Gators catcher BT Riopelle has been named the SEC Co-Player of the Week. This marks his first career SEC weekly award since he transferred in from Coastal Carolina following the 2021 season.
Riopelle started all four games last week, three of them at catcher and one at first base. He turned in a slash line of .533, .556, 1.133 to power the Gators to an 18-3 beatdown of South Florida in the midweek and a road sweep at Mississippi State. His 17 total bases and eight RBI for the week led the team.
The junior from Marietta, Georgia, also clubbed two home runs and three doubles and was walked twice.
He established new career highs with four hits and six RBI in the series opener against Mississippi State, and his three-run homer helped the Gators build a sizable lead.
He caught all 27 innings of the weekend series and helped the pitching staff only surrender nine earned runs. In the finale, he picked off a runner at first to end the first inning and then threw out a runner trying to steal to end the second, which proved to be key plays in what was a close game for eight innings.
Riopelle’s hot week at the plate raised his season statistics to a .312 batting average with 14 homers, 45 RBI and four stolen bases. He leads all SEC catchers in slugging percentage (.624), home runs and RBI.
Riopelle and the rest of the Gators are back in action on Tuesday when Bethune-Cookman visits Condron Ballpark.