Justin Sarratt Claims ACC Baseball Honor

April 6, 2009

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Clemson’s Justin Sarratt is the ACC Pitcher of the Week, while Boston College catcher Tony Sanchez has been named the ACC Player of the Week for the period of March 30-April 5.

Clemson’s Sarratt delivered a masterful performance on the mound against Georgia, the nation’s No. 1-ranked team, last Wednesday. The Tigers fell 4-2, but it was no fault of Sarratt, who pitched 8.0 strong innings in a no-decision.

After Sarratt departed the game at the end of the eighth inning, the Tigers allowed three runs in the ninth. Sarratt allowed just three hits, one run, and one walk with a career-high 12 strikeouts in the game. Georgia entered the week 10th in the nation in scoring along with its No. 1 national ranking in the polls.

During one stretch, Sarratt retired 17 batters in a row. The 12 strikeouts were the most by a Tiger since 2001. On the season, the Gaffney, S.C., junior is 3-1 with a 3.81 ERA and .200 opponents’ batting average, along with 20 strikeouts against just four walks in 26.0 innings pitched over eight appearances (four starts).

Sanchez, who was also named ACC Player of the Week on March 9, blasted five home runs on the week. None were more important than the one he hit Sunday afternoon.

With the game tied in the bottom of the eighth after BC stormed back from eight runs down against NC State, Sanchez drove a 3-2 pitch over the wall in center for the game-winning run. It was his seventh home run in the last eight games. Sanchez slugged at a 1.190 clip for the week and had an on-base percentage of .500. He led the team in hits (9), runs (7), home runs (5) and total bases (25).

Sanchez’s 12 home runs this season ranks fifth in a single season at BC, while his 22 career blasts rank sixth. The Miami, Fla., native leads the ACC in homers and ranks second in slugging (.783), third in runs (36), fifth in RBI (35) and eighth in on-base percentage (.486).