April 20, 2009
NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State third baseman Ryan Court drove in seven runs and helped the Redbirds to a sweep of Northern Iowa over the weekend and was named the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.
Court notched seven RBI in a doubleheader, including the deciding runs on a two-run home run in game two, to help Illinois State (19-12, 9-4 MVC) finish a series sweep over Northern Iowa Saturday at Riverfront Stadium. Court batted .421 (8-for-19) last week and added three doubles for a total of four extra-base hits in five games.
The sophomore from Sleepy Hollow, Ill., led Illinois State in hits (8), RBI (8) and tied for the team lead in runs scored (6) and on-base percentage (.455) last week. The effort boosted Court's batting average to .324 on the season, second amongst Redbirds and the home run, his third of the season, ties him for the team lead.
The honor marks the second weekly award, in as many weeks, for the Redbirds. Mike Stalowy was named MVC Player of the Week after batting .526 (10-for-19) in four games, including a walk-off single and scoring the game-winning run against Missouri State (April 11-12).
The Redbirds face Northwestern at Duffy Bass Field Wednesday at 6 p.m., before resuming Missouri Valley Conference play at Southern Illinois this weekend (April 24-26). Wednesday is Buck Night at Duffy Bass Field with admission and various items at the concession stand costing just $1. Illinois State is fourth in the MVC standings with three conference series left to be played.
