DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its National Player of the Week awards for the period ending March 13, today. Boston College’s senior infielder Joe Cronin was named National Hitter of the Week, while Wright State senior right-hander Jesse Scholtens 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. 

Cronin led the Eagles with a .526 batting average, 10 hits, 11 RBI, a 1.211 slugging percentage and a .609 on-base percentage in the five games last week. The captain from Scarborough, Maine, also went 5-for-11 with five RBI and three extra-base hits, including a two-run home run, as the Eagles took two of three from eighth-ranked N.C. State in Raleigh, N.C., marking BC's first series win to open the conference schedule since 2009.

Cronin also recorded the only home run in the Eagles' eight games at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla., and drove in BC's only two runs with a two-run shot in the Eagles' lone loss (3-2) to the Wolfpack on Saturday. With his triple in Friday's 7-0 victory, he currently ranks fifth in BC record books with five in his career and his 89 career walks ranks eighth.

Scholtens pitched the first perfect game in Raider history on Friday, March 11, as WSU won at Dayton 1-0. Retiring all 27 batters he faced, the Fairfield, California native struck out 12 and never reached a three-ball count on any hitter as he threw a total of 101 pitches, 74 of those for strikes. The perfect game is the first in Division I since Oregon State's Drew Rasmussen accomplished the feat against Washington State last March 21 and is the 25th in Division I history since 1957.

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)