ST. LOUIS – Southern Illinois third baseman Matt Schark has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, the League office announced Monday. It is the first weekly honor for Schark from The Valley this season, and the fifth weekly award for the Salukis.

Schark put together a week to remember for Southern Illinois as he cemented himself in the Saluki record book. The St. Charles, Missouri native recorded five home runs during a weekend series against Evansville with one homer on Friday, three on Saturday, and one more on Sunday as he helped the Salukis to a series win over the Aces.

Schark’s home run on Sunday put him at the top of the single-season home run list as he blasted his 20th of the season. Two at bats later, Schark tied the single-season RBI mark in program history after driving in his 70th run of the year.

He finished the week batting .500 (8-16), slugging 1.500, to go along with a .500 on-base percentage. In total, he drove in 11 runs, scored seven times, and drew one walk as Southern went 3-1 on the week.