Monday, March 01, 2010

Valparaiso University’s Ryan O’Gara (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Buffalo Grove H.S.) has been named the Horizon League’s Batter of the Week after continuing his hot start to the 2010 season over three games this past weekend.

The junior hit .563 (9-for-16) with two doubles, a homer, four runs scored, and seven runs batted in at the Jacksonville Tournament.  He also posted an .875 slugging percentage.

O’Gara started the week going 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs against #22/20 Oklahoma on Friday.  Saturday in the Crusaders’ win against Richmond, O’Gara added three more RBIs along with his second homerun of the season.  The left-handed hitting first baseman capped the week with a 6-for-6 effort on Sunday at Jacksonville, including another double.

Through the first two weeks of the season, O’Gara is third in the Horizon League in batting with a .481 average and leads the league with 13 hits, four doubles, and two homeruns.  He has hit safely in all six games this year, including three multi-hit efforts.

With the weekly honor, O’Gara is now eligible for the Horizon League Network’s ‘The People’s Choice’ honor.  Fans can vote for O’Gara by visiting www.horizonleaguenetwork.tv and voting in ‘The People’s Choice’ poll on the right-hand side of the page thru Tuesday afternoon.