April 23, 2018
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - After playing an instrumental role in Auburn's first sweep of Alabama in Tuscaloosa since 1976, Steven Williams has been named the SEC Co-Freshman of the Week, the league announced Monday.
The award is the first of Williams' young career and the third weekly honor of the season for Auburn. He shared the honors with South Carolina's Logan Chapman.
In four games last week, the Albany, Ga., native turned in a .462/.619/.692 slash line, reached base at least twice in each game and scored in all four contests for a total of eight runs.
In the series in Tuscaloosa, Williams started the weekend with a 3-for-4 performance and never cooled down as he went 6-for-10 from the plate and reached base 12 times. He scored seven runs of Auburn's record 44 runs in the series and tied for the team lead with eight RBI.
Williams hit his seventh home run of the season in the fourth inning of the series opener against the Crimson Tide and came through with a two-RBI single in the seventh. He became the first Auburn player to score four runs in a Southeastern Conference game since 2011.
During Saturday's doubleheader, Williams reached base seven more times as he went 2-for-4 with one walk, one run and two RBI in game one and followed it by going 1-for-2 with three walks, two runs and three RBI in the nightcap.
With three more multi-RBI games over the weekend, Williams has now driven in two or more runs in a game a team-best 12 times this season. He has 38 RBI in his freshman campaign and ranks just behind Edouard Julien (40) for the most among SEC freshmen.
Williams and the Tigers return to action with a midweek against Samford (24-17, 10-5 C-USA) Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT at Plainsman Park.