Fayetteville Woodpeckers outfielder Zach Cole has been named the Carolina League Player of the Week for the week ending June 18, the team announced Monday.
This is the second time Cole has received the league honor, previously named player of the week on May 7.
Cole had a huge showing at the plate across a six-game home series against the Columbia Fireflies, going 10-for-22 (.455) with two home runs, two doubles, two triples, nine runs scored, seven RBI, four stolen bases, and seven walks to help mass a .586 OPB on the week.
Over the span of six games in the series, he racked up four multihit games and became the first Fayetteville hitter with 10 home runs on the season.
His first big performance of the week came in Game 2 of the series on Wednesday night. Cole connected for a pair of triples and drove in three runs in a 7-2 victory over Columbia.
He was the first player in Woodpeckers history dating back to 2019 to triple twice in a game and first player since J.J. Matijevic in 2018 to do so for a Houston Astros Carolina League affiliate.
He followed it up on Saturday with six more total bases, blasting a leadoff home run in the first inning off Shane Panzini before doubling in the fifth and finishing the game 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
The leadoff homer was the second in Cole’s professional career to start a game, last doing so on Sept. 8 vs. Lynchburg.
https://twitter.com/WoodpeckersNC/status/1669850476542582785
The final impact game of Cole’s week came in the series conclusion Sunday afternoon with Fayetteville leading 3-2 in the series. The left-handed bat led off the third inning with a single and came around to score in what would be a four-run rally for the lineup. Then in the fourth inning, he belted a solo home run to left-center field for his 10th big fly of the season.
He also contributed on the defensive end with a long throw from center field on Saturday night in the sixth inning that cut down Columbia catcher Omar Hernandez trying to score, keeping a 4-2 lead intact.
https://twitter.com/WoodpeckersNC/status/1670197274813628417
In total, Cole contributed to 15 of Fayetteville’s 29 runs on the week, while his nine runs scored marked the most by a player over a single series this year. He now ranks sixth in the Carolina League in home runs (10), third in RBI (41), third in doubles (14), second in triples (4) and fourth in total bases (102).
The Houston Astros acquired the 22-year-old outfielder in the 10th round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Ball State University, where he played for three seasons.
Cole and the Woodpeckers head to Charleston, South Carolina, to play the Charleston Riverdogs on Tuesday to start a six-game road series. The club will return to Segra Stadium on June 28 for a six-game series against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers.
Season tickets, group options, and single-game tickets are all on sale now at fayettevillewoodpeckers.com and by visiting the Truist Box Office next to the main entrance of the ballpark.
