Howard Named USC Aiken Athletic Department Student-Athlete of the Week

AIKEN, S.C. - University of South Carolina Aiken baseball player Travis Howard was selected as the USC Aiken Athletic Department Student-Athlete of the Week on February 15, 2010.

In a week of tremendous achievement by Pacer student-athletes, Howard was honored for his efforts against some of the best competition in all of NCAA Division II baseball.

In USC Aiken's four games last week, Howard hit .529 (9-for-17). The national leader in RBIs in the 2009 season, Howard collected six RBIs and scored five runs in the four games.

Howard had a slugging percentage of .882 and an on-base percentage of .526.

His strong play was not just confined to his efforts at the dish. Howard had 40 putouts in the four games from his position at first base. He also had a perfect fielding percentage on the week.

A 2010 Preseason All-American, Howard (Bonneau, S.C./USC Salkehatchie) opened things last week by going 3-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored in USC Aiken's narrow loss to the Sunshine State Conference's Florida Tech.

Howard continued his strong play in USC Aiken's three-game series with defending NCAA Division II national champion Lynn. Howard went 1-for-3 with two RBIs in game one of the series, but in the second game he went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Howard had two of USC Aiken's six home runs in the contest.

In the Pacers win over Lynn in the series finale on Valentine's Day, Howard was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

The USC Aiken Student Athlete of the Week award is a newly created award for the 2009-10 athletic year. Each week the USC Aiken athletic department is going to honor one individual from an in-season sport for their hard work and effort.

Check www.PacerSports.com throughout the course of the 2009-10 athletic year to learn more about USC Aiken's Student-Athlete of the Week award.