Thomas Hatch (Oklahoma State), Joe Baker (Texas) and Michael Grove (West Virginia) are Big 12 baseball weekly award recipients for games played from April 19-24.

Baker claims the Player of the Week honor, marking the first of his career, while Hatch is the Pitcher of the Week and Grove is the Newcomer of the Week.

Hatch’s honor marks the sixth Pitcher of the Week for the Cowboys this season as OSU has captured the award in all but four weeks this year. The Cowboys tie Baylor (2005) and Texas (2004) for most Pitcher of the Week honors in a single season. OSU’s nine total weekly honors this year is tied for the third-most combined awards in a single season (Oklahoma, 2013).

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Joe Baker, Texas, So., SS, McKinney, Texas/McKinney
Baker hit .467 with seven hits to lead the Longhorns to a 3-1 week that included a series win over Big 12-leading Texas Tech. The sophomore hit safely in all four games during the week and had a career day in Sunday’s 17-1 rout of the Red Raiders. Baker pounded out a career-high four hits (4-for-4) in the game, including two doubles and his first homer of the season. He drove in a career-high six RBI, the most for any Longhorn since Tres Barrera drove in six on February 17, 2015 vs. UTSA. Baker also crossed the plate six times, drew two walks and went 1-for-1 in stolen base attempts. The shortstop slugged at an .800 clip and compiled a .529 OBP for the week.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Thomas Hatch, Oklahoma State, So., RHP, Tulsa, Okla./Jenks
Hatch dominated the Big 12’s top-hitting team with a complete game shutout of No. 4 TCU to lead Oklahoma State to a 9-0 win in Friday’s series opener in Stillwater. The sophomore right-hander allowed just five hits – all singles – while racking up a career-high 10 strikeouts and walking only one.

TCU entered the game with a .316 team batting average, but Hatch baffled the Horned Frogs for nine innings as he shut them out for only the second time this season. Hatch did not allow a runner past first base until the ninth inning, with that coming on a two-base throwing error. Hatch’s first career complete game saw him throw 121 pitches and face just three batters over the minimum. He also picked three TCU runners off first base. The shutout was just the second thrown by a Big 12 pitcher this season, and Hatch became only the third pitcher to toss nine innings in a conference game this season. He improved to 3-1 with the win and lowered his season ERA to 1.72, which ranks second in the Big 12 on the season.

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Michael Grove, West Virginia, Fr., RHP, Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park
In Sunday’s series finale, Grove entered in the first inning and pitched 8.1 brilliant innings in relief in the Mountaineers’ victory against Oklahoma. After OU scored seven runs on seven hits in the first inning, Grove came in with two outs and shut down the OU offensive attack, holding the Sooners to just four hits with a career-best 13 strikeouts the rest of the game. The freshman finished the contest and earned his first career win as he allowed the WVU offense to climb back into the game. Grove walked two, held OU to a .154 batting average and just one Oklahoma batter reached second base safely the rest of the game.