(Photo Courtesy of Oklahoma Athletics)
NORMAN, Okla. — Senior outfielder Destinee Martinez has been named the Big 12 Player of the Week, the league announced Tuesday. It’s the first weekly conference honor for an OU player in 2014 and the first for Martinez her in her career.
The Corona, Calif., native was the catalyst for an Oklahoma team that had its best weekend of the season, going 4-1 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Martinez hit .500 for the weekend (8-16) and led the team in runs scored (7), hits (8), RBI (7) on-base percentage (.556) and stolen bases (4).
In an 11-3, six-inning win over Oregon State Thursday, Martinez was a perfect 4-4 at the plate, setting a career high in hits. She also scored three times to match a career best. She followed that in the next game with a career-high three RBI in an 11-9, comeback win over Northwestern Friday. She hit an RBI single, drew a bases-loaded walk and drove home a run on a fielder’s choice against the Wildcats.
In the weekend finale against Syracuse Saturday, Martinez again matched her career high with three runs driven in as OU won 6-2. Martinez hit a two-run double in the first inning and added an RBI groundout in the third inning.
Martinez raised her season batting average 75 points over the weekend, going from a .265 average after the Michigan State contest on Feb. 16 to its current mark of .340. On the season, Martinez leads the team with six stolen bases and is second with 17 runs scored and three doubles.
No. 20/13 Oklahoma opens the home portion of its schedule this Saturday with a doubleheader against No. 16/15 Nebraska at 2 p.m. The Sooners then welcome Arkansas-Pine Bluff for a Sunday doubleheader at noon.
