Woodpeckers Outfielder Zach Cole Wins Second Carolina League Player of the Week Honor
Fayetteville, NC - The Fayetteville Woodpeckers, in conjunction with Minor League Baseball, announced Monday that outfielder Zach Cole has been named the Carolina League Player of the Week for the week ending on June 18th, 2023. This is the second time Cole has received the league honor, previously named player
Fayetteville, NC - The Fayetteville Woodpeckers, in conjunction with Minor League Baseball, announced Monday that outfielder Zach Cole has been named the Carolina League Player of the Week for the week ending on June 18th, 2023. This is the second time Cole has received the league honor, previously named player of the week on May 7th.
Cole had a huge showing at the plate across a six-game home series against the Columbia Fireflies, going 10-for-22 (.455) with 2 home runs, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 9 runs scored, 7 RBI, 4 stolen bases, and 7 walks to help mass a .586 OPB on the week. Over the span of six games in the series he racked up four multi-hit games, and became the first Fayetteville hitter with 10 home runs on the season.
His first big performance of the week came in game two of the series on Wednesday night. Cole connected for a pair of triples and drove in three runs in a 7-2 victory over Columbia. He was the first player in Woodpeckers history dating back to 2019 to triple twice in a game, and first player since J.J. Matijevic in 2018 to do so for a Houston Astros Carolina League affiliate. He followed it up on Saturday with six more total bases, blasting a leadoff home run in the first inning off Shane Panzini before doubling in the fifth and finishing the game 2-for-3 with two runs scored. The leadoff homer was the second in Cole’s professional career to start a game, last doing so on September 8th, 2022 vs. Lynchburg.
That's how you start the party on offense! Zach Cole with a moonshot for his ninth of the season to lead it off!
— Fayetteville Woodpeckers (@WoodpeckersNC) June 16, 2023
Woodpeckers 1 - Fireflies 0 pic.twitter.com/dZwOoFSTRG
The final impact game of Cole’s week came in the series conclusion Sunday afternoon with Fayetteville leading 3-2 in the series. The left-handed bat led off the third inning with a single and came around to score in what would be a four-run rally for the lineup. Then in the fourth inning, he belted a solo home run to left-center field for his tenth big fly of the season.
He also contributed on the defensive end with a long throw from center field on Saturday night in the sixth inning that cut down Columbia catcher Omar Hernandez trying to score, keeping a 4-2 lead intact.
What can't Zach Cole do? He cuts down a man at the plate with a 🚀 from center!
— Fayetteville Woodpeckers (@WoodpeckersNC) June 17, 2023
Woodpeckers 4 - Fireflies 2 pic.twitter.com/I4rEHCQvFR
In total, Cole contributed to 15 of Fayetteville’s 29 runs on the week, while his 9 runs scored marked the most by a player over a single series this year. He now ranks sixth in the Carolina League in HR (10), third in RBI (41), third in doubles (14), second in triples (4) and fourth in total bases (102).
The Houston Astros acquired the 22-year-old outfielder in the 10th round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Ball State University where he played for three seasons.
Cole and the Woodpeckers head to Charleston, South Carolina to play the Charleston Riverdogs on Tuesday, June 20th for a six-game road series. The club will return to Segra Stadium on June 28th for a six-game series against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. Season tickets, group options, and single-game tickets are all on sale now at fayettevillewoodpeckers.com and by visiting the Truist Box Office next to the main entrance of Segra Stadium.
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