Hawaii designated hitter Dustin Demeter is named national player of the week
Boosted by a weekend power surge, University of Hawaii designated hitter Dustin Demeter today was named as College Baseball Newspaper’s national player of the week.
Demeter also was named as the Big West Conference’s field player of the week for baseball.
Demeter, a fifth-year junior, went 11-for-19 with five runs, three homers and 14 RBIs to help the Rainbow Warriors win three of four against Cal State Fullerton on the road.
“If ever someone was deserving,” head coach Mike Trapasso said on Sunday, “it would be Demeter. … I’m glad he’s on my team.”
The ’Bows are traveling to Hawaii today. But Demeter has been on an offensive ride since returning to the lineup on April 16 after missing 13 games because of a foot injury. Since his return, he is hitting .460 (23 of 50).
Against Fullerton, Demeter drove in six runs in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, then followed it with another six-RBI performance on Sunday.
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Demeter opened the season as the starting third baseman — his third position during his UH career. He was the starting shortstop as a freshman in 2017 and second baseman in 2018. He missed the 2019 season after undergoing surgeries on both hips. He moved to third for the pandemic-abbreviated 2020 season. Demeter is expected to remain at designated hitter after this coming weekend’s bye. The ’Bows return to the mainland the following weekend for a four-game series against Cal State Northridge.