WILL CATES OF SOUTHWESTER UNIVERSITY, a junior outfielder from Cy Fair, Texas, has been selected the SCAC Baseball Offensive Player-of-the-Week for games played through Sunday, February 15th.

Cates led the Pirates of Southwestern to a 2-2 record this past weekend including a weekend series victory over ASC runner up from 2014 Concordia (TX). 

Cates went 8-for-19 over the week with a double, two triples, two homeruns, and five RBIs. He also scored nine runs, stole four bases, and a had a slugging percentage of 1.000

Cates opened the season, going 3-for-4 with two homers, three RBIs, two stolen bases, and four runs scored in a wild 15-13 loss to Howard Payne. He had a pair of multi-hit games against CTX including a 3-for-6 day with a double, triple, RBI, two stolen bases, and two runs scored in the rubber match, which Southwestern won 7-5.

Last season, Cates hit .239 with 19 RBIs (second-best for the Pirates) and he was 12-for-15 on the base paths. He also led Southwestern with two home runs and finished with a team-high eight extra base hits and 47 total bases.

Other outstanding performances in the SCAC:
Senior first baseman Todd Takabuki of Austin College got off to an outstanding start in helping the 'Roos go 2-1 to open the year, hitting .545 with four doubles and four runs scored, while also delivering a walk-off RBI double in a 6-5 win. He boasted a .615 on base percentage and a .909 slugging percentage. Sophomore third baseman Alex Stack of Dallas had a strong offensive showing through four games this weekend for Dallas, who went 3-1 during the stretch. The sophomore third baseman combined for eight hits, tallying a trio of multiple hit games. He totaled back-to-back three-hit days against Whitman College in game one and Sunday with Carleton. Senior outfielder Tony Gennusa of Texas Lutheran led the Bulldogs with seven hits in 16 at-bats for the weekend, helping TLU to a 2-2 record. He racked up a double and a triple, driving in three runs in the four games. He set the table at the top of the lineup, scoring six runs. Junior infielder Jose Santos of Trinity was red-hot at the plate all weekend, picking up four RBI to go with four runs scored, and batting .667 (8-12) for the three games. He had a double, triple, and home run during the week, posting a 1.167 slugging percentage. Santos had multiple hits in each of the three games. Centenary and Schreiner did not nominate anyone.