CHICAGO (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) has released its Division III National Hitter and Pitcher of the Week awards for the period ending March 30.

William Paterson senior OF Ron Hayward was named the National Hitter of the Week, while College of Staten Island sophomore Nick Secchini won the Pitcher of the Week honors. A panel of Division III NCBWA members reviews candidates from each Division III Conference each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.

Hayward earns NJAC Player of the Week honors after hitting .706 with eight runs scored, six RBI and six extra base hits in a 4-0 week for the Pioneers. He opened the week by going 4-for-5 with a double and two stolen bases against Rensselaer. He then followed up that effort with a 3-for-3, three RBI performance against Division II Queens. In William Paterson's first two NJAC contests, he went a combined 5-for-9 with three doubles, and three RBI in the Pioneers sweep of Rutgers-Newark. Hayward currently ranks fifth in the conference in hitting with a .429 batting average.

Secchini picked up his second conference Pitcher of the Week honor in as many weeks, as he held St. Joseph's College scoreless for 12 innings on Saturday, allowing the Dolphins to finally pull out a 1-0 extra-inning victory. The more-than complete-game victory included a Staten Island single-game record 18 strikeouts without a single walk and nine hits. He is 2-1 on the season with a 1.50 ERA (24 innings of work).

2003 NCBWA Division III Players of the Week:
• March 11: Brad Franklin, Guilford (Hitter); Dustin Jones, Bridgewater (Pitcher)
• March 18: Elliot Strader, Hardin-Simmons (Hitter); Dennis Reilly, Lebanon Valley (Pitcher)
• March 25: Vince Mancuso, Wisconsin-Oshkosh (Hitter); A.J. Hatton, Worcester State (Pitcher)
• April 1: Ron Hayward, William Paterson (Hitter); Nick Secchini, College of Staten Island (Pitcher)
• April 8: Ian Harden, Cornell College (Hitter); Matt DeSalvo, Marietta (Pitcher)
• April 15: Ryan Jones, Wisconsin-Stevens Point (Hitter); Jon Lee, Tufts (Pitcher)
• April 22: Kyle Wilkins, Ithaca (Hitter); Julius Jenkins, College of New Jersey (Pitcher)
• April 29: Nolan Neiman, DeSales (Hitter); Sean Lindstrom, St. Thomas (Pitcher)
• May 6: Jeff Flegler, Cortland (Hitter); Marc Cahill, Southern Maine and Joey Serfass, Eastern Connecticut State (Pitcher)
• May 13: Jon Brown, Brandeis (Hitter); Chad Cosby, Worcester State (Pitcher)