May 23, 2005
IOWA CITY – University of Iowa baseball player Kris Welker has been named Big Ten Player of the Week. The announcement came from the Big Ten Conference office.
Welker led the Hawkeyes to a 3-1 road series victory against Big Ten Champion Illinois as he batted .600 (9-for-15) on the weekend with four runs batted in and three runs scored. The senior catcher produced a slugging percentage of .867, recorded three multi-hit games and was a home run short of the cycle in the series finale when he had three RBI in the 7-1 triumph.
He is the third Hawkeye to be honored this season. Andy Cox was named co-Big Ten Player of the Week on March 15, while Tim Gudex was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week twice (April 11 and May 10).
The Hawkeyes are the No. 3 seed at the Big Ten Tournament and will face sixth-seeded Minnesota in the first round Wednesday in Champaign, IL. First pitch is set for 3:35 p.m.