CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The Appalachian League announced that Burlington’s Evan Appelwick and Elizabethton’s Baker Cox were named Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for the period of July 3 to July 9.
Appelwick, 20, garnered Hitter of the Week honors after he batted .400 (8-for-20) with three home runs, two doubles, eight RBIs and 10 runs scored in six games for the Sock Puppets. The third baseman led all Appalachian League hitters in home runs, slugging (.950), extra-base hits (5), total bases (19) and runs scored, finishing second in OPS (1.430) and third in RBI.
Appelwick had three multi-hit performances and hit safely in five of six contests for Burlington last week. He was 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base against Danville on July 4 and hit a pair of solo home runs against Greeneville on July 6, going 2-for-4 with three runs scored and another steal. Appelwick connected on his third home of the week on Sunday against Elizabethton, highlighting a 2-for-3 performance in which he tallied three RBIs and runs scored apiece.
A Madison, S.D., native, Appelwick improved his Appalachian League season batting line from .255/.397/.400 to .293/.419/.547 during his award-winning week. He’s hit five home runs and four doubles while totaling 16 RBIs and 19 runs scored in 23 games with Burlington. Appelwick batted .277/.418/.398 with four home runs, six doubles, 25 RBIs and 41 runs scored over 50 games with the 2022 Sock Puppets. This past spring, Appelwick produced a .784 OPS with six home runs, 11 doubles and 30 RBIs over 49 games as a Miami (OH) redshirt freshman.
Cox, 21, earned Pitcher of the Week honors after the left-hander fired the first no-hitter of the 2023 Appalachian League season in Elizabethton’s six-inning, rain-shortened win over Greeneville on July 3. He led all Appy League pitchers who completed at least six innings during the period in ERA (0.00), opponents’ average (.000) and WHIP (0.33) and finished tied for second in strikeouts.
Cox (1-3) bookended his no-hitter by retiring the first and the final eight Flyboys hitters he faced. The Hopkins, S.C., native recorded six swinging strikeouts, throwing 55 of 83 pitches for strikes in the outing. Cox has pitched to a 5.49 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with 25 strikeouts and 12 hits allowed in 19.2 innings across five starts for Elizabethton this season. He registered 34 strikeouts in 22.1 innings for the River Riders last summer, making 13 appearances (one start). Cox is committed to UNC-Wilmington for the 2023-24 collegiate season after pitching for Spartanburg Methodist JC (S.C.) this past spring.
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