GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com ) – NC State junior third baseman LuJames Groover III has been selected the Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Player of the Week, while Wake Forest junior righthander Rhett Lowder earned ACC Pitcher of the Week accolades for the second time this season.
ACC baseball honors are determined by a vote of a select 15-member media panel and announced on Mondays throughout the regular season.
Groover batted .600 (9-for-15) with a .714 on-base percentage, 1.267 slugging percentage, three home runs, six walks, eight runs scored and three RBI to key NC State’s 4-0 week, which included the program’s first-ever weekend sweep of Florida State. The Morrow, Georgia, junior recorded three multi-hit outings, including three-hit performances against UNC Wilmington (Tuesday) and Florida State (Saturday).
Groover slugged two of his three home runs in Saturday's comeback victory over Florida State, including breaking a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning with a solo home run. On his birthday (Sunday), Groover capped a 2-for-4 afternoon by scoring the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th.
Lowder, the reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year, worked seven scoreless innings on the mound as the visiting second-ranked Demon Deacons blanked No. 8 Louisville, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon to clinch their key ACC Atlantic Division series. Lowder (7-0) struck out nine batters and scattered five hits while notching his second outing of the season with no walks.
A native of Albemarle, North Carolina, Lowder registered perfect frames in the second, fourth and sixth, and allowed more than one base runner in just one inning. His performance helped Wake Forest win its first series ever at Louisville. Additionally, the Demon Deacons became the first visiting team since 2021 to claim a series at Jim Patterson Stadium.
2023 ACC Player of the Week Honors
Feb. 20 – Nick Kurtz, Wake Forest
Feb. 27 – Adam Cecere, Wake Forest
March 6 – Chris Cannizzaro, Virginia Tech
March 13 – Joe Vetrano, Boston College
March 20 – CJ Kayfus, Miami
March 27 - Caden Grice, Clemson & Jake DeLeo, Georgia Tech
April 3 – Jack Hurley, Virginia Tech
April 10 – Jake Gelof, Virginia
April 17 - LuJames Groover III, NC State
2023 ACC Pitcher of the Week Honors
Feb. 20 – Sean Sullivan, Wake Forest
Feb. 27 – Sean Sullivan, Wake Forest
March 6 – Carson Liggett, Louisville
March 13 – Gage Ziehl, Miami
March 20 - Chris Flynn, Boston College
March 27 - Rhett Lowder, Wake Forest
April 3 – Karson Ligon, Miami
April 10 – Jackson Baumeister, Florida State
April 17 - Rhett Lowder, Wake Forest
