St. Mary’s T.J. Blanton was named the MAC East Player of the Week after his four home run, nine RBI performance, playing for Bowling Green against Eastern Kentucky this past weekend.

Blanton had a career day in the first game of a doubleheader, going 4-for-5 with three-consecutive home runs. His last home run was a deep blast to center field that Blanton turned on the jets and legged out for an inside-the-park homer, scoring two runs.

He ended his seven RBI game with a two-run single in his last at-bat as a part of a nine-run eighth inning that sealed a 19-10 win for the Falcons. Blanton also added two steals on the day, stealing second and third base consecutively following his run-scoring single. His four hits tied a career-high he set last season while his three home runs and seven RBI in a game set new career marks in those categories.

In game two, Blanton added his fourth home run of the day with a two-out, two-run homer that was part of a four-run sixth inning that marked their second come-from-behind victory of the day.

He finished the weekend hitting 7-for-13 (.538) with a .538 on-base percentage. He stole three bases and in the field made 11 put outs over the course of the series. His weekend slugging percentage ended with a team-high 1.462 mark and amounted 19 total bases in that time.

Blanton now leads the team or shares the lead in doubles (5), home runs (5), RBI (16), total bases (45) and slugging percentage (.900). He is second in hits (23), on-base percentage (.491) and stolen bases (7).

swalker@MorningJournal.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio - St. Mary's T.J. Blanton was named as the Mid American Conference's Scholar-Athlete of the Week last week, playing centerfield for Bowling Green.

Blanton hit .429 (6-for-13) and scored a team-high seven runs last week, helping lead the Falcons to a 3-1 mark.

This past weekend in a three-game sweep of Ball State, Blanton went 6-for-13 with six runs, and scored the game-winning run after his bunt single led off the inning in a 3-2 win. In the third game, Blanton led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a single and scored on a walk-off home run to win 9-7.

For the season, Blanton, a junior, is batting .339 and has played in all 34 games, including 31 starts. He has five home runs and 17 RBIs.

Last year he played in 25 games, including 22 starts, but had his season end early when he fouled off a pitch fracturing his left tibia. He batted .341 with a home run and 12 RBIs before the injury.

His freshman season he played in 26 games with four starts and batted .400 (10-for-25) with a double and five RBIs.

Blanton was a three-year letter winner for Sandusky St. Mary, where he batted .488 with a home run, two triples and 10 doubles as a senior. As a junior, he hit .462 with four home runs, three triples and 10 doubles. He was the team MVP following both seasons. He still holds the St. Mary school record with hits in a season with 42. He also lettered in football and wrestling.

Stay tuned for an update on his college teammates Brennan Smith (Perkins) and Clay Duncan (Norwalk).

swalker@MorningJournal.com