Clarksville, Ark.-University of the Ozarks senior outfielder Justin Crider was named the American Southwest Conference Hitter of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday (February 13).

Crider, a native of Dallas, Texas, propelled the Eagles to a 4-0 start, its best since 2005, with a walk-off double Friday and a walk-off homer Saturday against Berea College. Crider displayed his late-inning heroics in the bottom of the ninth in game two of the series by ripping a two-run double down the left field line to secure a 5-4 win. The left-handed hitting Crider wasn't done though as he followed that performance with even more dramatics in game three the next day. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Crider launched a three-run homer over the right field fence to send the Eagles to a 8-7 victory. For the weekend, Crider went 6-for-15 with eight runs and eight RBI. He also walked five times, owned a .550 on-base percentage and recorded 10 total bases.

Crider was named All-Region and All-Conference last season.

Ozarks will host Milliken University February 17-18 in a three-game series.