In the 2014 season, outfielder Sean Aspinall was consistently the best performer on the Albany roster, posting team-highs in batting average, hits, and runs batted in on his way to All-Star and team Player of the Year honors.
But for all his accolades for the Dutchmen last summer, Aspinall may not have had a better week than the first week in July in 2015. The Azusa Pacific outfielder drilled two home runs, and led the Dutchmen to three straight wins to finish the week. For his efforts, Aspinall has been named Spotlight Player of the Week, the third time over the past two years that he has won the award.
Over four games this past week, Aspinall hit .400 with six hits and six runs batted in, in addition to a solid week in centerfield. After scoring a run in the team’s loss to Amsterdam on Thursday, the Upland, California native hit his first PGCBL home run over the left field wall in Saugerties, providing the winning margin in a 2-1 victory over the Stallions in the first game of a doubleheader. In the nightcap, Aspinall clubbed three hits, including two doubles en route to an 8-2 victory.
He continued hitting well on Sunday evening at Bob Bellizzi Field against the Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs. Aspinall hit just the second home run of the season at the home of the Dutchmen, a long shot well over the wall in left field. He followed that with an RBI triple, accounting for four runs batted in as the Dutchmen won a third straight game with a 12-5 victory.
The stellar week for Aspinall has given the outfielder the team lead in both runs scored and runs batted in with 16 and 17 respectively. He has also drawn 14 walks to record an on-base percentage north of .400. Hitting in the middle of the Dutchmen order, Aspinall has reached base in six of the last seven Albany games.
Aspinall said it was great to get his first two Dutchmen home runs, especially in a pair of wins that helped boost Albany in the standings.
“All I could think was ‘finally’,” Aspinall said. “It was huge for us to get those wins.”
With the Dutchmen firmly in a race for a playoff spot, the play of Aspinall both at the plate and in the outfield will be pivotal for the Dutchmen, much as it was last year for the second team All-PGCBL selection.
