The final Horizon League Batter of the Week Award of the regular season is coming to Valparaiso.

Chris Manning (Lake Forest, Calif./El Toro HS) earned the honor after hitting .313 with a home run in a week where the Crusaders went 4-0. A mid-week win over Toledo and a sweep of Youngstown State advanced Valpo to 28-26 overall and 13-11 in conference.

Manning had his best season as a Crusader this year. In 53 starts, the right fielder batted .318 with eight doubles, two triples, and three home runs. His 13 extra-base hits were a club watermark.  Manning also stole eleven bases which was tied for the team lead with Tanner Vavra.

Valpo begins Horizon League Conference Tournament play Thursday versus UIC (26-26, 13-11 HL) at Eastwood Field in Niles, Ohio. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00am ET/10:00am CT.