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http://www.usatoday.com/sports/colfront.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/baseball/cws/regionals/2002-05-31-weeks.htm
Southern's Weeks sees opportunity knocking
By Jack Carey, USA TODAY
Southern University's baseball team is under no illusions as it enters NCAA tournament play Friday.
The Jaguars, despite a 45-8 record and 37 wins in their last 40 games, will be longshots in a regional at Baton Rouge, La., that includes LSU, Louisiana-Lafayette and Tulane.
But the Southwestern Athletic Conference champions will have at least one thing going for them when they open regional play against LSU: the most prolific hitter in the nation.
Second baseman Rickie Weeks takes a national-best .506 batting average into the tournament. Thanks in large part to his productivity, the Jaguars lead the nation with a .381 team average. Weeks also is tops nationally in triples (12) and RBI per game (1.86) and his 19 home runs leave him eighth in homers per game (.39).
If maintained, the batting average would tie for the 10th-highest average in the NCAA recordbook. (New Mexico's Keith Hagman is the recordholder. He hit .551 in 1980).
"I've just been consistent at the plate," says Weeks, who for the second year in a row has been invited to the U.S. national team trials. "The key is I don't get down on myself, and I've been staying within myself and doing what I know I can do. This whole year I've been seeing the ball pretty well."
Weeks has also proven he's no flash in the pan. The 6-foot, 195-pound sophomore hit .422 last year in his first season of college ball, leaving him 19th nationally. He was also 19th in RBI per game (1.27), led in triples (12) and was fourth in both runs per game (1.42) and slugging percentage (.849).
"To be honest, I don't know where my power stroke came from," says weeks. "In high school (at Lake Brantley High in Altamonte Springs, Fla.), I hit about five home runs my whole career, but I came here, grew a little and put on more weight. But the main thing is just playing real hard all the time. I've found good things come to you when you play hard.
"My swing just became fluid (in college). I don't try to swing for the fences, but I always tell myself to hit the ball has hard as I can."
Weeks was not drafted out of high school but hopes his college career leads to a shot at pro ball.
"That's my main goal," he says. "I always try to set my goals high. I wanted to have a year like last year, but I wanted to be more consistent at the plate. Last year, I had a couple of slumps but bounced back. This year, I've been more consistent and it's worked out for me."
The Jaguars lost to LSU 13-2 last month, so they know they'll be decided underdogs against the Tigers.
But the chance is one to take advantage of, they say.
"We have a great opportunity to go out and do something good," says coach Roger Cador, "against one of the premier programs in the country."
"If we didn't think we could play with them, why go?" Weeks asks. "Our job is to worry about ourselves. We want to just play as hard as we can, lay it all out and play with heart.
