It's not uncommon for Ole Miss and Mississippi State athletes to be mentioned when the Southeastern Conference hands out its Player of the Week honors.
So it wasn't a great surprise when an MSU and Ole Miss baseball standout were each chosen for two of the top three awards for week 12.
Cooper Johnson of Ole Miss played a huge role in the Rebels taking two-of-three from LSU last weekend as he clubbed a homer and double while driving in fires runs. He was 4-of-5 from the plate on Sunday with four RBIs and four runs scored in the Rebels' key Sunday win. He was 6-for-11 from the plate for the weekend. Johnson was named Player of the Week for his work.
Ole Miss lost to LSU 8-3 on Friday before winning 5-1 on Saturday and 19-15 on Sunday.
Mississippi State's Ethan Small won Pitcher of the Week thanks to his solid start in State's Friday night 4-0 win over Texas A&M.
Small set down the first 19 batters he faced, striking out eight on the way to eight hitless innings, allowing just one walk and one hit batter during that time span. MSU held the Aggies to just one hit as a team for the game.
State lost to the Aggies 1-0 i game two before winning the deciding contest 4-3.
Ryan Bliss of Auburn and Cole Wilcox of Georgia shared Freshman of the Week honors.
MSU, ranked No. 6 in the nation, goes into this week's action with an overall mark of 38-10, while Ole Miss, ranked No. 14, is 32-17. Both teams are 15-9 in league play and tied for second in the SEC West. State visits Ole Miss this weekend in Oxford for a crucial three-game set.
