During his time in Raleigh, Trea Turner accomplished some ridiculous feats for NC State baseball. But what he accomplished on Tuesday night in Colorado had only been done twice before in Washington Nationals history.After hitting for a single, double then a home run against the Rockies, Turner needed a triple to complete the cycle when he stepped to the plate in the seventh inning. Turner, considered one of the fastest players in the MLB, did just that with a rope to the right field corner and a little extra oomph when he arrived at third.
For Trea, the hardest part was probably the single. pic.twitter.com/ZwRPWMGprw Washington Nationals (@Nationals) April 26, 2017
Despite a slow start to the season and an injury, Turner’s cycle vastly improved his overall statistics on top of making history for the Nationals. The triple and homer were Turner’s first of the season and his 4-for-6 outing boosted his average from .219 to .289 on the year. He also hit for seven RBI and four runs in Colorado, which was more than he had registered in either department thus far this season.This season is Turner’s first as a full-time player with the Nationals after spending a total of 100 games with the club over the last two years. Turner raised eyebrows last year when he finished with a .342/.370/.567 clip in Washington through 73 games, earning NL Rookie of the Month in August and September of 2016.Turner was a first-round draft pick in the 2014 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres before being traded to the Nationals in a three-team trade that landed High Point native Wil Myers in San Diego. Myers was the first player this season to hit for the cycle on April 10.During his time at NC State, Turner broke the single-season and career record for steals while never hitting below .321 in three years with the Wolfpack. He was also a Second Team All-American and First Team All-ACC as a sophomore.Suffice to say, hitting for the cycle was far from the first huge achievement for Turner. Being the first to do so in nine years for the Nationals just keeps growing the legend of Turner in Washington.
