CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Kingsport’s Cole Kirschsieper and Burlington’s Benji Gilbert were named the Appalachian League Pitcher and Player of the Week the league announced today.
Kirschsieper had two solid starts for the Axmen, the first of which came on June 29 against Princeton. The southpaw threw four scoreless frames, allowing just two hits while striking out four batters. His second start of the week came on July 4 when the University of Illinois product tossed five more shutout frames, this time allowing just one hit and striking out nine batters to finish the week with 13 punchouts.
Gilbert began his week coming off the bench to pinch hit in Burlington’s June 28 game, collecting two hits and RBI before going 3-for-6 with three more RBI a night later. The outfielder capped the week with another three-hit performance on July 4, finishing the week with a .526 (10-for-19) clip while slugging .632 with a pair of doubles and six RBI.
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