DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its NCAA Division II National Players of the Week awards for the week ending on March 29. Catawba sophomore first baseman Chance Bowden is the National Hitter of the Week, while West Liberty junior pitcher Greg Stagani is the National Pitcher of the Week.

Bowden (Salisbury, N.C.) posted 13 hits, including nine doubles, and nine RBI to lead the Catawba Indians to a 5-0 record last week, including a series sweep over Mars Hill. He posted multiple hits in every game he played, including four doubles versus the Lions in game one of the doubleheader on March 26. He drove in multiple RBI in three contests and finished the five-game span with a slugging percentage of 1.042. For the week, he batted .542 with an on-base percentage of .556 to go along with nine runs scored.

Stagani (Richmond, Ohio) threw a one-hit shutout (9.0 IP) in 2-0 win versus West Virginia Wesleyan with 14 strikeouts and no walks. He faced 29 batters in the game retiring the first 19 batters he faced as WVW got a single in the top of the seventh.

Division II Regional Players of the Week:
• Atlantic: Alex O’Dell, Kutztown (Hitter); Greg Stagani, West Liberty (Pitcher)
• Central: Alex Wojciechowski, Minn.-Duluth (Hitter); Sheldon Miks, St. Cloud State (Pitcher)
• East: Dwayne Page, Dowling (Hitter); Bobby Kelly, Molloy (Pitcher)
• Midwest: Marquis Collier, Alderson-Broadus (Hitter); Brandon Sittinger, Ashland (Pitcher)
• South: Darian Dull, Kentucky State (Hitter); Dalton Moats, Delta State (Pitcher)
• South Central: Keith Funk, St. Mary’s (Hitter); Cameron Stanton, St. Edward’s (Pitcher)
• Southeast: Chance Bowden, Catawba (Hitter); Brandon Agar, North Georgia (Pitcher)
• West: Preston Scott, Fresno Pacific (Hitter); Isaiah Terrazas, Concordia-Irvine (Pitcher)

Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. Members receive a membership card, directory, newsletter updates and official votes in the Howser Award Player of the Year, Regional Player of the Year and NCBWA All-America voting. The NCBWA also sponsors preseason All-America awards, publication and writing contests.

2016 NCBWA Division II Players of the Week:
• Week ending Feb. 16: Brett Wilhelm, Lubbock Christian (Hitter); Brooks Trujillo, West Texas A&M (Pitcher)
• Week ending Feb. 23: Andrew Vogelbaugh, Pittsburg State (Hitter); Guillaume Blanchette, Lubbock Christian (Pitcher)
• Week ending March 1: Blaise Warrick, Arkansas-Fort Smith (Hitter); Ben Criscuolo, Southern New Hampshire (Pitcher)
• Week ending March 8: Matt Piatt, Tampa (Hitter); Mark Delas, Findlay (Pitcher)
• Week ending March 15: Troy Sieber, St. Leo University (Hitter); Robbie Gordon, Maryville (Pitcher)
• Week ending March 22: Dylan Cook, Georgia College (Hitter); Logan Johnson, Fairmont State (Pitcher)
• Week ending March 29: Chance Bowden, Catawba (Hitter); Greg Stagani, West Liberty (Pitcher)
• Week ending April 5: Zach Hoffmann, St. Cloud State (Hitter); Placido Torres, Tusculum (Pitcher)
• Week ending April 12: Reese Gregory, St. Cloud State (Hitter); Tanner Herdt, Colorado Mesa (Pitcher)
• Week ending April 19: J.P Sorma, Ashland (Hitter); Mason Mayberry, Findlay (Pitcher)
• Week ending April 26: Alex Wojciechowski, Minnesota-Duluth (Hitter); Alex Kelley, Francis Marion (Pitcher)
• Week ending May 3: Aaron Krier, Wayne State (Hitter); Nikko Pablo, Northwest Missouri State (Pitcher)
• Week ending May 10: Cale Giddings, Lake Erie (Hitter); Colin Gossard, Findlay (Pitcher)