NCBWA NAMES DIVISION IIINATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

DALLAS (NCBWA) Center fielder Rob Sumner of New Jersey City University and righthander Jake Dennstedt of the State University of New York-Brockport have been named the NCAA Division III National Hitter of the Week and Pitcher of the Week for March 12-18, as chosen by representatives of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.


Sumner, a junior from Union, N.J., batted .560 (14-25) with 14 RBIs, 10 runs, five home runs and four doubles, while posting a .621 on-base percentage and a 1.320 slugging percentage. He also was 3-for-4 in steals and walked four times, while fielding at a 1.000 rate. He extended his hitting streak to 13 games dating back to last season. He opened NJCU's 3-3 week at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic in Fort Myers, Fla., by going 2-for-4 with three RBIs, a double and a steal in the Knights' 8-2 win over Scranton. He was 2-for-4 with a run, steal and one RBI in a 10-7 loss to Haverford College. In a doubleheader with Illinois College, he was 1-for-3 with a double and one run and a steal in a 5-2 loss in game one. He led off game two of the twinbill with a homer, finishing 4-for-4 with three runs, two RBIs and a double in the Knights' 6-3 victory. In a 21-17 loss to Suffolk, he led off his second consecutive game with a home run. In a 14-7 win over Finlandia on March 15, he set a single-game school record when he launched three home runs, going 4-for-5 with seven RBIs, four runs and a double. Sumner earned both New Jersey Athletic Conference and New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association Division II/III Player of the Week honors.


Dennstedt, a senior from Churchville, N.Y., went 2-0 with a 0.00 earned run average on the week. He started two games and pitched 13 scoreless innings, including a complete-game shutout in a win over Kean. He pitched six innings in a 6-1 win over Dickinson, allowing only one unearned run. In his two appearances, he struck out five and walked three. Dennstedt was named Pitcher of the Week in the SUNY Athletic Conference.


Honorable mention hitters: Ben Einbinder (Haverford) - .592 (16-27), 6 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs, 13 runs, 16 RBI, 5 steals, 1.185 slugging pct.; Weston Franco (McMurry) - .500 (13-26), 4 doubles, 4 home runs, 15 runs, 12 RBI, 1.115 slugging pct.; Marc Blakely (Augustana) - .579 (11-19), 1 double, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 7 runs, 5 RBI, 1.053 slugging pct.; Jeremy Peters (Ithaca) - .567 (17-30), 3 doubles, 10 runs, 5 RBI, .667 slugging pct.; Dan Wentzell (George Fox ) - .438 (7-16), 2 doubles, 3 home runs, 9 runs, 11 RBI, 1.125 slugging pct.


Honorable mention pitchers: Brad Timofeev (Defiance) - 2-0, 0.64 ERA, 14.0 ip, 2 cg, 7 hits, 5 strikeouts; Bard Mountain (Eastern Nazarene) - 2-0, 1 save, 0.52 ERA, 17.1 ip, 8 hit, 17 strikeouts; R.B. Garza (Mary Hardin-Baylor) - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 ip, 3 hits, 14 strikeouts; Justin Frost (Austin) - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9.0 ip, 3 hits, 1 strikeout.


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


2007 NCBWA Division III Players of the Week:

March 8: Jake Shandri, Wartburg (Hitter);
Bill Dictus, Edgewood (Pitcher)


· March 15: Pete Moore, Moravian (Hitter);
Lee Boyse, Coe (Pitcher)


· March 22: Rob Sumner, New Jersey City
(Hitter); Jake Dennstedt, SUNY-Brockport (Pitcher)


· March 29: Jake Shandri, Wartburg (Hitter);
Xander Jones, Ohio Wesleyan (Pitcher)


· April 5: Richard Hurd, Rhodes; Don
Reinertsen, William Paterson; Kyle Sherman, Ohio Wesleyan (Hitter); Kyle Wewe, Thomas
More (Pitcher)


· April 12: Josh Cardoso, Rhode Island
College (Hitter); Bob Buskett, College of New Jersey (Pitcher)


· April 19: Adam Evanoff, Wisconsin-Stevens
Point (Hitter); Sam Heaps, Elizabethtown College (Pitcher)


· April 26: Jimmy Fernandez, Allegheny
(Hitter); Tim Kiely, Trinity (Pitcher)


· May 3: Tim Rowe, Rockford College
(Hitter); Peter Reyes, SUNY-Old Westbury (Pitcher)


· May 10: Tommy Schmidt, Lawrence (Hitter);
Fabian Gomez, Rockford College (Pitcher)