ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: WES STEELE

Wes Steele

School: Notre Dame

Sport: Baseball

Coach: Chris Neff

Weekly Report: Steele, a junior third baseman, personally saved Notre Dame's season last Thursday when he provided a two-out, two run double to rightcenter to beat South Pemiscot 4-3. After Notre Dame's cleanup hitter and No. 5 batter stranded runners at first and second after striking out, Steele nailed the first pitch. The hit had special meaning for Steele after finding out that his father, Etson, had been diagnosed with Leukemia two days earlier.

Season Report: After hitting around .400 last season, Steele didn't meet his high standards this season. Steele is hitting .283 and is tied for third on the team with 19 RBIs. He's scored 22 runs. He leads tied for the team lead in doubles with nine. Though he has struggled somewhat at the plate, Steele has been solid at third.

Coach's Comments: "We're not here without that hit," said Neff after the Bulldogs won their Class 2A semifinal game at Columbia. "When you're No. 4 and No. 5 hitter go up there and fail ... it was just amazing. I'd still like to see Wes hit the ball a little better. He set his standards so high last year. But he's brought it up a lot this last month. He's starting to stay away from the pop-ups. But it wouldn't matter if he's batting zeros. He's going to play for us because he plays a good third. And Wes, probably takes more ground balls, more soft-toss cuts and is in the weight room more than any other player we have."