The senior second baseman is by no means a prototypical cleanup hitter. However DHS head coach Ben Ramer seemed to hesitate very little in putting O&8217;Neal in such a vital position in the lineup.

O&8217;Neal&8217;s performance at the plate in Friday&8217;s second round playoff series more than validated the confidence his coach has in him.

Over the course of the double-header, O&8217;Neal put together a 5-for-8 performance, knocking in five runs and scoring five of his own. That line makes O&8217;Neal at least partially responsible for 10 of the Tigers&8217; 22 runs on the night.

So, while the series failed to go the way he and his teammates would have preferred, O&8217;Neal made the most of his final opportunity to play in front of the hometown crowd, going out with the same intensity he brought to every game he played and earning Player of the Week honors in the process.