Former Cienega High School standout Nick Gonzales, a junior infielder at New Mexico State, has been named National Player of the Week for the second time this season already by Collegiate Baseball.
Gonzales’ stat line from the Aggies’ four-game sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne last weekend: .467 /.619/1.467 with five homers, 10 RBIs, six walks (four intentional) and three stolen bases.
He led New Mexico State to its third consecutive series sweep. The Aggies are 12-1, their only loss being in extra innings at No. 8 Arizona State.
Gonzalez, an All-American, hit five home runs on Saturday alone, knocking two out of the park in the first game before clobbering three in game two of the doubleheader. He drove in seven runs, including four on his inside-the-park grand slam, in the second game, marking the third time this year that he has recorded seven or more RBI in a game.
If Nick Gonzales was doing what he's doing in any other major college sport, he would be on the front of ESPN, talk of SportsCenter and be buzzing nationally. 5 HRs on Saturday and 3 more on Sunday. Total of 12 HR in 12 games and he's hitting .500 with an OBP of .652.
— Scott (@FieldofDreams81) March 2, 2020
The weekend before, Gonzales hit for the cycle in an 18-4 win over Iona.
He leads the nation with 12 home runs in 13 games. He tops the country with 36 RBIs and he is tied for ninth with a .500 batting average (24 of 48). His slugging percentage of 1.354 ranks third in the nation.
Gonzales is projected to be a Top 10 pick in the 2020 MLB draft. MyMLB Draft and Draft Site have him going to the Kansas City Royals as the No. 4 overall pick and Baseball Prospect Journal forecasts him as the No. 6 pick taken by the Seattle Mariners.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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