UPDATE (April 4, 2023): On Tuesday, Jack Hurley was also named the NCBWA Dick Howser Trophy National Hitter of the Week.
UPDATE (April 3, 2023): In addition to Monday's ACC Player of the Week honor, Jack Hurley has also been named the D1Baseball National Player of the Week, as well as to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's National Players of the Week.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – After hammering five home runs and posting team-high marks in batting and slugging last week, Virginia Tech junior outfielder Jack Hurley has been named the ACC Player of the Week, as announced by the conference on Monday.
Hurley batted 11-for-20 (.550) during Tech's 3-1 week that began with a midweek win at VMI (Tuesday) and concluded with back-to-back, series-clinching victories against then-No. 5 Virginia (Saturday, Sunday). The 2022 All-American cleared the fence five times, produced his fifth and sixth career multi-homer games and mashed two doubles while boasting a 1.400 slugging percentage (1.950 OPS) with seven runs and 11 RBIs.
With Hurley's selection, Virginia Tech joins No. 2 Wake Forest as the league's two teams that have produced multiple ACC Player of the Week honorees this season. On March 6, fifth-year outfielder Chris Cannizzaro had garnered the weekly title for his 14-for-20 hitting line amidst his streak of seven consecutive games with three or more hits.
Monday's conference honor arrives at a fitting time for Hurley, who during his last nine games has raised his cumulative batting average by 92 points to .349 and upped his season home run count to 11. An established ACC hitter, the Tech veteran leads the Hokies in conference-only batting average (.413, 19-for-46) and slugging percentage (.891), having littered the yard with four doubles and six home runs during league play while accounting for 16 RBIs.
Outside of their sheer energy, the timeliness of Hurley's recent batch of home runs have helped the "Hammerin' Hokies" re-channel their offensive spirit.
On Tuesday at VMI, Hurley opened the midweek scoring for Tech with his two-run home run during the first inning, later contributing in the Hokies' back-to-back-to-back home runs during the ninth inning that broke them away from a 6-6 ballgame.
With Tech trailing during the first inning on Saturday against Virginia, Hurley again set the tone for the Hokies' lineup to emerge, driving a two-run home run to center field to claim the lead. Once more on Sunday, he was at the center of another game-changing at-bat, powering the two-run home run during the sixth inning that flipped Tech's one-run deficit and sent the Hokies onto victory.
Seeing time at left field and center field last week, Hurley went errorless in the outfield through 10 chances, battling stormy conditions on Friday (rain) and Saturday (wind gusts).
Hurley and Virginia Tech will return to the diamond on Friday, April 7, when they continue ACC play at Duke. First pitch of Friday's series opener between the Hokies and the Blue Devils is scheduled for 8 p.m. (airing on ACC Network).