NCBWA NAMES PRO-LINE ATHLETICNATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released the Pro-Line Athletic National Player of the Week awards for the period ending March 28.


Gonzaga senior outfielder Mark Castellitto was named National Hitter of the Week, while South Florida junior Randy Fontanez was named National Pitcher of the Week. This marks the second week that a USF pitcher has earned the national recognition. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.


In four games last week, Castellitto went 10-for-17 (.588) with four home runs, two doubles, 11 runs scored and 13 RBI. He had a .667 on-base percentage and slugged 1.412. The San Diego, Calif., native had a career-night last Thursday at Utah Valley, going 5-for-7 with three home runs, one double, five runs scored, and seven RBI in a 23-12 win. He followed that up with a 4-for-5 performance on Friday. He closed out his week with a four-RBI game, hitting a three-run homer in the eighth inning to put the game out of reach in the Zags 8-3 win on Saturday.


Fontanez threw a complete game, no-hit shutout in the Bulls' Big East opener against Notre Dame on March 26. The Oviedo, Fla., native recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts, allowing just a pair of walks in the 4-0 win over the Irish. The no-hitter was the first at USF since Mark Reed threw a perfect game against Charlotte in 1992, and third in program history. It also was the first Big East no-hitter since Scott Barnes of St. John's reached the feat against Georgetown on April 20, 2007. In total, of his 119 pitches, 80 were strikes.


Pro-Line Athletic, owned by Badger Sport, supplies the cap and uniforms to several Division I college teams. This is the sixth season Pro-Line has sponsored the NCBWA's Players of the Week. The sponsorship provides for plaques to be awarded to each of the weekly winners and other promotional consideration. For more information about Pro-Line or Badger Sports, visit their Web sites at prolineathletic.com and badgersport.com.


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 Pro-Line Athletic Players of the Week, contact NCBWA Assistant Executive Director Mike Montoro at West Virginia University at 304-293-2821.


2010 Pro-Line Athletic Players of the Week:

Feb. 23: Zack MacPhee, Arizona State (Hitter);
Matt Bywater, Pepperdine (Pitcher)


· March 2: Brian Fletcher, Auburn (Hitter); Jason
Mitchell, Texas-Arlington (Pitcher)


· March 9: Mark Micowski, Georgia State (Hitter);
Michael Goodnight, Houston (Pitcher)


· March 16: Pat Biserta, Rutgers (Hitter); Billy
Barber, Richmond (Pitcher)


· March 23: Hunter Morris, Auburn (Hitter); Teddy
Kaufman, USF (Pitcher)


· March 30: Mark Castellitto, Gonzaga (Hitter);
Randy Fontanez, USF (Pitcher)


· April 6: Austin Wates, Virginia Tech (Hitter);
Andrew Barbosa, USF (Pitcher)


· April 13: Steve McQuail, Canisius (Hitter); Greg
Gonzalez, Fresno State (Pitcher)


· April 20: Drew Lee, Morehead State (Hitter); Cole
Green, Texas (Pitcher)


· April 27: Jake Magner, North Dakota (Hitter);
Kendall Lewis, Eastern Michigan (Pitcher)


· May 4: Preston Springer, Wichita State (Hitter);
Justin LaTempa, Oregon (Pitcher)


· May 11: Grant Buckner, West Virginia (Hitter);
Kyle Blair, San Diego (Pitcher)


· May 18: Tony Nix, UC Riverside (Hitter); C.J.
Huyett, Old Dominion (Pitcher)


· May 25: Darnell Sweeney, UCF (Hitter); Andrew
Foushee, Presbyterian (Pitcher)