At the hot corner defensively, Machuga is the other component to a dangerous slugging infield combo after teammate first baseman Justin Childers earned the first player of the week honors.
Slotted in the middle of head coach Christopher Antonides’ lineup, Machuga enjoyed a 4-for-7 line at the plate with six RBI with a pair of extra-base hits.
He doubled in each of the games against Grand Valley State and also scored twice.
Machuga’s two-run double in the bottom of the second inning in game one was sandwiched in between a 10-run inning manufactured by the ODU offense to give the Panthers an 11-0 lead early.
After singling and plating one run in the third inning of game two, Machuga cleared the bases in the fourth inning with a three-run double to give Ohio Dominican a 6-0 cushion.
Machuga is now hitting .500 through the first four games of the season with three doubles and 10 RBI, the overall conference leader in both categories.