DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association has announced its first weekly award winners for the 2006 NCAA Division III season, with initial honors going to third baseman Nathan Roberts of Franklin College (Franklin, Ind.) and right-handed pitcher Mark Moriarty of the College of St. Scholastica (Duluth, Minn.) for Feb. 27-March 5.

Roberts, a senior from Greencastle, Ind., guided the Grizzlies to a 3-1 record last week and was named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week. He was 7-of-13 (.538) at the plate and collected nine runs and nine RBI in the four contests. He belted a home run and had two RBI in Franklin’s 10-4 win over visiting North Park on March 4. He also recorded a double and a home run in the Grizzlies’ 16-2 win over Benedictine on March 5. Among Roberts’ seven hits were two doubles and two home runs on the week. He is now hitting .409 on the young season, with 11 runs scored and 12 RBI. Franklin improved to 6-1 on the season.

Moriarty, a junior from Inver Grove Heights, Minn., made his first appearance of the season a great one as he posted a one-hit shutout in a 3-0 victory over the #3-ranked team in the nation, Wartburg. Moriarty faced only two batters over the minimum and allowed just one runner to reach past first base. At one point in the middle innings, he struck out 7 consecutive Wartburg hitters.

Honorable mention hitters: Nick Vera (Trinity TX) – .636 (7-11), 6 runs, 4 RBI, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 2 steals; Ty Stanley (Linfield) – .563 (9-16), 6 runs, 5 RBI, 1 double, 1 home run, 2 steals; Walt Goedkoop (Juniata) – .500 (5-10), 5 runs, 4 RBI, 1 double, 2 home runs; David Kramer (Washington MO) – .563 (9-16), 6 runs, 10 RBI.

Honorable mention pitchers: Ben Jones (The Apprentice School) – 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 11.2 ip, 3 hits, 24 strikeouts; Brian Oates, Chuck Higgins, and Drew Bignall (Trinity TX) – three consecutive complete-game shutouts, Oates with a 7-inning no-hitter vs. Hendrix; Taylor DuFrene (Shenandoah) – 2-0, 0.69 ERA, 13 ip, 15 strikeouts.

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For more information on the NCBWA Division III Players of the Week, contact Blair Cash at George Fox University at 503-554-2926.