Lookouts' Varner named Player of the Month
June 6, 2006 - Southern League (SL1) News Release
Chattanooga Lookouts' leftfielder Noochie Varner has been named the TOPPS Player of the Month for May. The Topps Company of New York, in conjunction with Minor League Baseball, presents the award each month to the top performer in each of the 10 full-season leagues.
Varner enjoyed a spectacular month, hitting .404 with 6 home runs and 34 RBI. He led all Southern Leaguers in RBI for the month and was tied for the league lead with 68 total bases while ranking second in batting average and tied for third in home runs.
The Cynthiana, KY native raised his average from .206 to .325 over the course of the month, and collected hitting streaks of 7, 5 and 4 games. Varner recorded at least one hit in 21 of 28 contests and collected twelve multi-hit games along the way, including five three-hit games.
Varner came through in the clutch all month long, driving in the game-winning run on six occasions. He singled three times to win the game, doubled once, and hit two sacrifice flies.
The 25-year-old twice drove in five runs in a game twice during the month. On May 7 against Mobile, he went 3-for-5 with a home run, 5 RBI and two runs scored and on May 24 at Tennessee, he went 3-for-4 with the game-winning single, a home run, 5 RBI and two runs scored.
A few of Varner's other single game highlights came against the Mississippi Braves, including a perfect 3-for-3 performance on May 28, in which he hit the game-winning double, homered and drove in four runs, and a 3-for-4 contest May 30 during which he also homered and scored three runs.
For the season, the leftfielder is hitting at a .297 clip, good for ninth in the league. His 36 RBI are tied for second in the league. He has also hit 6 home runs, collected 52 hits and scored 29 runs. He was previously named the BC Powder Southern League Hitter of the Week for the week of May 22-28.
The Cincinnati Reds selected Varner in the 10th round of the 2000 draft. He played in the Detroit Tigers, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Arizona Diamondbacks organizations before signing as a free agent with his original club in 2006.
Southern League Stories from June 6, 2006
- Suns do it again with another comeack win - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- BayBears fall to Suns 8-6 - Mobile BayBears
- Lookouts take four of five from Biscuits - Chattanooga Lookouts
- Jaxx shutout Smokies - Jackson Generals
- Mississippi defeats Carolina 5-1 - Carolina Mudcats
- Flanagan placed on DL - Montgomery Biscuits
- Lookouts' Varner named Player of the Month - SL1
- Meadows named Southern League Hitter of the Week - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- "Inside Smokies Baseball" returns to VOD - Knoxville Smokies
- Barons defeat Stars, 4-2 - Birmingham Barons
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