Photo Credit: St. Paul Saints
DURHAM, NC- The official statistician of the American Association, Pointstreak, has announced that St. Paul Saints INF Nate Hanson (pictured) has been named this week’s Pointstreak Player of the Week for the week ending June 4.
Hanson hit .375 (9-for-24) this week, including a double, a home run and eight RBI. His efforts helped the Saints to a 5-2 week, achieving a 5-1 record in games he played in.
He began his week on Monday with a 2-for-6 effort in an 8-3 road win over the Cleburne Railroaders. Hanson’s double came in the contest, the first of seven straight games played by the Saints in Cleburne. One of Hanson’s best games of the week came Wednesday night in the third game of the Cleburne series. He compiled a line of 3-for-5 with three RBI as the Saints cruised to a 10-2 triumph. The Railroaders earned a series split with a 2-1 win Thursday, but the Saints’ lone run in game came off of a Hanson solo home run.
St. Paul remained in Cleburne for the weekend, taking on the Salina Stockade in a neutral site series. The Saints won 10-6 in Friday’s series opener, and despite Hanson not recording a hit, he scored two runs. The series concluded Sunday with a doubleheader, and Hanson had a big game one. He was 2-for-3 with three RBI as the Saints took a 6-3 win. In the nightcap, St. Paul won 3-2 with a 1-for-2 game from Hanson that included an RBI.
Hanson is now hitting .387 on the season (24-for-62), and has racked up six doubles, four home runs and 17 RBI.
The local University of Minnesota product is in his third season with the Saints, having hit .304 with 22 doubles, 12 home runs and 63 RBI last season. In 2015, he played with St. Paul for 19 games, and went 19-for-69 with seven doubles, a home run and six RBI. Hanson, a Victoria, Minn., resident was a longtime member of the Minnesota Twins system. He began his career with the Elizabethton (Tenn.) Twins of the Appalachian League in 2008, and reached as high as the Class AAA Rochester (N.Y.) Red Wings of the International League. Hanson played with Rochester for parts of three seasons from 2013-15 prior to his release. One of his best all-around seasons with the Twins organization came in 2012, when he hit .276 with the Class AA New Britain (Conn.) Rock Cats of the Eastern League. Over 101 games that season, Hanson collected 16 doubles, a triple and seven home runs.
The Saints will open a road series tonight at the Texas AirHogs. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. Central time at AirHog Stadium in Grand Prairie, Tex. The series can be seen live and for free at www.americanassociationbaseball.tv.
Pointstreak provides technology driven sports management and business solutions designed to streamline operations while facilitating and enhancing the sport participant, fan and media experience. Pointstreak’s product line includes solutions for professional, collegiate, and junior sports leagues as well as for amateur and recreational sports leagues. More information can be found on Pointstreak’s website at www.pointstreaksolutions.com or www.pointstreak.com.