DALLAS (NCBWA) – A pitching effort that led to program history and plate numbers that included four home runs over the opening weekend of Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action led LaGrange College junior Eric Morell and Manchester University senior Jordan Nieman to Division III National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Player of the Week honors for the period of March 16-22.

Morell, a junior right-handed starting pitcher from San Dimas, Calif., fired a no-hitter in a 2-0 victory over USA South foe William Peace in his only appearance on the mound last week for the Panthers. The feat is the first-ever nine-inning no-hitter in LaGrange baseball history. Morell, also the USA South Pitcher of the Week, walked four batters with nine strikeouts in the win. He’s forged two shutouts among three complete games to open the season.

Nieman, a senior third baseman from Michigan City, Ind., helped lead the Spartans to a 7-1 record during the week of play. He posted a .486 batting average at the plate with 14 runs scored, 18 hits, three doubles, three triples, four home runs, 39 total bases, and 15 RBIs. The HCAC Hitter of the Week also led MU with a 1.054 slugging percentage and a .537 on-base percentage during the eight contests which included four round-trippers as part of a conference-opening weekend road sweep at Transylvania. He also increased his personal hit streak to 16 and on-base string to 17, dating back to last season, during the span.

Honorable Mention Hitter: Kyle Uhrich, So., 1B, Webster: Hit. 474 on the week with five home runs and 12 runs batted in while scoring eight runs. He picked up a hit in all five games including three multi-hit games and drove in three runs on four separate occasions. Twice, in the span, he hit two home runs in a game, against Iowa Wesleyan and Illinois Wesleyan, and he finished the week with a 1.263 slugging percentage while striking out just once.

Honorable Mention Pitchers: Taylor Dunn, Sr., RHP, George Fox: Went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 16 innings during the week, scattering seven hits with 14 strikeouts and six walks. He pitched a complete nine-inning game March 16 to beat Whitman 4-0, allowing just three hits and one walk with 12 strikeouts. He pitched seven innings of shutout ball in a 6-1 win at Chapman March 22, surrendering just four hits with two strikeouts … Ryan Lawrence, Fr., LHP, Keuka: Making his collegiate debut, the freshman tossed a complete-game one-hitter to help the Wolfpack secure a 1-0 win over Union College March 22. Lawrence took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before allowing a single with one out that broke it up, but he managed to close out the inning and secure the shutout victory, where he finished with one strikeout and no walks. The win helped Keuka split the doubleheader and left the Wolfpack at 2-2 overall on the season.

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