May 23, 2011
IRVING, Texas - Baylor infielder Jake Miller has been named Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday. Miller hit two home runs in Baylor's series win against No. 13 Oklahoma - the Bears' first series win over a top-15 ranked opponent since 2006.
Miller's award comes one week after fellow sophomore Max Muncy took the honor. Miller joins Muncy, Landis Ware and Chris Slater to give the Bears four different Player of the Week award winners in a season for the first time in program history.
A native of Houston, Texas, Miller hit .467 (7-for-15) with two home runs, one double, four RBI and two runs scored to help Baylor to a 3-1 week and third consecutive Big 12 series win. Miller reached base at a .500 clip and slugged a team-leading .933 during the week.
Miller recorded a RBI double and a single in Tuesday's win over Dallas Baptist. Three days later, he hit a game-tying home run on the ninth pitch of his at-bat in the second inning of the Bears' series-opening win over Oklahoma. He also had two singles in the series opener, finishing the game 3-for-4.
With Baylor trailing 3-1 in the second game of the OU series, Miller hit another game-tying home run, this time a two-run shot in sixth inning, in addition to a walk and a single in the game. Miller's performance helped the Bears win their third consecutive Big 12 series and take fifth place in the Big 12 regular season standings.
Miller joins Muncy (May 23), Ware (March 7) and Slater (March 14) to give the Bears four different Big 12 Players of the Week this season. Josh Ford (twice), Michael Griffin and Paul Witt were honored in 2004, the only previous time Baylor has had four Player of the Week awards in one season.
The Bears begin postseason play at 9 a.m. Wednesday when the take on Oklahoma State in the opening round of the 2011 Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Baseball Championship. With a win, Baylor would play the winner of the Texas-Missouri game at 4 p.m. Thursday, and with a loss against OSU, the Bears would take on the loser of the Texas-Missouri game at 9 a.m. Thursday.
