Alabama's May SEC Player Of Week

Alabama Junior utility-man Brandon May has been named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, after leading the No. 21 Crimson Tide to a 3-0 record last week, including a rain-shortened two-game sweep at SEC Western Division rival Mississippi State. It was UA’s first sweep of Mississippi State at Polk-Dement Stadium since 1973.

It is the third SEC Player of the Week honor for Alabama this season, as Brandon May joins two-time winner Kent Matthes, who was selected on March 2 and March 16 by the league office.

In three games last week, May hit a whopping .563 (9-for-16) with six runs scored, three doubles, one triple, two home runs and 12 RBI. He averaged three hits and four RBI per game last week in wins over South Alabama and Mississippi State. He also compiled a 1.250 slugging percentage and .563 on-base mark for the Tide. He also added one game-winning RBI (South Alabama) and one game-tying RBI (MSU) this week.

In the rain-shortened series at MSU, May hit .455 (5-for-11) with four runs scored, two home runs and nine RBI. He added a 1.083 slugging mark and .455 on-base mark against the Bulldogs. In the series finale, May went 3-for-6 with two home runs and a career-high seven RBI. All three hits, two homers and seven RBI came in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.

May ripped a game-tying, two-run double in the Crimson Tide’s eight-run seventh inning that put UA ahead to stay. He added a two-run home run in the eighth inning to give the Tide a 13-7 lead following a nearly three-hour rain delay. In the ninth inning, he slammed a three-run home run to center field to extend the Tide’s lead to 17-12 after MSU had scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

He was instrumental in the Tide’s win over South Alabama, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and three RBI. His two-run double in the first inning gave the Tide the lead for good. He just missed hitting the Tide’s fourth cycle when he doubled in the eighth inning. He needed a home run and his fly ball to right center hit about a foot from the wall and then bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double.

For the season, May is hitting .335 (60-for-179) with 10 home runs and 59 RBI in 45 games. He has also scored 46 runs and added 15 doubles and two triples. May has started 44 games at five different positions, including first base, second base, third base, left field and designated hitter.