CHICAGO (NBCWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released its National Hitter and Pitcher of the Week awards for the period ending March 24th.

Costa

Sullivan

Cal State Fullerton sophomore outfielder Shane Costa earned the Hitter of the Week award, while Houston sophomore righthander Brad Sullivan took the Pitcher of the Week honors. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.

Costa, a sophomore from Visalia, Calif., went 8-for-12 (.667) and led the team with five runs, five RBI and three extra-base hits over the weekend as the Titans swept then-No. 17 Long Beach State. Costa hit for the cycle on the weekend, drilling a double in the opener, a homer in the second game and a triple in the finale.

After going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in the opener, Costa racked up his second career four-hit game on Saturday, hitting a solo homer and drilling the game-winning two-run single with two outs in the bottom of the eighth as Fullerton rallied for a 7-6 win. He came back on Sunday to go 1-for-3 with a triple and a pair of runs while also walking and laying down a sacrifice bunt.

Sullivan, a native of Nederland, Texas, recorded his career-best fifth straight win on Friday with a solid performance in game one against Tulane that helped set the tone for the Cougars series sweep. He struck out a career-best 15 batters while scattering four hits and only one walk during his first career shutout. With that performance, Sullivan lowered his ERA to 1.01 with 59 strikeouts in 44.2 innings of work.

Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. For more information about the NCBWA, visit the association's official Web site, www.ncbwa.com.

2002 NCBWA Players of the Week:
• Feb. 5: Chad Corona, San Diego St. (Hitter); Ryan Schroyer, Arizona St. (Pitcher)
• Feb. 12: Shaun Larkin, Cal State Northridge (Hitter); Phillip Aragon, Nicholls St. (Pitcher)
• Feb. 19: Ryan Schade, Western Carolina (Hitter); Jared Theodorakos, Baylor (Pitcher)
• Feb. 26: Jesse Crain, Houston (Hitter); Shane Komine, Nebraska and Joe Linde, Eastern Michigan (Pitcher)
• Mar. 5: Jeff Cook, Southern Miss (Hitter); Eric Brandon, Auburn (Pitcher)
• Mar. 12: Mike Arbinger, Ohio (Hitter); Joseph Blanton, Kentucky and Matt Hamer, The Citadel (Pitcher)
• Mar. 19: Khalil Greene, Clemson (Hitter); Brad Halsey, Texas (Pitcher)
• Mar. 26: Shane Costa, Cal State Fullerton (Hitter); Brad Sullivan, Houston (Pitcher)
• Apr. 2: Jay Garthwaite, Washington (Hitter); Justin Simmons, Texas (Pitcher)
• Apr. 9: Jamie D'Antona, Wake Forest and Jeremy Isenhower, Southwest Missouri State (Hitter); René Recio, Oral Roberts (Pitcher)
• Apr. 16: Jason Cooper, Stanford and Jesse Novalis, Lehigh (Hitter); Bryan Bullington, Ball State (Pitcher)
• Apr. 23: Brad Bauder, Virginia Tech (Hitter); John Tetuan, Wichita State (Pitcher)
• Apr. 30: Brent Boyd, Alabama (Hitter); Dan Scott, Sacred Heart (Pitcher)
• May 7: Matt Krimmel, George Washington (Hitter); Jeremy Rogelstad, San Jose State and Tom Wheeler, Rutgers (Pitcher)
• May 14: Paul McAnulty, Long Beach State (Hitter); Alex Hart, Florida (Pitcher)