Amsterdam's Chandler Shepherd (Kentucky) in the midst of a one-hit shutout against Mohawk Valley on Wednesday night. Photo courtesy Jon Rathburn/Little Falls Times

07/23/2012 8:00 AM - The Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League is pleased to announce the winners of the PGCBL Player and Pitcher of the Week awards for the period of July 16 through July 22. This week, three players from three different teams were selected and all three honorees are repeat winners. 

Ross Kivett (Kansas State) of the Glens Falls Golden Eagles has been chosen as the PGCBL Player of the Week. Kivett was a PGCBL Co-Player of the Week in Week 2 (June 18-24) as he shared the award with Oneonta’s Logan Brown (Baylor). The PGCBL Pitcher of the Week award was a split decision between Amsterdam’s Chandler Shepherd (Kentucky) and Watertown’s Rene Solis (St. Mary’s, Texas). For both pitchers, it is their second PGCBL Co-Pitcher of the Week accolade.

Ross Kivett, the starting second baseman for the Golden Eagles, has helped his team to a season high five-game winning streak which includes two victories over the nationally-ranked Amsterdam Mohawks. The Golden Eagles went unbeaten (5-0) last week and scored 53 runs. Glens Falls batted .360 as a team with Kivett hitting in the three slot. Kivett played and started all five games for the Golden Eagles. He batted a team high .467 (10-for-21) with one home run, seven RBI, nine runs scored, three doubles, three walks, two HBP and six stolen bases. He slugged .762 and posted a .577 on-base percentage. The K-State product had at least one hit and scored one run in all five games. He registered two multi-hit and two multi-RBI efforts.

The Broadview Heights, Ohio, native turned in his best performance of the week in a home victory against nationally-ranked Amsterdam on July 21. Kivett went 5-for-5 with a solo home run, four runs scored, three RBI, one double and one stolen base. He became just the fourth PGCBL player this season to register a five-hit performance and he came up just a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. In two wins last week over Amsterdam, Kivett swiped three bases. He matched that total in a single game against Albany on Sunday night to push his stolen base count to a league-leading 37. Kivett reached base three times versus Albany on a double and two walks.

Currently, the Kansas State rising junior leads the PGCBL in batting average (.401), on-base percentage (.500), hits (59) and stolen bases. He is tied for the league lead in runs scored (40) and total bases (82). Kivett has already broken franchise records for the Glens Falls Golden Eagles in single-season hits and stolen bases. Entering into Monday night’s game at Oneonta, Kivett holds a 17-game hitting streak which dates back to the start of the month. More impressive is his streak of reaching base via hit or walk in 35-straight games.

Both Chandler Shepherd and Rene Solis turned in masterful performances for their respective teams in victories. Chandler Shepherd twirled a one-hit shutout for eight innings, walked two and struck out nine in an 8-0 victory at Mohawk Valley on July 19. He retired the first 13 Mohawk Valley batters before Eric Helmrich (Marist) reached on a throwing error in the fifth. The lone single Shepherd allowed came on a bunt base hit by Chris Cruz (Cornell) with one out in the sixth inning. After the bunt single, the rising sophomore from the University of Kentucky mowed through eight of the next nine DiamondDawg hitters to complete an eight-inning gem. Chandler Shepherd currently is tied for the league lead in victories (six) and innings pitched (48.0). His 1.12 earned run average and .158 opponents’ batting average are the best of any PGCBL starting pitcher. Shepherd has allowed just six earned runs in seven starts and has compiled 45 strikeouts.

Rene Solis pitched a one-hitter for seven innings and retired 21 of the 22 batters he faced in a victory over the Elmira Pioneers on July 17 at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds. Solis walked none and struck out eight in his final start of the summer. The lone hit allowed by Solis came on a solo home run clubbed by Elmira’s Spencer Brann (UC Davis) in the second inning. After the home run, the southpaw from San Antonio, Texas, seated the next 18 Elmira batters in a row. He retired seven via fly out and six by ground out. Solis has been shut down for the rest of the season; he logged over 160 innings between St. Mary's University and Watertown. The rising junior went 4-1 for the Wizards with a 1.31 earned run average and 49 strikeouts in 48.0 innings. He is currently tied for first in the league in innings pitched, second in opponents’ batting average (.172), tied for second in strikeouts and third in ERA.