DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its first weekly NCAA Division II National Players of the Week awards of the season for the period ending February 10. Angelo State's senior outfielder Lee Neumann is the National Hitter of the Week while Valdosta State's senior lefthander Nick Fogarty is the National Pitcher of the Week.
Lee Neumann (Brenham, Texas) continued his strong start to the season with an outstanding weekend in the Rams 2-1 series win over nationally-ranked Southern Arkansas. Neumann opened the series with a two-run home run in the first inning of the first game and finished the series with six RBI and hitting .500. The senior, who is coming off an All-American season, had four hits including his second triple of the young season. He opened the year with 10 hits in a four-game series versus Ouachita Baptist including five RBI and two extra base hits. Neumann is now hitting .538 for the season with 14 hits, 11 RBI and a slugging percentage of .846. He has also stolen five bases and scored a team-high 13 runs. The Rams are ranked 10th nationally and are 7-1.
Nick Fogarty (Thornhill, Ontario) began the 2013 season with two excellent starts, highlighted by a seven-inning perfect game against Paine. The perfect game was the second in Valdosta State history and the fifth in GSC history. In his season debut against Lynn, Fogarty struck out 12 and did not allow a run in six scoreless innings. For the season, he has a 2-0 record with a 0.00 earned-run average. He has struck out 21 batters in 13.0 innings of work. Opposing batters are only hitting .049 off of him. The Blazers are 5-2.
Division II Regional Players of the Week:
Atlantic: Joe Bennie, East Strousburg (Hitter); Dan Altavilla, Mercyhurst (Pitcher)
· South: Adrian English, Barry (Hitter); Nick Fogarty, Valdosta State (Pitcher)
· South Central: Lee Neumann, Angelo State (Hitter); Carl O·Neal, St. Mary·s (Pitcher)
· Southeast: Patrick Grady, Lander (Hitter); Heath Gray, Erskine (Pitcher)
· West: Cody Doyle, Cal. St.-LA (Hitter); Ryan Goodbrand, UC San Diego (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.
2013 NCBWA Division II Players of the Week:
Feb. 10: Lee Neumann, Angelo State (Hitter); Nick Fogarty, Valdosta State (Pitcher)
· Feb. 17: Josh Wenger, Concord (Hitter); Ryan Goodbrand, UC San Diego (Pitcher)
· Feb. 24: Connor McCain, Alabama-Huntsville (Hitter); Chris Murphy, Millersville (Pitcher)
· March 3: Dylan Tice, Indiana, Pa. (Hitter); Junior Mendez, Southern New Hampshire (Pitcher)
· March 10: Gioncarlo Brugnoni, Grand Valley State (Hitter); Shane Trattles, Mary (Pitcher)
· March 17: Kyle Giusti, Abilene Christian (Hitter); Chris Murphy, Millersville (Pitcher)
· March 24: Charlie Sharrer, Cal State-East Bay (Hitter); Scott Lieser, St. Cloud State (Pitcher)
· March 31: Colton Little, Colorado Mesa (Hitter); Dylan James, West Texas A&M (Pitcher)
· April 7: Nate Olinger, Colorado Mines (Hitter); Stephen Cooke, Indiana (Pa.) (Pitcher)
· April 14: Ryan Messina, Shepard (Hitter); Dallas Ponder, Texas A&M-Kingsville (Pitcher)
· April 21: Brady Capshaw, Southern Arkansas (Hitter); Robert Frank, St. Thomas Aquanis (Pitcher)
· April 28: Jacob Nelson, Metro State (Hitter); Collin Sherrod, St. Edward's (Pitcher)
· May 5: Zach Bricknell, Young Harris (Hitter); Brian Ernst, East Stroudsburg (Pitcher)