DALLAS (NCBWA) St. Mary's University of Minnesota's Ben Buerkle and Western New England's Paul Wetmore were tabbed the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division III Hitter and Pitcher of the Week for the period of Feb. 27-March 5.
Buerkle, a senior outfielder from Roseville, Minn., hit .704 (19-for-27) in eight games (5-3) last week, which included his 200th career hit, with 12 runs scored, six RBI, five doubles, two home runs and four stolen bases. His on-base percentage was .778 and he slugged at a 1.111 clip. Altogether, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's Hitter of the Week hit safely in all 10 of Saint Mary's spring trip games and currently leads the MIAC in basically every offensive category batting average (.694), hits (25), runs (16), RBI (11), home runs (four), doubles (five), walks (seven), total bases (44), stolen bases (four), on-base percentage (.756) and slugging (1.222).
Wetmore, a sophomore right-hander from Hamden, Conn., made the most of his first career start for the Golden Bears on March 5, tossing a no-hitter to earn WNE a doubleheader split with SUNY Old Westbury. The Commonwealth Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week struck out six and walked four in his seven-inning, complete game performance and became the just the third individual in the program over the past 13 seasons to record a no-no.
Honorable Mention Hitter: Garrett Shea (Fr., Infielder, Illinois Wesleyan): Helped lead the Titans to a 4-0 record as he batted .526 (10-for-19) with five runs, two doubles, three home runs, 12 RBI and a 1.105 slugging percentage. He finished 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI in a 7-6 win over Loras in the season opener on March 4. Later in the day, he was 1-for-6 with an RBI in a 6-5 win over Grinnell. The next day, during a 12-9 win over Lawrence, Shea hit 3-for-5 with a run, four RBI, one double and a two-run home run. He finished the day with a 4-for-4 performance with three runs, one double, two home runs (one grand slam and one three-run homer) and six RBI in a 16-6 win over Chicago. The six RBI tied for the third most in a single game in Illinois Wesleyan history.
Honorable Mention Pitchers: Tommy Parsons (Jr., RHP, Adrian): On the week went 1-1 while compiling a 1.80 earned-run average and 18 strikeouts in 15 innings of work. He did not issue a single walk. His highlight game was a two-hit shutout over Transylvania, 3-0, in which he struck out a MIAA season- and career-high 15 batters. That number represents the second-best mark in NCAA Division III this season and ranks among the top-five single-game performances in Adrian history. Christopher Arcos (So., LHP, La Verne): Fired a seven-inning no-hitter as the La Verne baseball team routed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps for a 10-0 win in the second game of a doubleheader at Ben Hines Field March 4. The Chino Hills native struck out five batters and was perfect in the last five innings of the game after issuing two walks in the first two innings. He was economical with his pitches, too, throwing only 88.
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