Junior outfielder Balin Valentine did something Friday night people rarely do, drilling a home run over the center field wall at Brown-Stroud Field.
He was rewarded for that – and the rest of his past four games performance – Monday afternoon, collecting his first Southland Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week honor in a vote by league sports information directors.
An Abilene, Texas, product, Valentine batted .600 during the week as Northwestern State posted a 4-0 homestand with a win against Grambling and a three-game Southland Conference sweep of Houston Christian.
Valentine started the week with the first three-hit day of his NSU career, going 3-for-6 with a career-high five RBIs against Grambling and followed that with a four-RBI game against HCU in the series opener that included his seventh home run of the season – a three-run shot to center field.
He added a pair of stolen bases during a stretch in which he slugged .933 and produced an on-base percentage of .650.
Valentine becomes the first Demon to collect a weekly league honor this season and is NSU’s first Hitter of the Week honoree since Michael Dattalo earned the May 8, 2023, award.
Through six Southland Conference series, Valentine is second in league games in RBIs (20) and is tied for third with five home runs.
He and the Demons return to action Friday when they travel to Beaumont, Texas, to open a three-game Southland series against Lamar.
