By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

DODGE CITY -- Larks manager Frank Leo calls center fielder and leadoff hitter Brandon Eckerle "Mr. Quiet."

"He just keeps doing his job," Leo said. "You don't know he is around but you look up and he is in the scorebook and he has done something to help you win."

Quietly, Eckerle has emerged as the Larks' hottest hitter - and has been underestimated by at least one opposing coach.

In the last six games, Eckerle, a freshman from Michigan State University, is batting .518 (14-for-27) with seven RBIs and six runs scored.

Before last Wednesday, Eckerle was batting .254.

The surge, though, has pushed his mark to .337, second-highest on the club. His .400 on-base percentage ranks fifth, while he also stands second in hits (29) and paces the club with nine stolen bases.

The offense has helped the Larks win four of their last six games and move into first place at 12-5 in the Jayhawk League (16-8 overall).

"Mr. Quiet, you look up and he is going to hurt you," Leo said. "He is doing a great job for us."

Eckerle grew up in Durand, Mich., a town that he said is smaller than Hays. It's located about half an hour from the Michigan State campus.

"I have always enjoyed the Spartans," he said. "It is kind of hard not to cheer for them and to go to some of the games."

The Spartans started watching Eckerle after his junior year and invited him to MSU Top 9 baseball camps. After a mid-winter camp during his senior year of high school, Eckerle was offered a chance to play for Michigan State.

Eckerle batted .570 with 36 stolen bases his senior year of high school and hit .278 in 43 games for Michigan State this spring.

"I would say my strength is my speed," he said. "Defensively, I consider myself a pretty good defensive outfielder. At the plate, I just try to put the game in play. I don't hit for a lot of power, but my goal is to try and get on base and try to put some pressure on the defense."

The speed has also helped with the Larks, especially last week against Salina. That game, which started his current streak, yielded a career-high six hits.

"I will remember it forever," Eckerle said afterward.

Two of those hits were infield singles, including one in the first inning where he chopped the ball over the mound and beat the throw from the second baseman.

In the two-game home-and-home series against Dodge City, Eckerle went 5-for-10, even though Athletics coach Phil Stephenson didn't consider Eckerle that strong of a hitter.

In Wednesday's 4-3 win, Eckerle had an infield single earlier in the game where he beat out a ground ball.

In the eighth, after Jason Kudlock (.326 average) tied the game with a double, Eckerle broke a 3-3 tie with a single to center.

"We make two bad pitches to guys that probably shouldn't hurt you on a regular basis," Stephenson said of Kudlock and Eckerle. "But you leave balls in the middle of the plate and that is what you are supposed to do with them and that is what they did."

And that's what "Mr. Quiet" has done all summer for the Larks.

"Great kid, great player," Leo said.

Big Three on record pace

The reliever trio of Steven Mazur, Chase Johnson and Kevin Hennessey has shut down opponents all summer long ¬­-- and all three are on pace (or near pace) to break one of the Larks' all-time records.

The record for strikeouts per nine innings is 15.5 by Jim Miller in 2003. Sam Elam, who rejoined the current Larks' roster a few weeks ago, is fourth at 14.3 in 2006.

Johnson, a freshman closer from Central Arizona, has averaged 16.87 strikeouts per nine innings (20 strikeouts in 10Ôªø2âÑ3 innings), while Hennessey has averaged 15.18 strikeouts per nine innings (18 strikeouts in 10Ôªø2âÑ3 innings).

Mazur, a Notre Dame product, had a team-high 35 strikeouts in 21Ôªø2âÑ3 innings, including five in three shutout innings against Dodge City on Wednesday night.

The trio has also combined for a 1.06 ERA, five saves and three wins.

"We have got some good guys in the bullpen," Leo said.

Neda, Brownstein update

The two Larks' players from Div. I University of New Mexico will not return for this weekend's three game critical road series against Derby (12-6 Jayhawk).

Mike Brownstein, a returning all-Jayhawk League shortstop, missed the first two weeks of the season with a wrist injury. He returned for seven games and batted .321 before he re-aggravated the injury.

Leo said Brownstein won't return until the El Dorado series July 11-13.

Brownstein's collegiate teammate, Rafael Neda, could come back sooner. Neda (finger) hasn't played all summer, but Leo said the catcher "maybe" could return for the Nevada series Tuesday and Wednesday.

Neda was named a first team freshman All-American catcher by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association after he batted .323 with 45 RBIs.

Bunts and Derby history

The Larks travel for a critical road series against Derby on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On Friday, the Larks will throw Patrick Cooper (3-2, 1.69 ERA), who retired 21 straight batters in his last start. Jason Stacy (1-1, 1.42 ERA) will throw Saturday, while the Sunday starter is undecided.

The Larks took two of three at home from Derby earlier this season. ... Eckerle and Roof, the two Michigan State products, will have a new baseball coach in the spring. The Spartans announced Jake Boss Jr. will take over the program after he led, in his only season at the helm, Eastern Michigan to the 2008 NCAA tournament.