Junior outfielder Jody Rutherford has been selected as the Connection Newspapers/George Mason University Athlete of the Week.
Rutherford, a native of Clifton and a 1992 graduate of Fairfax High School, had an outstanding week to help George Mason win all five of its games. The Patriots have won six straight games and seven of their last eight to improve to 19-18 overall, 7-8 in the Colonial Athletic Association.
After seeing limited action last season and early this year, the 5-11, 165-pound Rutherford has taken over the designated hitter role and the leadoff position in the batting order the past few weeks. He came into his own last week as he batted .421 (8-of-19) in the five games with eight runs scored, a double, two home runs and 10 runs batted in.
Rutherford had just one hit in six at bats but scored two runs as the Patriots defeated Maryland-Baltimore County Tuesday (13-9) and Howard Wednesday (20-1), but he battered East Carolina's pitching over the weekend at a .539 (7-of-13) clip with the first two home runs of his career in Saturday's 27-17 victory that saw George Mason set a school record with seven homers.
For the season, Rutherford is batting .328 in 22 games (17 starts) with two doubles, two homers and 13 RBI. He ranks tied for second on the team with junior Mike Colangelo with six stolen bases and is fifth with 24 runs scored.
"Our turnaround has coincided with Jody establishing himself as our leadoff hitter," said Patriot head coach Bill Brown, who has a 434-378-3 record in 16 seasons at George Mason. "His selflessness has been the key. He has been a presence on base, giving guys in the middle of the order a chance to drive in runs, and he has done the little things at the plate like taking walks and hitting behind runners, and driving in runs when the opportunity presents itself, to help us be successful."