>CHICAGO (NBCWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released its National Hitter and Pitcher of the Week awards for the period ending April 14th.

Cooper

Novalis

Bullington

Stanford junior designated hitter Jason Cooper and Lehigh sophomore third baseman Jesse Novalis share the Hitter of the Week award, while Ball State junior righthander Bryan Bullington 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.

Cooper hit four home runs and drove in 10 runs in four games last week for the No. 2-ranked Cardinal. Cooper started his home run barrage with a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to help Stanford to a 5-4 comeback win over San Jose State (4/9). He then had the second two-homer game of his career and four RBI in a wild 15-11 loss to USC (4/13) before hitting another three-run homer in a 15-4 win over USC (4/14) in the series finale. He finished the week with a .400 (6-15) batting average, six runs scored, three walks, a stolen base and a 1.267 slugging percentage.

In six games last week, Novalis batted .667 (16-for-24) with three doubles, two home runs, 11 runs scored and 16 runs driven in to help the Mountain Hawks to five victories. The sophomore third baseman tied the Patriot League single-game record with six hits in LU's 11-6 win over Moravian. In four Patriot league games, Novalis was 8-for-13 with a pair of doubles, a triple, five runs scored and 10 runs driven in.

Bullington struck out 12 Miami (Ohio) batters in a seven-inning complete game victory over the RedHawks. The junior righthander gave up just three hits and didn't allow a walk. Bullington set Miami down in order in each of the first four innings, striking out nine batters, including a string of six straight hitters. It is the third straight game – and fourth overall – that Bullington has fanned 10-plus batters in a game.

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)