INDIANAPOLIS – University of Southern Indiana junior catcher Dylan Mooney (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell) and junior pitcher Taylor Dennis (Covington, Ind./Covington) are the Great Lakes Valley Conference Baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively.
Mooney helped guide the Eagles to a 5-0 record last week, including a four-game sweep at divisional-rival Rockhurst in league play.
In the five contests, Mooney hit .591 with 13 RBIs, 10 runs, four home runs, three doubles and finished with a 1.273 slugging percentage.
He was 3-for-5 with an RBI and three runs in USI’s 15-4 win over Oakland City early in the week and then paced the offense to 43 runs in the sweep over Rockhurst during the weekend.
In Saturday’s doubleheader against the Hawks, Mooney combined to go 7-for-10 with seven RBIs, five runs, two doubles and a pair of home runs. USI won the first game 15-7 in 11 innings and took the nightcap 11-0.
He returned on Sunday to again hit a home run in each contest, including a game-tying two-run shot in the opener to help the Eagles erase a five-run deficit. Mooney finished the day 3-for-7 with five RBIs, two runs and the two home runs. The Eagles rallied to take the first game 11-8 and shutout the hosts 6-0 in the nightcap.
Mooney is hitting .404 with 43 runs and 39 RBIs on the season. He boasts a .684 slugging percentage and has 12 doubles and eight home runs.
Dennis, a right-hander for the Eagles, tossed a four-hit shutout in USI’s 11-0 win over Rockhurst in the second game on Saturday.
In his seven innings of work, Dennis scattered Rockhurst’s four hits after the Hawks had posted 13 base hits in the opener. He struck out six in the outing and did not allow a walk. Dennis surrendered just one extra base hit, a double in the fifth, the only runner he allowed past first base on the afternoon.
Dennis is now 4-1 on the season with a 4.69 earned run average. He has two complete games and 27 strikeouts in 48 innings of work.
USI (30-8) has won 20 of its last 21 games and is in first place in the GLVC West Division standings with a 17-3 record. The Eagles will visit Northern Kentucky for a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday and host Missouri S&T for a four-game set this weekend.
Other top performers in GLVC last week included Bellarmine’s Chris Wiedmar and Cory Thomas, Drury’s Jason Hall, Indianapolis’ Chris Ulrey, Kentucky Wesleyan’s Luke Garmon and Brandon Robinette, Lewis’ Richard Forkin and Steve Almanza, Maryville’s Mitch Seward and Chris Stenezel, Missouri S&T’s Bradon Cogan, Missouri-St. Louis’ Andrew Keating and Brandon Fear, Northern Kentucky’s Jason Cisper and Ryan Schmidt and Quincy’s Justin Dunning and Brett Zurliene.