DALLAS (NCBWA) – A near "home run cycle" by Richard Michelin of California Lutheran University and a conference tournament no-hitter by Chuck Nicholas of Alvernia University have earned them the 10th and final NCAA Division III National Hitter of the Week and Pitcher of the Week honors for 2009, covering the week of April 27-May 3, as voted on by a panel of members from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Michelin, a sophomore catcher from Las Vegas, Nev., was a solo home run shy of the “home run cycle” as he blasted a two-run homer, a three-run shot, and a grand slam while going 4-for-5 with nine RBI in the team’s conference series opener against Whittier. Prior to Friday’s offensive outburst, he had only one career homer before smashing three in a single game. In the three-game series with the Poets, he batted .800 (8-for-10) with a 1.700 slugging pct., 11 RBI, and scored six times to lead the No. 17 Kingsmen to a series sweep. The weekend effort pushed Michelin’s season batting average up 62 points to .322. Cal Lutheran finished the season 31-9 overall and 17-4 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, earning a second-place finish in the SCIAC standings.

Nicholas, a sophomore right-hander from Boyertown, Pa., picked the perfect time to throw the third no-hitter in school history in the Crusaders’ first game of the Freedom Conference Championships, an 11-0 win for third-seeded Alvernia over second-seeded Wilkes. He allowed just three one-out base runners all day, walking one in the third and hitting batters in the fifth and seventh. He needed only 104 pitches to complete the game. He struck out the side in the eighth and got the first batter of the ninth for his eighth and final strikeout of the day. He also retired 14 hitters on ground balls and five on fly outs. It was the first Alvernia no-hitter ever in the post-season and the first since the late 1980’s. Nicholas is the seventh hurler to earn national Pitcher of the Week honors by throwing a no-hitter this season.

Honorable mention hitters: Davey May (Merchant Marine) - .519 (14-27), 6 home runs (4 in one game), 16 RBI, 9 runs, 1.185 slugging pct.; Kevin Slechta (Concordia-Chicago) - .640 (16-25), 5 doubles, 1 triple, 13 RBI, 9 runs, .920 slugging pct.; Ray Kosmicki III (Aurora) - .625 (10-16), 2 doubles, 3 home runs, 7 RBI, 11 runs, 1.313 slugging pct.; Kevin Langhauser (Gettysburg) - .889 (8-9), 2 doubles, 2 triples, 9 RBI, 5 runs, 1.556 slugging pct.; Nick Beaman (Ripon) - .538 (14-26), 2 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs, 14 RBI, 14 runs, 1.115 slugging pct.; Tyler Johnson (St. Olaf) - .455 (10-22), 2 doubles, 5 home runs, 9 RBI, 8 runs, 1.227 slugging pct.; Justin Smith (Rochester Tech) - .692 (9-13), 3 triples, 5 stolen bases, 8 RBI, 8 runs, 1.154 slugging pct.; Mark Sobol (Carthage) - .478 (11-23), 1 double, 1 triple, 4 home runs, 14 RBI, 8 runs, 1.130 slugging pct.

Honorable mention pitchers: Adam Ketzner (Rockford) - 2-0, 0.00, 16.0 ip, 2 cg, 4 hits, 24 strikeouts; Matt Schuld (St. Thomas MN) - 2-0 (beat D-I Minnesota), 3.60 ERA, 15.0 ip, 1 cg, 13 hits, 12 strikeouts; Matt Fontaine (Eastern Connecticut State) - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 ip, 2 hits, 13 strikeouts; Matt Vinagro (Elizabethtown) - 2-0, 2.50 ERA, 18.0 ip, 2 cg, 13 hits, 8 strikeouts; Trace Ruffie (Carthage) - 1-0, 1.29 ERA, 14.0 ip, 10 hits, 12 strikeouts; James Murrey (Macalester) - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 ip, 2 hits, 10 strikeouts; Zach Lauersdorf (Wisconsin-La Crosse) - 2-0, 1.32 ERA, 16.0 ip, 8 hits, 12 strikeouts.

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2009 NCBWA Division III Players of the Week:
• March 1: Jeremy Macklin, Texas Lutheran (Hitter); D.J. Keckler, Wesley College and Matt Schuld, St. Thomas (Pitcher)
• March 8: Joel Chrobak, Franklin (Hitter); Cody Boals, Elmhurst (Pitcher)
• March 15: Garrett Lamborn, Wesleyan (Hitter); Tyler Seaman, Mississippi College (Pitcher)
• March 22: Cody Callahan, Keene State (Hitter); Tim McMenamin, Gwynedd-Mercy (Pitcher)
• March 29: Thomas Phillips, MIT (Hitter); John Lunardi, Susquehanna (Pitcher)
• April 5: Bo Bell, Mississippi College (Hitter); Evan Michaud, Western New England (Pitcher)
• April 12: Daniel Ward, Hendrix (Hitter); Tyler Seaman, Mississippi College (Pitcher)
• April 19: Ryan Pike, Southern Maine (Hitter); Cory Collins, Curry (Pitcher)
• April 26: Joe Biagini, Webster (Hitter); Tim Flannery, Albright (Pitcher)
• May 3: Richard Michelin, California Lutheran (Hitter); Chuck Nicholas, Alvernia (Pitcher)