May 15, 2012
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Montoro
304-293-2821
FIU's Bermudez, Texas A&M's Stripling honored
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NCBWA NAMES DIVISION I
NATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its National Player of the Week awards for the period ending May 13. FIU senior outfielder Pablo Bermudez was named National Hitter of the Week, while Texas A&M senior right-hander Ross Stripling was named National Pitcher of the Week. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.

Bermudez Stripling

Bermudez returned to his 2011 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year form just in the nick of time for a strong tournament run. The speedy leadoff hitter had a monster week hitting .588 (10-17) with a pair of homers and 11 runs scored. He also contributed seven RBI out of the leadoff spot, which contributed to FIU scoring 48 runs over a four-game road trip that produced three victories.

Stripling threw the 11th no-hitter in Texas A&M baseball history on Saturday. The baseball rarity came on the day Stripling was scheduled to graduate from A&M with his degree in finance. The Southlake, Texas, native baffled the San Diego State hitters all afternoon during the 1-0 win, allowing only a fifth-inning walk while striking out seven during his 106-pitch outing. It was the first no-hitter for a Texas A&M pitcher since Zach Jackson's seven-inning no-hitter against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 14, 2004, and the first nine-inning no-hitter since Matt Blank accomplished the rarity against Texas-Pan American on Feb. 6, 1996.

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.

For more information on the NCBWA Division I National Players of the Week, contact NCBWA Assistant Executive Director Mike Montoro at West Virginia University at 304-293-2821.

2012 NCBWA Division I Players of the Week:
Feb. 21: William Arnold, Central Michigan (Hitter); Robert Huber, Duke (Pitcher)
Feb. 28: Johnny Coy, Wichita State (Hitter); Ryan Arrowood, Appalachian State (Pitcher)
March 6: Mason Katz, LSU (Hitter); Brian Holmes, Wake Forest (Pitcher)
March 13: Daniel Bowman, Coastal Carolina (Hitter); Michael Morin, North Carolina (Pitcher)
March 20: Travis Jankowski, Stony Brook (Hitter); Chris Stratton, Mississippi State (Pitcher)
March 27: Max Muncy, Baylor (Hitter); Sean Newcomb, Hartford (Pitcher)
April 3: Alex Swim, Elon (Hitter); Bobby Wahl, Ole Miss (Pitcher)
April 10: Richie Shaffer, Clemson (Hitter); Sam Moll, Memphis (Pitcher)
April 17: Beau Amaral, UCLA (Hitter); Henry Sisson, Davidson (Pitcher)
April 24: Alex Blandino, Stanford (Hitter); Steven Hill, Penn State and Andrew Thurman, UC Irvine (Pitcher)
May 1: Derek Gibson, Southeast Missouri (Hitter); Kevin Ferguson, Northeastern (Pitcher)
May 8: Goose Kallunki, Utah Valley (Hitter); Andrew Heaney, Oklahoma State (Pitcher)
May 15: Pablo Bermudez, FIU (Hitter); Ross Stripling, Texas A&M (Pitcher)
May 22: Ryan Padilla, New Mexico (Hitter); Mark Appel, Stanford and Tyler Duffey, Rice (Pitcher)