24 plate appearances this week with 11 runs and 7 RBI. Wells launched his batting average up to .298 from .195, and set a career high with a big league performance of four hits and four runs in a victory over Boston College at Fenway Park.