ST. LOUIS – Wichita State baseball student-athlete Garrett Bayliff has been named one of the Prairie Farms/Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athletes of the Week. Malaikah Love of Southern Illinois University is the other honoree. Love and Bayliff were honored for their performance during the period of February 20-26.
Now in its 13th year of existence, The Valley’s Scholar-Athlete program is sponsored by Prairie Farms, Roberts and Hiland Dairies. On a weekly basis, the Conference honors its student-athletes for their athletic performance for a one-week period and academic success in the classroom.
An outfielder for the Wichita State baseball team, Bayliff, a sophomore from Tuttle, Oklahoma, batted .692 (9-for-13) with 10 runs scored, four doubles, five runs batted in and a stolen base, as the Shockers went 5-0 on the week, defeating Oral Roberts (10-3 on February 21) and sweeping North Dakota (7-1 on February 24, 26-0 and 13-1 on February 25 and 16-1 on February 26).
Bayliff, who has a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average in exercise science, went 2-for-3 with two runs scored against Oral Roberts. In game three of the North Dakota series, he went 4-for-6 with four runs scored, three RBI and three doubles — the most two-baggers in a game by a Shocker since 2009. In the finale versus the Fighting Sioux, he went 3-for-3 with three runs, two RBI and a double.
To qualify for Prairie Farms/Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week laurels, student-athletes must carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20, completed at least one academic year at a Valley institution and must be at least a sophomore in academic standing. Redshirt freshmen and first-year junior college transfers are not eligible. In addition to the academic qualifications, student-athletes will be evaluated on their athletic performance for a one-week period.