Evening State Sports Briefs: Braun named Brewer MVP by writers

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MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee’s baseball writers have unanimously named Ryan Braun as the Brewers’ MVP. The All-Star left-fielder was a unanimous selection on all eight ballots. Prince Fielder came in second, followed by John Axford, Yovani Gallardo, Corey Hart, and Nyjer Morgan.

Braun’s batting average was the second-best in the National League at .332 – and he led the circuit with a .597 slugging percentage and 77 extra-base hits. Braun was also one of just three National League players to both drive in and score 100 runs. And Braun stole a career-high 33 bases, making him the first Brewer since Tommy Harper in 1970 to have both 30 homers and 30 steals in the same season. Braun was also the league’s top vote-getter for the All-Star Game, even though he didn’t play due to an injury. And he batted .405 in 11 playoff games with two homers and a team-high 10 RBI’s.

Axford was named the Brewers’ most valuable pitcher by the local writers. He broke the team record for season saves with 46, which tied Atlanta’s Craig Kimbrel for the best in the NL. Morgan was named the Brewers’ newcomer-of-the-year, hitting .304 with four homers and 37 RBI’s. The writers also named catcher Jonathan Lucroy as the Brewers’ unsung hero, and reliever LaTroy Hawkins as the team’s overall “Good Guy” for community service and being available for media interviews.

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Rachel Neuberger of UW-Milwaukee and Brittany Groth of UW-Green Bay are the volleyball players-of-the-week in the Horizon League. Neuberger, a sophomore middle blocker, hit .432 last week and averaged three kills per set, while leading the Panthers to the regular season conference title. Groth, a junior libero, set a new Green Bay record for digs in a four-set match with 35 against Loyola. She also surpassed the one-thousand mark for digs in her career.

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Sarah Hagen of UW-Milwaukee was named the Horizon League women’s soccer player-of-the-week. The senior forward scored a hat trick in her home regular season finale, a 7-0 win over UW-Green Bay. Aaron Adkins of Cleveland State won the men’s weekly honors.

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