May 24, 2004
Baylor junior DH Josh Ford of Baytown, Texas, Texas A&M senior OF Cory Patton of Owasso, Okla., Nebraska senior pitcher Justin Pekarek of Staplehurst, Neb., and Oklahoma senior pitcher Mark Roberts (also of the Tulsa suburb of Owasso), have been chosen as the final Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Baseball Co-Players of the Week and Co-Pitchers of the Week, respectively, in voting by a select panel of media covering Big 12 baseball for games played from May 18-23.
Ford and Patton put on power displays not seen in the Big 12 this season during conference contests. Ford lashed three home runs in his final two games at Texas Tech and ended the week with four homers, six RBI, and a 4-for-4 "cycle" showing in the final game at Lubbock with a single, double, triple, and HR. He was 11-for-18 (.611) in five games overall while racking up 27 total bases and a 1.500 slugging percentage. Patton was equally productive with two round-trippers and seven RBI in a 12-9 loss to Texas on regional television (Fox Sports Net) while completing the week with 5-for-9 (.556 batting numbers), eight RBI and a double over the three-game series with the No. 1 Longhorns.
Pekarek had a near-perfect week with no runs and just two hits allowed in a pair of relief appearances over 10 innings and 11 strikeouts against Creighton and Oklahoma in Big 12 activity. He struck out nine in seven innings of a 12-1 win over Creighton at Rosenblatt Stadium and then tossed three frames of no-hit relief against the Sooners. Roberts turned in an equally-dominating start against the Huskers in a 1-0 loss (he had a no-decision) in 11 innings on May 24. The senior righty worked the first nine stanzas, did not allow a run, yielded only two singles, struck out eight and walked three Huskers. In a statistical quirk, NU starter Phil Shirek and Roberts threw exactly 119 pitches over nine IP as the OU pitcher faced just 30 hitters and was assisted by two double plays.