DALLAS (NCBWA) – An eight-home run week, a nine-inning
no-hitter, and a seven-homer, 15-RBI week caught the eyes of the
selection committee and warranted the week 10 National Collegiate
Baseball Writers Association Div. III Hitter, Pitcher, and Rookie
of the Week awards, respectively. This week's selections were chosen
based on performances for games played April 26 through May 2.
Hitter of the Week: North Park University senior
shortstop Jake Reinhardt won his third College Conference of Illinois
and Wisconsin honor this season. He hit eight home runs, tallied
21 RBI, scored 11 runs, and slugged 1.286 for the 3-3 Vikings last
week. He batted .429 (12-for-28) during the week. He hit all eight
home runs in a four-game series against Carthage College over the
weekend, including three in the series finale on May 2. Reinhardt
had six-RBI games in a 13-2 win over the Firebirds on May 1 and
during a 17-6 win on May 2. Reinhardt's 14 home runs are second
nationally, and he's third with 57 RBI this season. His 14 homers
are tied for the most in single-season program history.
Honorable Mention Hitter: Austin Denlinger,
Jr., SS, York College (Pa.) – Had a huge week for the 3-1 Spartans.
York closed the regular season out against Stevens Institute of
Technology on Wednesday, and Denlinger went 4-for-5 with four runs
scored, four RBI, and a school-record-tying three home runs. In
the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth quarterfinal series
opener against Hood College, Denlinger went 2-for-4 with a run scored,
three RBI, a double, and a home run. In the second game of the series,
Denlinger was 3-for-5 with a run scored, three RBI, and a pair of
home runs. For the week, the junior shortstop hit .500 (9-for-18)
with nine runs scored, 10 RBI, six home runs, and a pair of doubles.
Pitcher of the Week: Gustavus Adolphus College
senior Weston Lombard made history on April 26 by tossing a nine-inning
no-hitter, as Gustavus completed a three-game series sweep with
a 2-0 victory over Bethel University (Minn.). Lombard's no-hitter
in just his seventh career start is the first by a Gustavus pitcher
since Josh Spitzack threw a seven-inning no-hitter in a 5-0 win
over Carleton College on April 4, 2005. It is also just the third
no-hitter in the past 46 years of Gustie baseball. Including the
final two outs of the third inning, Lombard retired nine consecutive
batters before beaning the Royals' No. 2 hitter in the sixth. Lombard
responded by retiring the final 11 Bethel batters in order. He struck
out nine in the win.
Honorable Mention Pitcher: Joe Raab, Sr., United
States Merchant Marine Academy – Tossed his first-career no-hitter
in a 4-0 win over Farmingdale State College on Saturday. Struck
out seven in the seven-inning contest. In his last 14 innings pitched,
he has only allowed one hit (went 6 2/3 hitless in previous start)
and is now 4-1 on the season with five complete games and three
shutouts. He lowered his season ERA to 0.77 and he has a league-leading
43 strikeouts.
Rookie of the Week: Penn State Altoona freshman
Jake Hillard had an outstanding week at the plate for the Lions,
helping his team go 4-0 in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference
play. He went 3-for-7 with four RBI, two runs scored, a home run,
and a triple against Mount Aloysius College last week Tuesday. He
followed that up by going 6-for-9 with 11 RBI, five runs scored,
three home runs, and two doubles in a pair of games against Hilbert
College on Saturday. On the week, Hillard batted .563 (9-for-16)
with 15 RBI, seven runs scored, four home runs, two doubles, and
a triple. He finished the week with a .529 on-base percentage, a
1.563 slugging percentage, and 25 total bases.
Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of
college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and
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and writing contests.
2021 NCBWA Division III Players of the Week:
• Week ending March 7: Caleb Durbin, Washington U. (Hitter); Patrick O'Rourke, Berry (Pitcher); Amani Jones, Stevenson (Rookie)
• Week ending March 14: Philip Mahlik, Kean (Hitter); Ryan Behling, North Central (Pitcher); Jacob Cyrus, Illinois Wesleyan (Rookie)
• Week ending March 21: Dane Pedersen, Louisiana College (Hitter); Thomas Gallant, Mount Union (Pitcher); Nolan Sparks, Rochester (Rookie)
• Week ending March 28: Jack Hollinshead, Wittenberg (Hitter); Sam Westermeyer, St. Olaf (Pitcher); Cam Seymour, Southern Maine (Rookie)
• Week ending April 4: Catcher Cumming, Penn State Altoona (Hitter); Chris Chiriboga, St. Thomas (Pitcher); Jake Freed, Oberlin (Rookie)
• Week ending April 11: Adam Zebrowski, St. John Fisher (Hitter); Nolan Rowan, Kean (Pitcher); Amani Jones, Stevenson (Rookie)
• Week ending April 18: Dougie DelaCruz, Mitchell (Hitter); Michael Vallone, DePauw (Pitcher); Owen Robbins, Mitchell (Rookie)
• Week ending April 25: Daniel Coleman, SUNY-Cortland (Hitter); Brock Weirather, Grinnell (Pitcher); James Ward Jr., St. John Fisher (Rookie)
• Week ending May 2: Jake Reinhardt, North Park (Hitter); Weston Lombard, Gustavus Adolphus (Pitcher); Jake Hillard, Penn State Altoona (Rookie)
• Week ending May 9: Adam Zebrowski, St. John Fisher (Hitter); James Palmer, Wisconsin-Stout (Pitcher); James Murphy, Adam Zebrowski (Rookie)
2021 NCBWA Division III Players of the Month:
• February: Ty Morgan, Louisiana College (Hitter); Brett Sanchez, Belhaven (Pitcher); Levi Cloud, Berry (Rookie)
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