South Carolina C/DH John Jones receives national honor

South Carolina catcher/DH John Jones has been named the National Hitter of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

The sophomore, who was also named SEC Player of the Week, hit .500 this past weekend against Arkansas with two home runs and eight RBIs.

Jones hit a two-run home run on Saturday to give USC a 4-2 lead in the fifth inning, and followed with a three-run homer in the eighth inning on Sunday to give the Gamecocks an 8-6 lead.

Jones played a large role in helping the Gamecocks (20-2, 3-0) sweep Arkansas.

For the season, he is hitting .422, which leads the SEC. He also has six home runs and 31 RBIs.

“Obviously, I think he’s exceeded all of our expectations with the numbers he’s put up to this point,” Carolina coach Chad Holbrook said. “We just want him to be the best that he can, each and every day, and give us a great RBI guy in the middle of our lineup.”

South Carolina continues SEC play this weekend with a series at Ole Miss beginning Thursday.

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 6:03 PM with the headline "South Carolina C/DH John Jones receives national honor."