South Dakota State University third baseman Jesse Sawyer and relief pitcher Trever Vermeulen have been honored by The Summit League for their performances in a weekend series at Air Force.
Sawyer earned Summit League Player of the Week honors after recording three three-hit games in the four-game series. A junior from Calgary, Alberta, Sawyer batted .625 (10-for-16) with three home runs and nine runs batted in, also posting a 1.188 slugging percentage. After setting the single-season school record with 19 home runs in 2009, Sawyer has hit 22 career home runs in 63 games.
Vermeulen, a junior from Mitchell, was honored as Pitcher of the Week. In three appearances covering 6 2/3 innings, the right-hander struck out 10 batters, did not issue a walk and allowed only one earned run. He was the winning pitcher in both games of a March 6 doubleheader, tallying seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. Vermeulen has posted a 1.04 earned run average through his first five appearances this season.
The Jackrabbits won three of four games at Air Force to improve to 5-2 on the season. SDSU travels to Arkansas for a two-game series March 9-10. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. each day in Fayetteville, Ark.
