By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The Ohio Valley Conference crowned Mac Danford, a junior utility man from the University of Tennessee at Martin, as its baseball Player of the Week this afternoon.
A Grand Ridge, Fla. native, Danford is the second Skyhawk to receive this award this spring – joining Andrew Fernandez (March 27). The 2023 UT Martin baseball squad joins the 2009 and 2016 teams as the only teams in school history to produce multiple OVC Players of the Week.
Danford hit a whopping .471 (8-for-17) with a .526 on-base percentage, 1.059 slugging percentage, three home runs, six RBI’s and five runs scored in four games last week. He helped UT Martin defeat Southern Indiana twice in the span of three games, giving the program three OVC series victories in its first four chances for the first time in school history.
The right-handed slugger hit safely in all four games last week. That streak started with one of his best performances of the season in the Skyhawks’ midweek contest against Austin Peay, piecing together career-highs in hits (four), home runs (two) and RBI’s (five).
Danford homered and doubled in the series opener against the Screaming Eagles, collecting his eighth multi-hit game of the season. The 5-11, 195-pounder followed that by reaching base safely twice and scoring a run in each of the final two contests of the Southern Indiana series.
In OVC play, Danford ranks in the top-10 in slugging percentage (.718), hits (16) and total bases (28). Since March 18, he is hitting .397 (25-of-63) with a .457 on-base percentage while slugging .698. Starting at least five games at three different positions (third base, catcher, right field) this season, he ranks second on the squad with a .323 batting average, seven doubles, four home runs, 14 RBI’s and 14 runs scored.
UT Martin’s schedule this week includes four games, starting with a Wednesday, April 19 home game against Murray State at 2 p.m. The Skyhawks will then head across the state for a three-game OVC set at Tennessee Tech on April 21-23.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information