Claerhout, Madariaga sweep Frontier Conference weekly awards

HELENA, Mont. -- Bellevue University seniors Reid Madariaga (Mililani, Hawaii) and Carter Claerhout (Red Deer, Alberta) have been named the Frontier Conference Baseball Pitcher and Player of the Week, respectively, as announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon.

Madariaga and Claerhout led the No. 4-ranked Bruins to a 5-0 week, including a four-game conference sweep of Valley City State to extend the Bruins' winning streak to 15 games.

Claerhout was an offensive force, hitting .700 with a 2.277 OPS, five home runs and 10 RBI on the week. He reached base at a .727 clip and recorded a massive 1.550 slugging percentage. Claerhout tallied multiple hits and homered in all five games.

On the season, Claerhout leads the team in several major statistical categories, including: a .449 batting average, 1.375 OPS, .864 slugging percentage, 53 hits, 8 doubles, 13 home runs, 102 total bases and 40 runs scored. His .511 on-base percentage is good for second on the squad while his 34 RBI and seven stolen bases are each good for third on the team.

Madariaga earned his first victory of the season with a dominant complete-game performance in the series opener against Valley City State. He tossed 7.0 innings, allowing just two runs on five hits while striking out a season-high nine batters. He issued only one walk in the 114-pitch effort, holding Viking hitters to a .200 batting average.

On the mound, Madariaga has been highly efficient across his three starts, posting a 2-0 record with a 2.95 ERA. In 18.1 innings of work, he has struck out 21 batters while limiting opponents to a .271 batting average. Madariaga currently leads the pitching staff in strikeouts per nine (10.31) and is one of only three Bruin starters to have recorded a complete game this season.

The Bruins are 27-3 overall and 8-0 in the Frontier Conference. Bellevue returns to action tomorrow, Mar. 31, hosting York University at 3 p.m. at the Renner Dennis Outdoor Athletic Complex.