DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released its National Player of the Week awards for the period ending March 18. South Florida junior infielder Joe Genord was named National Hitter of the Week, while Wake Forest junior right-handed pitcher Griffin Roberts was named National Pitcher of the Week.
The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.
Genord had a monster week at the plate, helping the Bulls extend their winning streak to eight in a row with a 5-0 showing. The junior from Lake Worth, Fla., went 9-for-18 (.500) with six runs scored, three doubles, four home runs and 11 RBI. Genord homered in each of the first four games games prior to Sunday and also added three doubles on the week to produce a 1.333 slugging percentage. He tied his career high with three hits and four RBI in a win over Jacksonville on March 14.
Roberts had another dominant effort in a 2-1 victory over No. 11 Louisville on March 16. Over a career-high 8.1 innings, he fanned a career-best 13 batters, allowing just one run on five hits. He became the first Demon Deacon to strike out 13 in a game since big leaguer Tim Cooney fanned 14 in 2011. The Midlothian, Va., native leads the ACC and ranks third in the nation with 53 strikeouts, just three off the national lead. Roberts efforts led the Demon Deacons to their first-ever series win over the Cardinals, which gave Wake Forest back-to-back ACC series wins over top-15 foes after beating No. 3 Florida State the previous weekend.
Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. For more information about the NCBWA, visit the association's official Web site, ncbwa.com.
For more information on the NCBWA Division I National Players of the Week, contact NCBWA Assistant Executive Director Mike Montoro at West Virginia University at 304-293-2821.
2018 NCBWA Division I Players of the Week:
Feb. 20: Jake Brodt, Santa Clara (Hitter); Nick Sandlin, Southern Miss (Pitcher)
· Feb. 27: Brett Kinneman, N.C. State (Hitter); Joe DeMers, Washington (Pitcher)
· March 6: Luke Heyer, Kentucky (Hitter); Payton Kinney, Omaha (Pitcher)
· March 13: Jacob Rhinesmith, Western Kentucky (Hitter); Casey Mize, Auburn (Pitcher)
· March 20: Joe Genord, USF (Hitter); Griffin Roberts, Wake Forest (Pitcher)
· March 27: Bren Spillane, Illinois (Hitter); Jake Lee, Oakland (Pitcher)
· April 3: Jon Littell, Oklahoma State (Hitter); Colton Eastman, Cal State Fullerton (Pitcher)
· April 10: Connor Pauly, Morehead State (Hitter); Scotty Sunitsch, Washington State (Pitcher)
· April 17: Ross Haffey, Miami, Ohio (Hitter); Noah Zavolas, Harvard (Pitcher)
· April 24: Josh Jung, Texas Tech and Steven Wells, Florida State (Hitter); Connor Van Hoose, Bucknell (Pitcher)
· May 1: Alex Holderbach, Eastern Kentucky (Hitter); Barrett Loseke, Arkansas (Pitcher)
· May 8: Adam Sasser, Georgia (Hitter); Haylen Green, TCU (Pitcher)
· May 15: Will Wilson, N.C. State (Hitter); Luke Heimlich, Oregon State (Pitcher)
· May 22: Will Holland, Auburn (Hitter); Sam Shutes, Toledo (Pitcher)
2018 NCBWA Division I Players of the Month:
February: Brett Kinneman, N.C. State (Player); Brady Feigl, Ole Miss (Pitcher)
· March: Seth Beer, Clemson (Player); Casey Mize, Auburn (Pitcher)
· April: Alex Holderbach, Eastern Kentucky (Player); Connor Thomas, Georgia Tech (Pitcher)
· May: Cal Raleigh, Florida State (Player); Logan Gilbert, Stetson (Pitcher)