OU's Carpenter Named Big 12 Player Of The Week

Junior Kolbey Carpenter of the Oklahoma baseball team has been named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week for the second time this season. An infielder and outfielder, he previously earned the honor on February 23. This marks the third time this season a Sooner has claimed the Player of the Week honor and fourth time a Sooner has earned any of the league's three weekly awards.

Carpenter powered the Sooners to a quality bounce-back win over No. 10 Texas Tech on Saturday with a three-run home run, his fifth of the season, in the bottom of the fifth to erase a brief, 2-0 deficit. Batting leadoff for the first time in his career, Carpenter went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI in his first career four-hit game. On Sunday, he went 1-for-3 and knocked in a crucial insurance run that held up as the eventual game-winning RBI. For the week, Carpenter hit .455 (5-for-11) with four RBI and two stolen bases, while earning two starts at first base, one at second and appeared in left field.

In his career, Carpenter is a .474 (18-for-38) career hitter against Tech with nine RBI. For the season, he is hitting .352 with five home runs, 19 RBI and 17 runs.

The last Sooner to earn Big 12 Player of the Week twice in one season was Matt Oberste in 2013. The only other players at OU to have accomplished this feat are Garrett Buechele (2011), Ole Sheldon (2004), Jason Fransz (2002) and Rick Park (2000).

Earlier this season, sophomore shortstop Sheldon Neuse was named the Player of the Week (3/9) and sophomore right-hander Jake Elliott (2/16) was named the Pitcher of the Week.

Oklahoma opened Big 12 play with a series win over the Red Raiders to begin 2-1 in conference games and improve to 17-9 overall. The Sooners are back in action for a non-conference match-up at TCU on Tuesday night followed by a three-game series at Baylor beginning on Friday.