Chad Jacobsen is hankering for a milkshake, the creamy kind with crushed cookies. He also wants a juicy, grilled steak.

His plans this weekend?

"Eat good after we win," the USC Aiken first baseman said.

With an affinity for food, Jacobsen developed a superstition. Before every game, he eats chicken.

"It's got to help," he said. "If you think it does, it does."

On Wednesday, Jacobsen was named Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year.

He leads the Peach Belt with a .468 batting average, .563 on-base percentage and .843 slugging percentage.

Jacobsen also leads the league in total bases (182), hits (101), runs (74), walks (50) and sacrifice flies (10). He is second in home runs (20) and third in RBI (75).

All in 56 games.

The hits, homers, walks, sacrifice flies and total bases all are new school single-season records.

"There's no shock to me that he's done what he's done," USC Aiken coach Kenny Thomas said. "He's prepared himself mentally and physically to be where he is."

Jacobsen, a Littleton, Colo., native, is not finished. He and his Pacer teammates open first-round Peach Belt Tournament play against Georgia College & State at 2 p.m. today at Roberto Hernandez Stadium. And then there's likely a Division II regional appearance next week.

In June, Jacobsen could get selected in the Major League Baseball Draft. It's a moment he's been waiting for since age 12, when he picked up the sport and dropped football, basketball and hockey. He soon received a pitching machine for his birthday and began working on his swing in his parents' basement.

During his senior season in high school, Jacobsen was named the 5-A Player of the Year in Colorado after hitting 12 homers. But he received no attention from any scouts.

"Not even a 'How you doing?' " he said.

Now, Roberto Hernandez Stadium is littered with scouts wanting to get a peek at Jacobsen, who has developed into a power hitter.

In the off-season, Jacobsen (6-foot-1, 210 pounds) hit the weight room and put on 25 pounds -- most of it muscle.

"A few donuts there," he said, laughing.

After hitting .343 with 11 homers and a school-record 75 RBI last season, Jacobsen decided to change his swing. He watched film of Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. He also read Williams' book, The Science of Hitting . The research led to Jacobsen cutting out his high leg kick. He switched to a wide stance with an effort to stay behind the ball more.

"When hitting doesn't come natural to you," he said, "I think you can learn how to hit."

Thomas said Jacobsen changing his swing doesn't surprise him. He soaks up everything about the game.

"I've never had a player understand the game like he does," Thomas said. "He studies the game. He's always trying to learn more about the game."

Jacobsen opened the season with eight homers in the team's first 16 games. He kept launching shots and hasn't stopped.

"I've always thought I could hit home runs," he said. "This year, the wind was blowing out a few days early, and I got lucky I guess."

Lucky? Maybe his success is because of the lucky pennies he keeps. Or maybe it's because of the way he keeps his batting gloves like brand new in their original plastic package.

Or maybe it's the food.

The Peach Belt Tournament runs through Sunday. If USC Aiken triumphs, Jacobsen will be sure to have his appetite ready.

"I'm an all-kinds-of-food-guy," he said.