By: Josh Brannnock, Sports Editor

Going a combined 10-16, scoring five runs and driving in four runs over four games last week was good enough for T.J. Gavlik to be named the Atlantic Sun April 9 Player of the Week.

The award is the first in the senior’s UNF career. The Hong Kong native drove in a career-high three runs in UNF’s upset victory over the No. 1 University of Florida Gators April 3 and hit safely in all four of the week’s games.

Gavlik said he didn’t know he had won until Chris Whitehead, media relations for UNF baseball, told him.

“I was walking to school, and I passed by Whitehead, and he was tapping on the glass,” Gavlik said. “He looked all mad, and I thought I did something wrong until he said, ‘Congratulations, you’ve won the A-Sun player of the week,’ and I said, ‘Wow, no way.’”

Gavlik said it felt great to win the award, especially in his senior year.

Gavlik attributed his success in the last week to seeing the ball and the overall play of the team in its last four games.

“Ever since the Florida game, something just clicked for me, and I’ve been feeling good at the plate,” Gavlik said.

UNF is in eighth place in the A-Sun standings, a half game behind sixth place Florida Gulf Coast University.

Gavlik said the key to getting into the A-Sun Championships is not trying to sweep every series.

“We need to just keep chipping away, get the whole dugout up, win a road series here and there and just keep going. We’re definitely not out of it,” Gavlik said.

Email Josh Brannock at sports@unfspinnaker.com.
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