Ruiz, Sutton Sweep First Awards of Season

William Penn University Athletics

Oskaloosa–Two integral members of last weekend’s season-opening sweep were honored as the Midwest Collegiate Conference Baseball Players of the Week were announced Monday.

Josh Ruiz (Sr., Chula Vista, Calif., General Mathematics) was named MCC Pitcher of the Week (second in his career) and Connor Sutton (Jr., Gilroy, Calif., Sociology) claimed the MCC Player of the Week nod. The pair led William Penn (2-0) to a sweep of McPherson (Kan.) on Friday, helping Head Coach Mike Laird to his 900th career win as the Statesmen skipper.

Ruiz tossed a one-hit shutout versus the Bulldogs, striking out 11 batters with two walks. He struck out the side in the first and had at least one K in six of the seven frames. The senior also did not permit a Bulldog to advance past first base.

Sutton provided plenty of offense for the navy and gold, going 4-for-7 for a .571 batting clip. The junior pounded two home runs (one in each game) and also tallied four RBIs and three runs scored. WPU combined for only one roundtripper in 2014, but already has four homers after just two games.