Texas’ Ivan Melendez (Player), Kansas State’s German Fajardo (Pitcher, Co-Newcomer) and West Virginia’s Dayne Leonard (Co-Newcomer) were tabbed for Big 12 Baseball Weekly Honors for games ending on May 8, as selected by a five-person media panel.
Melendez hit .571 with three home runs and nine RBIs while extending his hitting streak to a Conference-leading 16 games. The El Paso, Texas native hit three home runs in a doubleheader sweep against West Virginia May 7, including his sixth multi-HR game in the nightcap. He reached base five times in the midweek win against Houston Baptist, going 3-for-3 with two walks and a pair of doubles. He had a 2.150 OPS for the week, and scored seven times with two three-hit games. Melendez has tied Eric Gutierrez (Texas Tech) for the Big 12 record with five career Player of the Week selections and Ken Harvey (Nebraska) for the single-season record with four.
Fajardo pitched 8.2 scoreless innings in the week, picking up a win and a save on the mound. Fajardo took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against Wichita State Tuesday, allowing just one hit and one walk, while striking out 10 in the Wildcats’ 3-1 victory. On Saturday against Kansas, the Arizona transfer shut the door with 2.2 hitless innings of relief to pick up the save in a 5-2 win. Fajardo held batters to a .038 average and extended his streak to 11.0 innings without allowing an earned run, as he picked up his first Big 12 weekly honor.
Leonard hit .400 with two extra-base hits and six RBI, while starting games at third base, designated hitter and catcher. He went 2-for-3 with a walk in the Mountaineers’ 8-6 victory over Texas Sunday, unloading the bases with a go-ahead double in the sixth inning, then tacking on an insurance run with an eighth-inning single to finish with four RBI. The Virginia Tech transfer has raised his batting average 54 points since April 23, is now hitting .310 on the season and earned his first Big 12 weekly honor.