Josh Ludy (Baylor) headlines a group of four baseball student-athletes recognized in this week’s edition of the Phillips 66 Big 12 baseball weekly awards.  Ludy garnered the Player of the Week honor, while teammate Michael Howard shared the Newcomer of the Week award with Damien Magnifico (Oklahoma). Michael Wacha (Texas A&M) earned the Pitcher of the Week distinction. The accolades were given for games played April 9-16 and determined by a vote of media covering the Conference.

This is the first career weekly honor for Ludy, Howard and Magnifico, while Wacha tallies his second award after claiming the distinction on March 26, 2012.
 
Baylor has totaled nine weekly awards this season, which is the most for any school in one season since the current three-award format was adopted in 2011. Among those nine awards are five Player of the Week honors for BU, which is a program-high and ties for the most of any program in a single season in Big 12 history (Texas Tech, 2004).  
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Josh Ludy, Baylor, Sr., C, 5-10, 210, Portland, Ind./Jay County
Ludy hit .647 (11-for-17) with four home runs, 12 RBI, five runs scored and three walks to lead Baylor to a 5-0 record during the week, including a fifth consecutive Big 12 series sweep. The senior hit three home runs and had seven RBI in a 5-for-6 effort in the series finale at Kansas State. It was the seventh three home run game in program history, and he became the first BU player with seven RBI in a game since 2004. In Saturday’s game at K-State, Ludy had a two-run home run to give the Bears the early lead. He also added a single and three walks in the game. In the series opener in Manhattan, he delivered a game-winning two-run single that broke a 2-2 tie in seventh inning. He finished the Kansas State series 9-for-14 with four home runs, 11 RBI and three walks. During midweek action, Ludy went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI in Tuesday’s win against Louisiana-Monroe. For the week, he reached base at a .667 clip (14-for-21) and slugged 1.353. For the year, Ludy leads the Big 12 in RBI with 45 and ranks second in total bases (77) and slugging percentage (.570).

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Michael Wacha, Texas A&M, Jr., RHP, Texarkana, Texas/Pleasant Grove
Wacha (5-0) tossed his second complete game shutout of the season in an 8-0 win at Kansas on Friday. The Texarkana, Texas-native scattered four hits and allowed only two KU base runners to reach as far as second base during his 102-pitch outing. The 6-foot-6 right-hander also notched six strikeouts while not walking a batter during the first complete game shutout in a Big 12 game this season. Starting with the last two batters in the bottom of the fourth, Wacha retired a string of 15 consecutive hitters before a ninth-inning single ended the streak. For the season, Wacha stands among the county’s elite pitchers by holding a 5-0 record with a 2.42 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 63.1 innings pitched.
 
NEWCOMERS OF THE WEEK
Michael Howard, Baylor, Fr., OF, 6-1, 185, Prescott, Ariz/Prescott
Howard hit .667 (10-for-15) with a home run, a double, six runs, two RBI and a stolen base to help Baylor to a 5-0 week and 19-game winning streak. The freshman hit the game-winning solo home run with two outs in the 11th inning of the series finale at Kansas State. He had hits in eight consecutive plate appearances during the week, including going 4-for-4 with three runs scored in Wednesday’s win vs. Louisiana-Monroe and starting the second game of the K-State series with four hits in his first four at-bats. Howard doubled and scored to cut the Wildcat lead to 10-8 in the sixth inning, then brought the Bears within a run at 10-9 with a RBI single in the seventh, eventually scoring the go-ahead run.
 
Damien Magnifico, Oklahoma, Jr., RHP, 6-2, 187, Mesquite, Texas/Howard Junior College
Magnifico was one out short of his first complete game on Tuesday as he tossed 8 2/3 shutout innings to defeat No. 9 Arkansas.  He improved to 1-0 in his second start of the year.  The junior limited the Razorbacks to three hits (.107 batting avg.) while striking out four batters. Magnifico hit 100 MPH or more on 22 occasions and outside of a 20-pitch eighth inning, he tossed 14 pitches or less in the remaining frames.  That included five pitches in the second inning, eight pitches in the third and nine in the seventh. Magnifico posted season highs in innings pitched, pitches and strikeouts in the victory. Overall, Magnifico (1-0, 3.16 ERA) ranks third on the team with 14 appearances and second in saves with two.

2012 PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 WEEKLY AWARDS