DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its weekly NCAA Division II National Players of the Week awards of the season for the period ending February 17. Concord's senior infielder Josh Wenger is the National Hitter of the Week while UC San Diego's senior righthander Ryan Goodbrand is the National Pitcher of the Week.
Josh Wenger (Staunton, Va.) was named the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week on Monday, hitting .692 (9-for-13) with three runs scored, 12 RBI and two home runs last week to lead Concord to a 2-1 record at the WVIAC-CIAA Challenge. He also had an on-base percentage of .733 while slugging 1.231. He launched two home runs, including one grand slam, on his way to a five-RBI day at the plate in Concord's 13-4 win against Chowan. He followed that performance up by going 4-for-4 with four RBI in another CU win vs. St. Augustine's. Wenger closed out his week by driving in three more runs and going 3-for-5 in a losing effort at Winston-Salem State. For the season, Wenger is batting .500 (12-for-24) and has a perfect fielding percentage in 25 chances.
Ryan Goodbrand (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) threw 7.0 scoreless innings with a career-high 11 strikeouts in a 4-0 home win over Cal State Stanislaus on Friday night, Feb. 15, in the CCAA opener for both teams. Goodbrand heads into his next start this Thursday, Feb. 21, at Cal State Dominguez Hills (2 p.m.) with a shutout streak intact of 18.0 frames to begin the season. Opponents are batting just .129 off of him. Goodbrand is one of four pitchers in the CCAA with three wins in 2013, and leads the league with 22 strikeouts. He is now a three-time conference and three-time regional Pitcher of the Week honoree for his career, boasting an unblemished 14-0 win-loss mark as a Triton over 18 outings, all starts. UCSD is 16-2 in those games.
Division II Regional Players of the Week:
Atlantic: Josh Wenger, Concord (Hitter); Chris Murphy, Millersville (Pitcher)
· Central: Kyle Simpson, Missouri Western (Hitter); Chase Blazier, Winona State (Pitcher)
· Midwest: Matt Borgschulte, Drury (Hitter)
· South: Conor Szczerba, Florida Southern (Hitter); Michael Manley, Delta State (Pitcher)
· South Central: Derek Crenshaw, Eastern New Mexico (Hitter); Dylan Boss, Incarnate Word (Pitcher)
· Southeast: Graham Ramos, Lander (Hitter); Ethan Carter, UNC-Pembroke (Pitcher)
· West: Russell Doi, Hawaii Pacific (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)