NEW YORK  – Creighton catcher Michael Emodi repeats as the BIG EAST Player of the Week. Butler lefty starting pitcher Connor Mitchell earns Pitcher of the Week honors after his complete game shutout performance against Western Michigan.  
 
BIG EAST Player of the Week
Michael Emodi, Creighton, Jr., C (Omaha, Neb.)
Creighton junior Michael Emodi repeats as BIG EAST Player of the Week after a seven-RBI week for the Bluejays who earned wins over Kansas State (13-3) and No. 20 Wichita State (3-1). Creighton went 2-1 with a final loss to the Shockers, 7-4. Emodi's stat line consisted of four runs, seven hits in 12 at bats (.417), .917 slugging with a .462 on-base percentage. Emodi erupted with five RBI over Kansas State blasting in a three-run homer in the third inning to give CU a 5-2 lead. He finished 4-for-5 on the day. Against the ranked Shockers, Emodi smashed a 2-2 pitch in the ninth for a two-run walk-off blast to give Creighton the 3-1 win. 
 
BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week
Connor Mitchell, Butler, RS-Jr., LHP (Plainfield, Ind.)
Butler redshirt junior Connor Mitchell threw a complete game, two-hit shutout against Western Michigan on Friday afternoon to lead Butler to a 3-0 victory. The lefty struck out 10 batters and issued just one walk over nine innings of work. He threw 106 pitches total. Mitchell had his no-hitter broken up in the bottom of the sixth inning. His only other hit was recorded in the seventh. Mitchell advanced to 2-0 on the year with a 2.08 ERA. He leads Butler with 34 strikeouts.
 
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Tyler Houston, Butler, Sr., OF (Brownsburg, Ind.)
Houston hit .476 (10-for-21) in a 3-1 week for Butler with a pair of wins over Western Michigan and a midweek victory at home over Ball State. Five of his 10 hits went for extras. He had four doubles and a home run to post a .810 slugging percentage.  He has seven RBI, all in one game, one shy of tying the Butler school record.

Ryan Tapani, Creighton, Sr., SP (Wayzata, Minn.)
Tapani helped Creighton to a 3-1 win over No. 20 Wichita State as he pitched 7.1 innings, 109 pitches, allowing just one run to score. He walked one and struck out six during the stretch as he went frame-for-frame with the Shocker pitcher who had a no-no through six innings.

Austin Shirley, Georgetown, Sr., OF (Strafford, Pa.)
Shirley batted .421 (8-for-19) in a 3-2 week for the Hoyas. Shirley crossed the plate seven times and had three multi-hit games in the stretch.  He had one double and two RBI during the week which had the Hoyas defeat Coppin State, 16-9, then split a four-game series with Princeton over the weekend.

Christian Del Castillo, Seton Hall, So. OF (Miami Fla.)
In a 2-1-1 week for Seton Hall, Del Castillo led the Pirates in batting with a .467 average (7-for-15). He hit safely in all four games, collecting two hits in three of the four.  For the week, Castillo crossed the plate twice and posted four RBI. He hit his first career home run on Friday in a 10-7 win at Oklahoma State.

Ryan Altenberger, Xavier, Fr., 2b/3b (Morton, Ill.)
Altenberger hit .462 (6-for-13) in a 3-0 weekend for Xavier against Miami (Ohio) who came into the series on a nine-game winning streak. Altenberger scored seven times with two homers and 13 total bases. He played error-free in the field with 11 putouts and five assists. His slugging for the week was 1.000. He scored at least two runs in each game.