DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its National Player of the Week awards for the period ending Feb. 28. Murray State junior outfielder Brandon Gutzler was named National Hitter of the Week, while Florida junior right-hander Logan Shore 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.

Gutzler drove in 22 runs in five games last week as Murray State completed a 4-1 week with wins over Harris-Stowe and Northern Illinois. For the week, the junior outfielder hit .522 (12-for-21) with 10 runs, three doubles, five home runs, six walks, a 1.429 slugging percentage and .690 on-base percentage. Gutzler had four multi-RBI and four multi-hit games during the week and scored at least one run in all five games. The St. Louis, Mo., native started the Racers weekend series with Northern Illinois by going 3-for-5 with a home run and seven RBI as MSU won 17-4. In a Saturday doubleheader Gutzler was 2-for-4 with a home run and six RBI in a 15-12 victory and 3-for-4 with a double and RBI in a 12-10 loss. He capped the weekend by going 3-for-4 with three home runs, five runs scored and six RBI. The three home runs (which came in the consecutive at-bats in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings) was one shy of the Murray State and OVC single-game record. He was walked and hit-by-pitch in his final two at-bats on Sunday.

Shore tossed his first career shutout as the Gators claimed the series opener at No. 6 Miami, 5-0. That marked only the eighth time in the 246-game series between the Sunshine State rivals that Florida had blanked Miami, fourth time in Coral Gables and the first time on the road since Feb. 13, 2004. The Coon Rapids, Minn., native matched his career high with eight strikeouts and surrendered four hits without issuing any walks. He faced two batters over the minimum in going the distance for the third time at Florida and retired the side in order five different times, highlighted by three strikeouts in the fifth, and finished the contest on 95 pitches. He is now 2-0 with a team-low 0.64 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 14 innings this year, while limiting opponents to a .159 clip.

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.

2016 NCBWA Division I Players of the Week:
• Feb. 21: Jeren Kendall, Vanderbilt (Hitter); Zach Muckenhirn, North Dakota (Pitcher)
• Feb. 28: Brandon Gutzler, Murray State (Hitter); Logan Shore, Florida (Pitcher)
• March 6: Darik Hall, Dallas Baptist (Hitter); Lucas Humpal, Texas State (Pitcher)
• March 13: Joe Cronin, Boston College (Hitter); Jesse Scholtens, Wright State (Pitcher)
• March 20: John Jones, South Carolina (Hitter); Seth Romero, Houston (Pitcher)
• March 27: Tyler Chadwick, Coastal Carolina (Hitter); Ryan Hingst, Arizona State (Pitcher)
• April 5: Tanner Kirwer, Niagara (Hitter); Andrew Wantz, UNCG (Pitcher)
• April 12: Michael Davis, Texas Tech (Hitter); Zac Gallen, North Carolina (Pitcher)
• April 19: Greg Guers, Penn State (Hitter); Shane McCarthy, Seton Hall (Pitcher)
• April 26: Logan Gray, Austin Peay (Hitter); Cody Sedlock, Illinois (Pitcher)
• May 3: J.B Woodman, Ole Miss (Hitter); Chad Donato, West Virginia (Pitcher)
• May 10: Brandon Soat, IPFW (Hitter); Kyle Simonds, Texas A&M (Pitcher)
• May 17: Blake Benefield, Middle Tennessee (Hitter); Eric Lauer, Kent State (Pitcher)
• May 24: Dillon Cooper, Alabama State (Hitter); Sam Perez, Missouri State (Pitcher)

2016 NCBWA Division I Players of the Month:
• February: Taylor Braley, Southern Miss (Hitter); Brendon McKay, Lousiville (Pitcher)
• March: Seth Beer, Clemson (Hitter); Seth Romero, Houston and Clarke Schmidt, South Carolina (Pitcher)
• April: Hunter Melton, Texas A&M (Hitter); Will Hibbs, Lamar (Pitcher)
• May: Daniel Johnson, New Mexico State (Hitter); Dakota Hudson, Mississippi State (Pitcher)