April 17, 2019
For Immediate Release
Contact: Kevin Smith
330-263-2374
Jones, Audet and Fashempour honored
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NCBWA NAMES DIVISION III
NATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

DALLAS (NCBWA) – A pair of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Div. III weekly honors went to institutions in the New England Region, while a 9-for-12 week at the dish claimed the week eight hitter certificate. This week’s performances spanned games played April 8-14.

Hitter of the Week: The Catholic University of America junior outfielder Christian Jones delivered a career week for the Cardinals. In four games, Jones went 9-for-12 with 10 RBI. He had three home runs in the stretch after having just one in his previous two seasons. In the final game of a landseries sweep over Landmark Conference foe Moravian College, Jones reached base in all five of his plate appearances, with four ending in base knocks.

Honorable Mention Hitter: Michael Barnes, Sr., C, Ripon College – Helped Ripon win all five of its games last week. He batted .714 (15-for-21) during the week with four doubles, one home run, six RBI, and 12 runs scored. Barnes also drew five walks and swiped a pair of bases. Defensively, Barnes was just as impressive, fielding all 27 of his chances without committing an error, while also throwing out all three baserunners who dared to run against him.

Pitcher of the Week: New England College sophomore Shayne Audet was nearly unhittable during Saturday’s 11-0 New England Collegiate Conference win over Dean College. Audet allowed one hit in the victory while striking out an impressive 18 batters. Audet’s 18 strikeouts are the most in Div. III this spring, and the total is tied for the second-most among all NCAA pitchers regardless of division.

Honorable Mention Pitcher: Jonathan Cole, Jr., Franklin & Marshall College – Produced a career outing on Saturday against ninth-ranked Swarthmore College, as the junior righty tossed a complete-game shutout, allowing just three hits and striking out eight in the crucial 1-0 win. Cole walked one in his nine innings of work on the bump.

Rookie of the Week: Dylan Fashempour, a freshman at University of Massachusetts Boston, went 2-0 over his two scoreless appearances on the hill last week for the Beacons. Fashempour totaled seven strikeouts in his 7 1/3 innings of work. The rookie tossed six scoreless innings to pick up the win in UMass Boston’s 7-3 victory over third-ranked University of Southern Maine, during which he allowed three hits and fanned six. Fashempour then allowed one hit and recorded a punch out in 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief to earn the decision in a 10-7 victory over Eastern Connecticut State University.

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 Dick Howser Player of the Year Award, Regional Player of the Year and NCBWA All-America voting. The NCBWA also sponsors preseason All-America awards, publication and writing contests.

2019 NCBWA Division III Players of the Week:
Week ending Feb. 24: Tre D'Amico, Frostburg State (Hitter); Keith Long, Texas-Tyler (Pitcher); Andrew Santobuono, Alfred State (Rookie)
Week ending March 3: Deauton Delgado, Louisiana College (Hitter); David Hall, Belhaven (Pitcher); Casey Jones, St. Vincent College (Rookie)
Week ending March 10: Davis Mikell, Castleton (Hitter); Jake Binder, Ithaca (Pitcher); Jacob Thompson, Oberlin (Rookie)
Week ending March 17: Holden Bridge, Swarthmore (Hitter); Tyler Showers, Arcadia (Pitcher); Colton Lineman, Grove City (Rookie)
Week ending March 24: Preston Ludwick, Centenary (Hitter); Brian Johnson, Springfield (Pitcher); Mason Sefcik, St. Norbert (Rookie)
Week ending March 31: Chris DeGiacomo, Johns Hopkins (Hitter); Chris Atwood, Wisconsin-Oshkosh (Pitcher); Jacob Thompson, Oberlin (Rookie)
Week ending April 7: Zack Smith, Salve Regina (Hitter); Worth Walrod, Suffolk (Pitcher); Nick Denove, Case Western Reserve (Rookie)
Week ending April 14: Christian Jones, Catholic (Hitter); Shayne Audet, New England College (Pitcher); Dylan Fashempour, UMass-Boston (Rookie)
Week ending April 21: Joey Stock, Saint John's, Minn. (Hitter); Connor Cook, Wisconsin-LaCrosse (Pitcher); Kyle Schaefer, Roger Williams (Rookie)
Week ending April 28: Colin BeVard, Cortland (Hitter); Matt O’Sullivan, Wisconsin-Whitewater (Pitcher); Damen Castillo, Benedictine (Rookie)
Week ending May 5: Eric Devore, Heidelberg (Hitter); Ryan Loutos Washington (Pitcher); Kobe Rogerson, Husson (Rookie)