DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its weekly NCAA Division II National Players of the Week awards for the period ending March 18th. Montevallo's senior first baseman Heath Peterson is the National Hitter of the Week while Southern Connecticut State's senior lefthander Chris Zbin is the National Pitcher of the Week.
Heath Peterson (Phenix City, Ala.) had a monster week at the plate, hitting .471 (8-17) with five home runs and 18 RBI in four games for the Falcons. He also scored seven runs and had a slugging percentage of 1.412. Two of his five home runs on the week were grand slams. The first grand slam came with his team down three in the top of the ninth in an 11-10 victory over West Alabama. For the season, the first baseman is hitting .373 with eight home runs and 42 RBI. This is the first national honor for a Montevallo hitter since the NCBWA Player of the Week program started in 2011.
Chris Zbin (Colchester, Conn.) scattered two hits over eight scoreless innings. He picked up the victory, striking out 12 batters in a 3-0 win over Caldwell. The senior allowed just one walk and allowed opposing batters a .077 batting average. For the season, Zbin has a 2-0 record with a 2.10 earned-run average, while striking out 46 batters in just 30.0 innings of work. This is the first national honor for a Southern Connecticut State pitcher since the NCBWA Player of the Week Program started in 2011.
Division II Regional Players of the Week:
Atlantic: Joe Wendle, West Chester (Hitter); Paul Hvozdovic, Shepherd (Pitcher)
· Central: Derek Hansen, Augustana College (Hitter); Austen Wisroth, Wayne State (Neb.) (Pitcher)
· East: Andrew Abreu, Dowling (Hitter); Chris Zbin, Southern Connecticut State (Pitcher)
· Midwest: Curran Collins, Quincy (Hitter); Jeremy Butler, Missouri-St. Louis (Pitcher)
· South: Matthew Magee, West Alabama (Hitter); Joey Cuda, Eckerd (Pitcher)
· South Central: Andy Wolfe, Tarleton State (Hitter); Tyler Harris, St. Edward's (Pitcher)
· Southeast: Heath Peterson, Montevallo (Hitter); Brad Isom, UNC Pembroke (Pitcher)
· West: Kyle Sani, Central Washington (Hitter); Mike Dedrick, Dixie 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)
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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)
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March 11: Drew Miller, Southwest Baptist (Hitter);
Dan McMahon, University of the Sciences (Pitcher)
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March 18: Heath Peterson, Montevallo (Hitter);
Chris Zbin, Southern Connecticut State (Pitcher)
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March 25: Areo Regoli, Nova Southeastern (Hitter);
Tim Flight, Southern New Hampshire (Pitcher)
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April 1: Tucker Brown, Central Oklahoma (Hitter);
Mark Royer, Millersville (Pitcher)
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April 8: James Roche, Franklin Pierce (Hitter); Derek Hansen, Augustana (Pitcher)
· April 15: Giancarlo Brugnoni, Grand Valley
State (Hitter); Colton Mitchell, Delta State (Pitcher)
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April 22: Scott Zuback, Lock Haven (Hitter);
Jaden Dillon, Texas A&M-Kingsville (Pitcher)
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April 29: Alex Schrupp, Metro State (Hitter);
Logan Birr, St. Cloud State (Pitcher)
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May 6: Adam Shank, St. Edward's (Hitter);
Thomas Lee, Sonoma State (Pitcher)