ALVA, Okla. – Ranger Baseball player Johnnuelle Ponce has been named Great American Conference Player of the Week for his historic weekend in a 2-1 series win over Harding University. The Puerto Rican launched towering grand slams in back-to-back days and drove in six runs in Northwestern's 25-11 win over the Bisons, which broke the record for most combined runs scored in GAC history.

With the Rangers going 2-2 against Northeastern State and Harding, Ponce hit an impressive .470 for the week and cashed in 11 runs. The red-shirt junior centerfielder also crossed the plate for five Ranger runs. A former first-team All-Conference selection at Northeast Texas Community College, Ponce spent 2017 working developing his game and has started in all 11 contests this season.

Hitting coach Tyle Hankins couldn't be more pleased to see Ponce's hard work paying off. "He was really locked in at the plate this week, even going back to the midweek game," Hankins said. "He had a great approach every at bat and was consistently finding barrels. It was really great to see him turn it on this weekend after struggling to open the season but it's just a testament to his work ethic. Really proud of him and it's a well-deserved recognition."

With first-year hitting coach Hankins bringing a fresh mindset to the Ranger offense, Northwestern's bats have come alive as of late with 26 and 19 hit games that have helped their team batting average climb to .294 for the season.