ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Missouri Valley Conference has announced its sixth selection of weekly awards on Monday afternoon, per the league office. Redshirt Sophomore Brayden Bakes and Junior Michael Addari were nominated for the MVC's March 23 awards.
Bakes was named the MVC Player of the Week following an impressive performance at the plate against SIUE and Belmont last week. In the four contests combined, Bakes delivered a 12-for-18 performance that included five home runs, eight runs scored, and 13 RBIs. On Friday, March 20, Bakes recorded the second three-home run performance of his career and tallied 5 RBIs in the Redbirds' 9-4 victory in the series opener against Belmont. As of March 23, Bakes leads the MVC with a .417 batting average, 10 home runs, and 29 RBIs.
Junior Michael Addari earned his first career selection after recording his third victory of the season in a 10-4 win over Belmont in game two of the three-game series with the Bruins. Addari matched his career-longest outing with 5.0 innings pitched and added a career-high seven strikeouts. Addari sits atop of the MVC with a 1.04 ERA in six appearances this season.
With Addari's selection, five different Redbirds have been awarded a weekly honor this season. Illinois State has had a player selected for an award in five out of the MVC's six selections and in the last four straight weeks.
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