April 11, 2011

NEWPORT NEWS, VA - After a breakout performance over the weekend at Temple, La Salle OF George Smith Jr. (Mt. Airy, MD/Good Counsel) has been awarded Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors, the conference announced earlier today.

"We are very proud of George, it is an honor that he certainly deserves after having a fantastic weekend for us," said head coach Mike Lake. "Temple is a big rivalry for us, and he came through in the clutch."

The freshman went 6-for-12 during the week with two runs scored and six RBI. All six of his RBI's came in the seventh inning or later.

In game one of Sunday's doubleheader against Temple, Smith Jr. hit a seventh-inning RBI single that turned a 2-1 La Salle lead into a 3-1 edge. He followed it up with another clutch performance in game two of the twin bill including a two-run single in the seventh that gave the Explorers a 5-2 edge and a game-winning RBI single in the ninth that sparked a four-run rally in the inning.

The Good Counsel HS alum also had an RBI double in the seventh inning of Wednesday's loss against Villanova, his only hit of the contest. Smith Jr. is the first La Salle baseball player to be awarded A-10 honors so far this season.