Lincoln sweeps weekly awards
Published on July 31, 2006 under American Association (AA) News Release
DURHAM, NC - Sportsticker, the American Association's official statistician, has chosen Lincoln OF Pichi Balet and RHP Jeff Blitstein as Batter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for the week of July 24-30.
Balet is the sixth different Saltdog to be named as Player of the Week this season. In six games, Balet went 13-for-25 (.520 average) with two home runs, eight runs scored, and 15 RBI as the Saltdogs are currently in first place in the North Division with a 15-9 mark. Sunday, the Moreno Valley, CA native had a tremendous game at the plate as he had a 4-for-4 outing with two home runs, two runs scored, and four RBI as Lincoln blanked Sioux Falls 7-0.On the season, Balet is batting .355 with six home runs, 53 RBIs, and 92 hits. He is second in the league in batting average, fourth in RBIs, and tied for third in hits.
During his six seasons of professional baseball, Balet has played independent baseball with Dubois County, Cook County, Sioux City, and his current team, Lincoln. He has also had stints in both the Seattle Mariners and Colorado Rockies organizations. Last season with Lincoln, Balet hit .331 with 12 home runs, 79 RBIs, and 121 hits.
This is Blitstein's second time as being selected as a Player of the Week (May 22-28). In two starts this week, Blitstein picked up two wins pitching 17 1/3 innings allowing only one run, which was unearned, and had four strikeouts. Currently, Blitstein is 6-1 with a 2.49 ERA and leads the league in innings pitched with 108 1/3 innings and in shutouts with three.
The 27-year-old was signed by the Houston Astros in June of 1999. He spent one season with the Single A affiliate of the Astros, Auburn Doubledays, before being released in March of 2000. Last season, Blitstein was with the San Diego Surf Dawgs of the Golden League, where he compiled a record of 10-3 with an earned run average of 2.92 with 91 strikeouts in 120 1/3 innings pitched.
American Association Stories from July 31, 2006
- American Association recap - AA
- Canaries lose offensive game, 20-15 - Sioux Falls Canaries
- American Association recap - AA
- St. Joe evens series with Sports with 7-1 romp - St. Joseph Blacksnakes
- Lincoln sweeps weekly awards - AA
- Saints sign rookie lefty - St. Paul Saints
- Diablos rained out - El Paso Diablos
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