DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
has announced its first weekly award winners for the 2006 NCAA Division
III season, with initial honors going to third baseman Nathan Roberts
of Franklin College (Franklin, Ind.) and right-handed pitcher Mark Moriarty
of the College of St. Scholastica (Duluth, Minn.) for Feb. 27-March 5.
Roberts, a senior from Greencastle, Ind., guided the Grizzlies to a 3-1
record last week and was named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
Baseball Hitter of the Week. He was 7-of-13 (.538) at the plate and collected
nine runs and nine RBI in the four contests. He belted a home run and had
two RBI in Franklins 10-4 win over visiting North Park on March 4. He also
recorded a double and a home run in the Grizzlies· 16-2 win over Benedictine
on March 5. Among Roberts· seven hits were two doubles and two home runs
on the week. He is now hitting .409 on the young season, with 11 runs scored
and 12 RBI. Franklin improved to 6-1 on the season.
Moriarty, a junior from Inver Grove Heights, Minn., made his first appearance
of the season a great one as he posted a one-hit shutout in a 3-0 victory
over the #3-ranked team in the nation, Wartburg. Moriarty faced only two
batters over the minimum and allowed just one runner to reach past first
base. At one point in the middle innings, he struck out 7 consecutive Wartburg
hitters.
Honorable mention hitters: Nick Vera (Trinity TX) .636 (7-11),
6 runs, 4 RBI, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 2 steals; Ty Stanley (Linfield) ·
.563 (9-16), 6 runs, 5 RBI, 1 double, 1 home run, 2 steals; Walt Goedkoop
(Juniata) · .500 (5-10), 5 runs, 4 RBI, 1 double, 2 home runs; David Kramer
(Washington MO) · .563 (9-16), 6 runs, 10 RBI.
Honorable mention pitchers: Ben Jones (The Apprentice School)
2-0, 0.00 ERA, 11.2 ip, 3 hits, 24 strikeouts; Brian Oates, Chuck Higgins,
and Drew Bignall (Trinity TX) · three consecutive complete-game shutouts,
Oates with a 7-inning no-hitter vs. Hendrix; Taylor DuFrene (Shenandoah)
· 2-0, 0.69 ERA, 13 ip, 15 strikeouts.
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, www.ncbwa.com.
For more information on the NCBWA Division III Players of the Week, contact
Blair Cash at George
Fox University at 503-554-2926.