Bottom Line: USC Aiken has a Key for success

Former Greenbrier star Bradley Key is in the proverbial zone.

The University of South Carolina Aiken third-baseman has been on a hitting torrid pace that has propelled him to the top of most Peach Belt Conference offensive categories. His hot bat has also led to a number of USC-Aiken victories.

For the second time in a month, Key a junior, has been selected as the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week. He made the selection process fairly easy by hitting .474 with an astounding 1.105 slugging percentage over a five-game stretch. He also had two homers, four doubles, a triple and 11 runs batted in. In two wins over North Greenville, Key was 6-for-7 at the plate with 8 RBIs.

Also, while the Pacers' bats were extremely cold in losing two of three to UNC-Penbroke, Key was the lone bright spot at the plate with a .400 on-base percentage, a home run and two doubles.

For the season, Key is currently among the conference leaders in virtually every offensive statistic. He is hitting .394 (fourth). He also has the fifth- highest home run total with seven. Key is tops in the conference in RBIs (40), doubles (17), triples (5), and slugging (.732).

Key's hitting has helped guide the Pacers to 13 wins in their last 15 games, to improve their record to 21-16. He is only one double away from the school's career mark of 52, and only seven back of the conference mark of 58.

Early in the season a big league scout told me that, although extremely talented, Key was probably not going to be a draft pick. The scout felt like Key did not have enough power to attract many teams. Well, with the numbers he is putting up, this gifted junior could be selected in June after all.

Hoops talent

Matt Scott of Lakeside High School will play in his final game as a high-schooler Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Augusta State's Christenberry Fieldhouse. Scott was among the players chosen to represent their schools in the prestigious event. Their will be four games played Saturday, featuring the most talented young basketball players in the CSRA. The schedule is below:

Middle-school girls, 1:30 p.m.

Middle-school boys, 3:30 p.m.

High-school girls, 5:30 p.m.

High-school boys, 7:30 p.m.