Baseball's Matt LaPorta Collects More Weekly Awards
Monday, April 2, 2007 | Baseball
Senior Matt LaPorta (Port Charlotte, Fla.) was chosen as the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week for the second-straight time on Monday afternoon. He was also named as Louisville Slugger's National Player of the Week for the initial time in his career.
The first baseman keyed Florida's first road sweep of Georgia since 1993 by going 6-for-11 (.545) with six RBI, five runs and four homers. He drew five walks, including four intentional free passes, and did not strike out. The Gators (18-13/7-2 SEC) have registered a season-high seven wins in a row and are tied with Arkansas for the top spot in the league standings. The accolade marks the fifth time the standout has been honored by the conference office.
LaPorta recently established a school-record by belting a homer in five straight games. Now with 67 in his career, he moved into a tie for third on the SEC's all-time list for round-trippers with former Mississippi State standout Rafael Palmeiro. LaPorta clubbed a pair of home runs during both Friday and Saturday's victories for the Gators, giving him three consecutive league games with multiple jacks dating back to the finale at Auburn. He is hitting .430 overall with 29 RBI and 13 homers and sports a .543 clip with 16 runs, 13 RBI, seven HR and five doubles in nine league contests.
It was also announced on Monday that Florida moved back into the national rankings, at 22nd in the poll released by Collegiate Baseball. The Gators will face No. 1 Florida State (29-2) on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. Freshman right-hander Clint Franklin (Orlando, Fla.) (0-1, 7.36) will make his second collegiate start against Seminole right-hander Caleb Graham (1-1, 1.90).
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