By Andy Walter

Sussex Central High baseball player Joaquin Rodriguez-Costa was voted the State News Athlete of the Week. In his first varsity game, the freshman designated hitter/pitcher went 2-for-3 with a “moonshot” homerun and three RBI in a win over Delmarva Christian.

Golden Knights coach D.J. Long has expected good things from Rodriguez-Costa since he first saw him play a few years ago. The youngster now stands 6-foot-4, 200 pounds. His older brother, Diego, is a senior for Central.
Rodriguez-Costa got the chance to start at DH in the opener after another player got hurt. The homer came in his second varsity at-bat.

“He’s going to be a great player,” said Long. “I expect big, big things from him for years to come. Earlier this year, as a freshman, he was throwing 84 (mph). He looks great.”

The Athlete of the Week is nominated and chosen by our readers. The nominating period starts at 2 p.m. on Friday and ends at noon on Monday. A voting period follows from 5 p.m. Monday through 5 p.m. Wednesday.

This process is performed exclusively online. When nominating an athlete, please include name, school and sport as well as a photo and brief description of why he or she deserves that week’s honor.

All nominations must be high school varsity athletes and come from high schools within Kent or Sussex counties. The winner appears in print and online each Friday.