Junior second baseman Casey Turgeon was honored as the SEC Player of the Week following his 8-11 (.727), 3 runs, 2 RBI 4 walk performance this past weekend in Tuscaloosa. Turgeon’s performance helped Florida tie a school record with their 11th consecutive SEC win as well as secure the first road sweep of the Crimson Tide since 1988.
Turgeon is the first Florida recipient of the award since Zack Powers was honored on February 19, 2013.
Turgeon’s Weekend Highlights
• Keyed Florida’s first three-game sweep of Western Division co-leader Alabama in Tuscaloosa since 1988.
• The leadoff hitter helped extend the Gators’ SEC winning streak to school-record-tying 11 games, last done in 1968.
• Batted .727 (8-for-11) in the series, with .909 slugging percentage and an .800 on-base percentage.
• Had multiple hits in all three contests and scored in every game.
• Opened the weekend by going 3-for-4 with an RBI single, a run and a sacrifice bunt as the Gators won, 7-3.
• Was a perfect 3-for-3 with an RBI double in the fifth inning and drew a pair of walks as Florida clinched the series on Saturday, 4-3.
• Added two more hits in the series finale, contributed a sacrifice bunt and scored a run.
• Had a perfect fielding percentage and was part of all four Gator double plays.
This week
The Gators (33-15/18-6 SEC) will host Mercer (34-11/16-5 A-Sun) on Tuesday night at McKethan Stadium. Mercer is freshly ranked this week, coming off of two wins over Florida Gulf Coast and are winners of seven out of their last 10 contests.
Following up the Mercer game, Florida will host Vanderbilt (36-12/14-10 SEC) Thursday (8:30, ESPNU), Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (noon, FSN).
The Gators needs to capture just one of the three games this weekend to secure at least a share of the SEC East crown with South Carolina.
Ranking
The Orange and Blue came in ranked No. 4 in the country by three polls, Baseball American, Perfect Game and the Collegiate Baseball Poll.