DALLAS (NCBWA) – Bethel University of Minnesota junior Austin Ledin and St. Mary’s University of Minnesota junior R.J. Brown were named Division III National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Hitter and Pitcher of the Week for the period of March 13-19.

Ledin, a catcher from Brooklyn Park, Minn., led the Royals to a 5-1 record last week while batting .667 (12-for-18) with a .739 on-base percentage and he slugged at a 1.222 clip. Half of the MIAC’s Hitter of the Week’s 12 hits went for extra bases (four doubles, two home runs), he drove in 11 runs and scored eight while walking twice and only striking out once. Ledin hit safely in all six games, including a 4-for-4 effort with two doubles, a homer, four runs and five RBI in a 15-2 win over MacMurray and a 3-for-4 game with two RBI in a 4-1 victory over Carroll.

Brown, a right-handed hurler from Broadview, Ill., put together the best pitching performances of his collegiate career, tossing a seven-inning no-hitter in leading the Cardinal baseball team to a 10-0 win over Aurora March 24. The MIAC Pitcher of the Week allowed just three base runners - two via Cardinal errors and the other on a second-inning hit batter - in posting Saint Mary's first no-hitter in more than two decades. Brown struck out a season-high six, did not walk a batter, and faced just 24 hitters, three more than the minimum. The junior right-hander induced the Spartans into 12 fly-ball outs and three groundouts.

Honorable Mention Pitchers: Jeremy Rice (Sr., RHP, Southwestern): Hurled a nine-inning no-hitter in Southwestern's 21-0 win over Blackburn March 17. Rice, who struck out seven batters and faced only one over the minimum, threw 113 pitches, including 80 strikes. The only batter to reach base did so on a throwing error from a groundball. Rice threw the first no-hitter for Southwestern since Brett Marcom accomplished the feat in a seven-inning contest against Schreiner on March 8, 2014; Brian Johnson (So., LHP, Springfield): Made history for the Pride this past week, as he became the first Springfield College baseball student-athlete to throw a no hitter in the last 16 seasons when he pitched a complete-game no hitter in the Pride's 5-0 win over Colby Sawyer March 17. Johnson totaled seven strikeouts in the seven-inning game, while only walking one.

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