Price picked as NCAC Player of the Week

CLEVELAND, Ohio — For his contributions during the Owls’ three-game winning streak, Kenyon College’s Niko Price was picked by the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) as the Player of the Week for baseball.

The Owls rattled off their second three-game winning streak over an eight-game stretch, and Price played a significant role in helping Kenyon boost its record to 19-12 (6-6 NCAC). The first-year first baseman logged 11 at-bats and tallied 11 total bases. He hit .364 with a single, a double, and the first two home runs of his collegiate career while scoring four times and adding six RBIs. Additionally, he walked twice and was hit twice, giving him a .533 on-base percentage for the week, and he posted a perfect fielding percentage on 14 chances.

Price ran his hitting streak to five straight games and has scored at least once in each of the last four outings. In a nonconference contest at Muskingum University, he belted a three-run blast in the middle of a seven-run inning, helping the Owls secure a 9-6 victory. The Los Angeles, California, native’s bat stayed hot when Kenyon returned home for an important doubleheader against DePauw University. With the Owls leading 13-5 in the eighth inning, Price launched a walk-off, two-run home run that clinched a 15-5 game-one win due to run rule. In game two, the first-year went 2-4 with a run and an RBI as the Owls won 13-7 to sweep the twin bill.

Sweeping the Tigers kept Kenyon in the four-team NCAC postseason picture. The Owls pulled even with Wabash College at 6-6 in the NCAC, tying for fourth in the standings. Kenyon has two doubleheaders left in the regular season, the first of which will be played at noon on Wednesday, May 3, on McCloskey Field, when the Owls host the Hiram College Terriers (12-22, 1-11 NCAC).