Tommy Manzella Named Conference USA Player Of The Week
Apr 26, 2004 | Baseball
April 26, 2004
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Fresh off a 4-0 week that included a three-game sweep of conference co-leader Southern Miss, Tulane University shortstop Tommy Manzella was named Conference USA Hitter of the Week, the league office announced Monday afternoon.
The junior from Chalmette, La., earned the honor after hitting .611 (11-for-18) with a double and a home run while scoring five times and driving in seven. The weekly title is the first of Manzella's career and the third league honor bestowed on a Green Wave player in 2004 as junior outfielder Matt Barket was named C-USA Co-Hitter of the Week on March 22 and sophomore southpaw Brian Bogusevic earned C-USA Pitcher of the Week recognition on April 12.
Manzella entered the week hitting .283, but raised that mark nearly 20 points by tallying three, three-hit contests and a two-hit ballgame to bring his season average to .319. He also had three, two-RBI outings and scored five runs during the week, including the fourth run of Sunday's 9-7 win over Southern Miss to give the home team the lead for good.
He struck out just one in 18 at-bats and tallied a .500 on-base percentage and a.538 slugging mark. Manzella also played flawless defense from his shortstop position with nine putouts and 14 assists while helping turn four double plays.
Manzella and the Green Wave return to action on Tuesday, April 27, when Tulane matches up with arch-rival LSU at 7:45 p.m. in the Louisiana Superdome. In 2002, fans of the two teams set an NCAA single-game record when 27,673 were on hand for the midweek match, but the record was broken earlier this year when 40,107 fans packed PETCO Park - the new home of the San Diego Padres - as San Diego State defeated Houston, 4-0 back on March 11.
Tickets can be pre-ordered at both the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE and the LSU Atheltics Ticket Office at 1-800-960-8587. Tickets can also be purchased through Ticketmaster at (504) 522-5555 or via the internet at www.ticketmaster.com, and on a walk-up basis at the Superdome Box Office, located on Poydras Avenue.
