HICKORY, N.C. — Off to a 4-0 start to its season, the Catawba Valley Community College baseball program is already reeling in individual honors nationally.
Red Hawks left fielder Trent Jones was named the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DII Player of the Week on Wednesday for games played Feb. 4-10, 2019.
Jones becomes the first CVCC baseball player to win a weekly NJCAA honor since first baseman Kyran Russ was named Player of the Week last season on Feb. 19-25, 2018.
Jones is also the sixth ever Red Hawk to win a weekly honor from the NJCAA.
The 6-foot-2 sophomore from Chesapeake, Va. was at his apartment when he found out he won the honor.
"I didn't really expect it because a lot of our teammates had good weekends, but it was good to receive that honor," Jones said. "I didn't realize I had that good of a weekend. I know I did pretty good on Sunday. I made a few adjustments that made me feel better. This (award) boosts my confidence for sure. Hopefully I can keep this rolling through the rest of the season."
During a four-game road series this past weekend against USC Union, Jones recorded a .786 on-base percentage and a .875 slugging percentage, tallying a team-high 12 quality at bats in 14 plate appearances.
Jones also scored a team-best five runs and drove in three RBIs, helping the Red Hawks sweep all four games against the Bantams, including 8-2 and 10-8 wins on Saturday in the season opener and 14-3 and 3-2 victories on Sunday.
"It's always nice for the kids to be acknowledged nationally," said CVCC baseball coach Paul Rozzelle. "Trent wasn't feeling his swing, but he was still able to piece together unbelievable at bats. I think he was 12 for 14 in quality at bats. That's what we chart here and we measure. It's obviously important because when a guy doesn't swing it that well, but he gets up there, goes 12 for 14, hits .625, gets on base, scores run and does a bunch of different stuff — that's impressive."
The CVCC baseball team returns to action this weekend for a three-game set against DI powerhouse Walters State, which finished as national runner up last season.
The Red Hawks and Senators play one nine-inning and one seven-inning game on Saturday in Morristown, Tenn. starting at 1 p.m. before playing a final nine-inning game on Sunday at noon.