NCBWA NAMES DIVISION IINATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its first NCAA Division II National Players of the Week awards of the year for the period ending Feb. 12. Lynn catcher Anthony Boza is the National Hitter of the Week while West Alabama junior righthander Barry Meeks is the National Pitcher of the Week.


Anthony Boza (Miami, Fla.) was on fire in a four-game sweep of Alabama-Huntsville, batting .750 with nine RBI and five runs scored. Playing in three of the contests, Boza amassed a 1.833 slugging percentage and a .769 on-base percentage and tied school single-game records for home runs and total bases. He tallied four hits in each game of Sundays doubleheader but saved his most impressive outing for a 10-9 extra-inning win in the series finale. In that contest, he became the fifth player in school history to club three home runs in a single game, capping his performance with a game-winning, walk-off blast in the bottom of the eighth. He also became just the second player in school history to notch 13 total bases in the outing.


Barry Meeks (Sweetwater, Texas) earns his first-ever honor after leading UWA on the mound in a 4-1 home victory over Georgia Southwestern State. The junior threw 6.0 innings, walking one batter, allowing just two hits and no earned runs while striking out 12 batters. The Sweetwater, Ala. native set a career-high for strikeouts in a game and led the Tigers to their first win of the season.


Division II Regional Players of the Week:
Atlantic: Chris Knott, East Stroudsburg (Hitter); Shayne Miller, Ohio Valley (Pitcher)
· Central: Dustin Fackrell, Colorado Mesa (Hitter); Greg Fowler, N.M. Highlands (Pitcher)
· South: Anthony Boza, Lynn (Hitter); Barry Meeks, West Alabama (Pitcher)
· South Central: Wayne Hawkins, Ark.-Monticello (Hitter); Brandon Droge, Newman (Pitcher)
· West: Matt Marnati, California Baptist (Hitter); Kagen Hopkins, Chico State (Pitcher)


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.


2012 NCBWA Division II Players of the Week:

Feb. 5: Chris Miller, Cal Poly Pomona (Hitter);
Rick Reyna, Angelo State (Pitcher)

·
Feb. 12: Anthony Boza, Lynn (Hitter); Barry Meeks, West Alabama (Pitcher)


· Feb. 19: Joe Andrade, Dixie State (Hitter);
Brandon Droge, Newman (Pitcher)

· Feb.
26: Nate Wilder, Arkansas Tech (Hitter); Carl O'Neal, St. Mary's (Pitcher)


· March 4: Tommy Barnes, Nebraska-Kearney (Hitter);
Nolan Snell, Colorado Mesa (Pitcher)

·
March 11: Drew Miller, Southwest Baptist (Hitter);
Dan McMahon, University of the Sciences (Pitcher)

·
March 18: Heath Peterson, Montevallo (Hitter);
Chris Zbin, Southern Connecticut State (Pitcher)

·
March 25: Areo Regoli, Nova Southeastern (Hitter);
Tim Flight, Southern New Hampshire (Pitcher)

·
April 1: Tucker Brown, Central Oklahoma (Hitter);
Mark Royer, Millersville (Pitcher)

·
April 8: James Roche, Franklin Pierce (Hitter); Derek Hansen, Augustana (Pitcher)


· April 15: Giancarlo Brugnoni, Grand Valley
State (Hitter); Colton Mitchell, Delta State (Pitcher)

·
April 22: Scott Zuback, Lock Haven (Hitter);
Jaden Dillon, Texas A&M-Kingsville (Pitcher)

·
April 29: Alex Schrupp, Metro State (Hitter);
Logan Birr, St. Cloud State (Pitcher)

·
May 6: Adam Shank, St. Edward's (Hitter);
Thomas Lee, Sonoma State (Pitcher)