FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 2-18-02

AASU's Allen, Bennett Pick Up PBC Baseball Weekly Honors

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Armstrong Atlantic State senior pitcher Brian Allen and sophomore third baseman Stacy Bennett were named the Peach Belt Conference's Pitcher and Player of the Week, respectively, on Monday afternoon by conference officials. It's the first time that AASU has swept the weekly pitcher and player awards since February 16, 1999.

Allen, a senior from Cairo, Ga., hurled eight innings of shutout ball, giving up just five singles and striking out seven in the No. 13-ranked Pirates' 10-0 PBC win over UNC Pembroke on Sunday. Making his first start of the season for AASU, Allen gave up a leadoff single, then retired 13 batters in a row en route to his second win of the season.

Bennett, a sophomore from Watkinsville, Ga., hit .667 (8-for-12) with two doubles and a home run in the Pirates' weekend sweep of UNC Pembroke. The Pirates' third baseman went 4-for-4 in AASU's 13-4 win on Saturday with two doubles, then collected three hits in the series final, an 8-7 extra-inning win over the Braves in which he drove in the game-tying run in the sixth inning that sent the game to extra frames.

The award is the first for both players, and is just the third time in Pirate history that AASU has swept both awards in the same week. David Ruhr and Quinn Uzelman were the PBC's Player and Pitcher of the Week on March 18, 1998, while Kevin Bullard and current Detroit Tiger Adam Bernero were the PBC's Player and Pitcher of the week on February 16, 1999.

The Pirates are next in action on Friday, February 22 as they play the University of Connecticut in the 2002 Memorial Health Diamond Classic at 3:30 p.m. at historic Grayson Stadium.

- Pirates -