DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its initial 2018 NCAA Division II National Players of the Week awards for the week ending on February 19. Fairmont State·s senior outfielder Austin Norman is the National Hitter of the Week, while Carson-Newman senior pitcher Dillon Cate is the National Pitcher of the Week.
Norman (Fairmont, W.Va./Fairmont HS), hit .514 (18-for-35) with .564 on-base percentage and 1.057 slugging percentage in 8 games 7 doubles, 4 HR, 19 RBI, 9 runs, 4 walks, 3-for-5 stolen bases · had 6 multiple-hit games and 7 games with an extra-base hit · NCBWA preseason All-Region 1st team ... 2017 All-Region 2nd team ... 2-time 1st team All-MEC.
Cate (Sevierville, Tenn./Sevier County HS) tossed 7 1/3 no-hit innings for Carson-Newman, leading the Eagles to a 5-0 victory over Northwood to earn South Atlantic Conference Pitcher of the Week accolades. Cate piled up a career-high 15 strikeouts on the day while throwing 142 pitches, 83 for strikes and only allowing six balls to be put in play on the day. The 15 strikeouts are the most for a Carson-Newman pitcher in the NCAA Division II era.
Division II Regional Players of the Week:
Atlantic: Austin Norman, Fairmont State (Hitter); Cordell Shannon, Millersville (Pitcher)
· Central: Johnnuelle Ponce, Northwestern Oklahoma State (Hitter); Ben Strahm, Northeastern State (Pitcher)
· East: Anthony Murphy, Mercy (Hitter); JJ Dunn, St. Anselm College (Pitcher)
· Midwest: Christian Chalabi, William Jewell (Hitter); Dalton Erger, Missouri S&T (Pitcher)
· South: Brett Coffel, St. Leo (Hitter); Andres Fernandez, West Georgia (Pitcher)
· South Central: Chris Devery, Colorado State-Pueblo (Hitter); JR McDermott, Colorado Mesa (Pitcher)
· Southeast: Robert Brooks, Columbus State (Hitter); Dillon Cate, Carson-Newman (Pitcher)
· West: Casey Sheehan, Northwest Nazarene (Hitter); Matthew Hernandez, San Francisco 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.
2018 NCBWA Division II Players of the Week:
Week ending Feb. 19: Austin Norman, Fairmont State (Hitter); Dillon Cate, Carson-Newman (Pitcher)
· Week ending Feb. 26: Chance Bowden, Catawba (Hitter); Jumpei Akanuma, Lee University (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 5: Andrew Taft, LeMoyne (Hitter); Dan Wirchansky, Pace (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 12: Francisco Rodriguez, Tarleton State (Hitter); Kyle Leahy, Colorado Mesa (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 19: Zack Shannon, Delta State (Hitter); Josh Gaworski, Concordia-St. Paul (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 26: Nick Atkinson, Shepherd (Hitter); Adam Riggleman, Glenville State (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 2: Matt Honeycutt, Mars Hill (Hitter); Dalton Morrow, Southwest Baptist (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 9: Mikey Gangwish, Colorado School of Mines (Hitter); Kyle Flessner, Purdue Northwest (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 16: Ted DeSanti, Indiana, Pa. (Hitter); Ryan Murphy, LeMoyne (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 23: Griffin Baker, Belmont Abbey (Hitter); Clay Casey, Delta State (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 30: Mondesi Gutierrez, Northwest Missouri State (Hitter); Grant Wolfram, Davenport (Pitcher)