Florida League Players of the Week - Week 7
LONGWOOD, Fla.- Throughout the 2021 season, the Florida Collegiate Summer League has honored two players at the conclusion of each week: one as the FCSL Player of the Week, and one as the FCSL Pitcher of the Week. This week's honors, the last of the regular season, represent performances from Monday, July 19 to Saturday, July 24.
The Player of the Week honor marks a fitting end to the Florida League regular season career of DeLand's Joe Burke (Kentucky Wesleyan). Burke hit two home runs and drove in five runs in the final week of the regular season, logging 12 total bases. His home runs came at critical times for the Suns, hitting the go-ahead blast in Monday's contest against the Snappers and hitting a two-run shot in the ninth against Leesburg, sparking a Suns rally against the Lightning's usually stout bullpen.
Burke's efforts moved the former Home Run Derby champion into first place in Florida League history in all three categories, as the four-year Sun will finish his FCSL career with 13 home runs, 72 runs batted in, and 171 total bases. He also will leave DeLand as the league's all-time leader in games played at 126. His career totals in hits and runs scored both rank among the top five in league history, as well.
The Pitcher of the Week, earning the honor for the second time this season, is Austin Emener (North Alabama) from the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs. Emener, who also earned Pitcher of the Week honors after his five-inning no-hitter on June 15, was dominant over four innings of work on Thursday, allowing just one hit over his time on the mound. The Georgia native struck out seven of the 15 hitters he faced, and allowed just three hitters to reach in a 12-4 win over the Seminole County Snappers.
Austin Emener ends the regular season as the Florida League strikeout champion. His seven strikeouts in his final start gave the lefthander 45 punchouts on the season, one more than Winter Garden's Ethan Brown (USF) and two more than teammate Matt Malatesta (South Carolina Beaufort). Emener, who is scheduled to start Game 2 of the FCSL Semifinals for the Dawgs, with a 3-1 record and just 15 hits allowed in 29 innings of work.
Additionally, each week, the Florida League will also honor one player from each team that was not selected as the League Player or Pitcher of the Week.
Florida League Honor Roll (Hitters): Clay Stearns (Leesburg/Troy); Tom Josten (Sanford/UCF); Caleb Upshaw (Seminole County/Kansas); Andrew O'Dea (Winter Garden/Northwest Florida State); Grant Berman (Winter Park/NYU)
Florida League Honor Roll (Pitchers): Andrew Leinenbach (DeLand/North Florida); Jacob Bradshaw (Leesburg/North Alabama); Logan Frasier (Sanford/Bryant); Nolan Hudi (Seminole County/USF); Michael Ross (Winter Garden/Samford)
