DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers
Association (NCBWA) released its National Player of the Week awards
for the period ending May 13. NC State sophomore shortstop
Will Wilson was named National Hitter of
the Week, while Oregon State senior left-handed pitcher
Luke Heimlich 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.
Wilsons strong week at the plate helped lead NC State to a perfect
5-0 record, highlighted by its second ACC sweep. The Kings Mountain,
N.C., native recorded a .550 batting average with 11 hits during
the week to go along with 12 RBI, both of which are career highs
for Wilson in a single week.
He tallied at least two hits in four of the five games and hit
a home run in the only game that he did not have two hits. Wilson's
nine home runs in ACC play is tied for the most by an individual
against conference opponents, while his 13 home runs for the season
is tied for seventh in the league.
The Wolfpack standout logged four RBI in the second game against
James Madison and four in game one against Wake Forest to register
eight RBI over a two-game stretch. Wilson compiled a slugging percentage
of .900 for the week and also had a .542 on-base percentage. He
had five assists and two putouts defensively and did not commit
an error. His stellar week helped lift his season batting average
from .296 to .313.
Heimlich set a career-high with 14 strikeouts to send No. 3 Oregon
State to a 6-2 series-opening win over No. 2 Stanford in front of
Goss Stadium record 3,830 fans Friday night.
The Puyallup, Wash., native surpassed his previous best of 13
set earlier this season against Washington. He won his 12th game
of the season after holding the Cardinal to three hits and two runs
in eight innings. His lone blemish came in the fifth on a two-run
home run by Will Matthiessen.
The lefty pushed his season strikeout total to 115, which leads
the Pac-12 Conference and pushes him into a tie for 10th all-time
in a single-season at Oregon State. His 12 wins rank tied for fifth
and he inched closer to Ben Wetzler's career-record of 36; Heimlich
now has 32.
Heimlich picked up plenty of offensive support with a three-run
first inning thanks to an RBI single by Adley Rutschman and a two-run
double by Michael Gretler. Steven Kwan made it 4-0 on a sacrifice
fly in the second.
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,
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.
2018 NCBWA Division I Players of the Week:
Feb. 20: Jake Brodt, Santa Clara (Hitter); Nick Sandlin, Southern Miss (Pitcher)
Feb. 27: Brett Kinneman, N.C. State (Hitter); Joe DeMers, Washington (Pitcher)
March 6: Luke Heyer, Kentucky (Hitter); Payton Kinney, Omaha (Pitcher)
March 13: Jacob Rhinesmith, Western Kentucky (Hitter); Casey Mize, Auburn (Pitcher)
March 20: Joe Genord, USF (Hitter); Griffin Roberts, Wake Forest (Pitcher)
March 27: Bren Spillane, Illinois (Hitter); Jake Lee, Oakland (Pitcher)
April 3: Jon Littell, Oklahoma State (Hitter); Colton Eastman, Cal State Fullerton (Pitcher)
April 10: Connor Pauly, Morehead State (Hitter); Scotty Sunitsch, Washington State (Pitcher)
April 17: Ross Haffey, Miami, Ohio (Hitter); Noah Zavolas, Harvard (Pitcher)
April 24: Josh Jung, Texas Tech and Steven Wells, Florida State (Hitter); Connor Van Hoose, Bucknell (Pitcher)
May 1: Alex Holderbach, Eastern Kentucky (Hitter); Barrett Loseke, Arkansas (Pitcher)
May 8: Adam Sasser, Georgia (Hitter); Haylen Green, TCU (Pitcher)
May 15: Will Wilson, N.C. State (Hitter); Luke Heimlich, Oregon State (Pitcher)
May 22: Will Holland, Auburn (Hitter); Sam Shutes, Toledo (Pitcher)
2018 NCBWA Division I Players of the Month:
February: Brett Kinneman, N.C. State (Player); Brady Feigl, Ole Miss (Pitcher)
March: Seth Beer, Clemson (Player); Casey Mize, Auburn (Pitcher)
April: Alex Holderbach, Eastern Kentucky (Player); Connor Thomas, Georgia Tech (Pitcher)
May: Cal Raleigh, Florida State (Player); Logan Gilbert, Stetson (Pitcher)
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