MORGANTOWN, W. VA. (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball
Writers Association (NCBWA) released its Dick Howser Trophy National
Player of the Week awards presented by The Game Headwear for the
period ending May 15. Maryland sophomore shortstop Matt Shaw was
named National Hitter of the Week, while UCLA sophomore right-handed
pitcher Max Rajcic was named the National Pitcher of the Week. The
NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference and
names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.
Shaw had an incredible week as he belted seven home runs over
four games and collected 13 RBIs, leading the Terps to a 4-0 week,
including a Monday win to earn the Big Ten series win against Rutgers
and a three-game conference sweep of Michigan. The Brimfield, Massachusetts,
native went 8-for-16 at the plate, hitting .500 for the week with
eight runs scored and three walks.
On Monday, he was 1-for-3 with a home run, scored a run and had
two walks, helping the Terps secure the series win against Rutgers.
He led off the first game against Michigan by going 1-for-3 with
a homer, one walk and two runs in an 8-7 win. In Saturdays 20-6,
game two win, he went 4-for-5, with three homers, a walk, three
runs scored and eight RBIs. He closed the series on Sunday by going
2-for-5 with a homer, three RBIs and two runs scored in the 15-10
victory.
Rajcic had his best outing as a Bruin last Friday night to lead
UCLA to a 4-0 win over Washington State, pitching the first eight
innings of a combined one-hitter and striking out a career-high
14 batters.
His 14 strikeouts tied for the most of any Bruin in a single
game over the last 10 seasons (last: Ryan Garcia vs. Utah on Apr.
26, 2019). He is the first Bruin pitcher coached by John Savage
to record 14-plus strikeouts in a game without issuing a walk.
The only damage against Rajcic came on a two-out roller up the
middle in the first inning. The Fullerton, California, native responded
by retiring the next 14 batters, including a streak of five consecutive
swinging strikeouts. Only one batter reached base the rest of the
night for WSU, and it came on a strikeout as a Rajcic curveball
produced a called strike three but reached the backstop.
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, contact NCBWA Executive Associate Director
Mike Montoro (304-293-2821, mike.montoro@mail.wvu.edu).
2022 Dick Howser Trophy National Players of the Week:
Week ending Feb. 20: Tommy White, NC State (Hitter);
Hunter Barco, Florida (Pitcher) Week ending
Feb. 27: Jake Gelof, Virginia and Trey Lipscomb, Tennessee (Hitter); Chazz Martinez,
Oklahoma (Pitcher) Week ending March 6:
Nathan Chong, Saint Mary's (Hitter); Sean Bergeron, Western Kentucky and Thatcher
Hurd, UCLA (Pitcher) Week ending March
13: Daniel Susac, Arizona (Hitter); Parker Stinnett, Mississippi State (Pitcher)
Week ending March 20: Jacob Wilson, Grand Canyon
(Hitter); Gabriel Hughes, Gonzaga (Pitcher)
Week ending March 27: Josh Hatcher, Kennesaw State
and Christopher Sargent, Southern Miss (Hitter); Drew Thorpe, Cal Poly (Pitcher)
Week ending April 2: Joey Walls, UNLV (Hitter);
Drew Beam, Tennesssee and Cooper Hjerpe, Oregon State (Pitcher)
Week ending April 9: Ryan Cermak, Illinois State
and Matt Higgins, Bellarmine (Hitter); Graham Laubscher, St. Thomas and Cooper Rawls,
Louisiana (Pitcher) Week ending April 16:
Matt Coutney, Old Dominion (Hitter); Parker Messick, Florida State (Pitcher)
Week ending April 23: Max Wagner, Clemson and
Ryan Gaudino, Tennessee Tech (Hitter); Ben Seiler, Siena and Shemar Page, Grambling
(Pitcher) Week ending April 30: David McCabe,
Charlotte and Ryan Lasko, Rutgers (Hitter); Ryan Ramsey, Maryland (Pitcher)
Week ending May 8: Ivan Melendez, Texas (Hitter);
Juaron Watts-Brown, Long Beach State (Pitcher)
Week ending May 15: Matt Shaw, Maryland (Hitter);
Max Rajcic, UCLA (Pitcher)
2022 Dick Howser Trophy National Players of the Month:
February: Tommy White, NC State (Hitter); Bryce
Hubbard, Florida State (Pitcher) March:
Ivan Melendez, Texas (Hitter); Drew Beam, Tennessee (Pitcher)
April: Matt Coutney, Old Dominion (Hitter); Parker
Messick, Florida State (Pitcher)
|