Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada was named the national player of the week on Monday by Collegiate Baseball, honoring a week in which he was 12-for-21 with four doubles, five home runs and 17 RBIs. Parada’s play led Tech to a 4-1 record for the week, including a weekend sweep of Gardner-Webb.
Ranked 19th by Baseball America, Tech is now 7-1 for the season and plays at Georgia State on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Parada, one of the top draft prospects in the country and a preseason All-American, also struck out only twice in his 21 at-bats for the week. The sophomore’s five home runs for the season were tied for fourth in Division I through the weekend and more than half of his freshman season total (nine). He also stole two bases in the week and has three this season, two more than he had all of last year. As a team, Tech has stolen 17 bases in 20 attempts, more than half of last year’s total of 30.
In Parada’s final at-bat of the week – on Saturday against Gardner-Webb – he hit a bases-loaded double in the bottom of the eighth inning, clearing the bases and widening Tech’s lead from 4-2 to 7-2 and helping ensure the sweep.
“He’s swung the bat really well all week,” coach Danny Hall said after the Gardner-Webb series. “I told him inside there, I really did not intend on catching him in both games (of Saturday’s doubleheader), but I kind of thought since we could get him out of the first game after six innings (he could play the second game). I was kind of counting on us to score some runs in the last game – didn’t happen; they kind of hung tight on us. To do the catching that he did and then just have a tremendous week offensively, not surprised. He can really hit and we needed him (Saturday).”
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