Walker, Zavolas earn second weekly honors of 2019

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (August 5, 2019) - Before this week, only one Carolina Leaguer had claimed two weekly awards, but both Winston-Salem outfielder Steele Walker and Carolina right-hander Noah Zavolas have now accomplished that feat thanks to stellar performances for the week of July 29-August 4, the league office announced on Monday afternoon.
Walker posted a .565 batting average (13-for-23) in his six games of action last week to become the league's Player of the Week. This average not only surpassed the second-best qualified average in the Carolina League by 121 points, but it was good for second among High-A hitters and seventh among full-season Minor League Baseball hitters.

A former second-round pick out of Oklahoma, Walker recorded at least one hit in all six games last week, including five multi-hit performances. Walker's 13 hits were four clear of his next-closest CL colleague, while he also enjoyed a share of first place in both runs (7) and total bases (21).
Zavolas continued his tremendous season with another gem on Thursday against Down East to take home the Pitcher of the Week award. The former 18th-round pick out of Harvard, Zavolas blanked the first-place Wood Ducks over six innings, during which he allowed just three hits and fanned eight. The right-hander protected a narrow lead throughout much of the game before the Mudcats blew it open late en route to a 7-0 victory.
In 21 starts this season, Zavolas boasts a 2.93 earned run average, which is second amongst Carolina League qualifiers. He does lead the league in both innings pitched (129.0) and WHIP (1.11).
Thanks in large part to a cycle against the Mudcats, Walker claimed his first weekly award from June 10-16, the final week of the season's first half. Zavolas' first award came in the first week of the second half, when he posted the circuit's first nine-inning shutout of 2019 against Potomac. Walker and Zavolas join Myrtle Beach's Javier Assad as two-time winners this season, as Assad claimed consecutive Pitcher of the Week awards in May.
Following a league-wide off day on Monday, Walker and the Dash begin a three-game set at Myrtle Beach, while Zavolas is scheduled to pitch the middle match of the Mudcats' three-game series at Down East on Wednesday. Winston-Salem is just one-and-a-half games behind Fayetteville for the final Southern Division playoff spot, while the Mudcats are still in the mix at five games back.