HARRISONBURG, Va. — LSU first baseman Will Harris was named Monday as the Valley League Player of the Week. The award is based upon games played June 23-29 in the summer league for collegiate players.
Harris, a rising sophomore from Slidell, La., hit .400 (8-for-20) for the week and played a huge role in two of the Staunton Braves’ three wins. On Sunday night, with Staunton and New Market tied at two, Harris led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a home run to give the Braves a 3-2 win. The win, coupled with Winchester’s doubleheader sweep of Harrisonburg (10-7), allowed the second place Braves (7-6) to pick up 1 1/2 games in the standings.
On Wednesday night, Harris launched a grand slam against Harrisonburg propelling the Braves to an 8-6 win over their division rivals. With the Braves trailing 6-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Harris took Eric Haberer deep for his first home run of the season and gave the Braves a 7-6 edge. Harris went 3-for-4 in the game, including two doubles and two runs scored. The Braves went 3-3 during the week and trail the Turks by a game in the Southern Division standings.
Harris had four doubles, six RBI, scored six runs, walked three times and was hit twice for a .500 on-base percentage and compiled a .900 slugging percentage for the week. Harris made his Valley League debut June 23 at Winchester, going 1-for-2 with a double and two runs scored after LSU ended its run in the College World Series the week before.
Harris appeared in 26 games for the Tigers in 2003, batting .233 with three doubles, two homers and six RBI. He played mostly in a reserve role at first base, backing up his older brother, Clay, who was a first-team all-SEC selection.