DALLAS (NCBWA) A single-game program record, an 18-strikeout week, and impressive debut took home the week six NCAA Div. III honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. This week's honorees were recognized for performances spanning March 29 to April 4.
Hitter of the Week: Penn State Altoona senior first baseman Catcher Cumming had a big day in the Lions' sweep of Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Medaille College on Saturday. Cumming set Penn State Altoona's record for the most home runs in a single game with three, as part of a 3-for-5 performance in the nightcap. He finished the Lions' 12-3 win with seven RBI and three runs scored. On the week, Cumming hit .571 (4-for-7) with nine RBI, five runs scored, three home runs, and one double. He posted a .556 on-base percentage, a 2.000 slugging percentage, and was perfect in the field with 15 putouts.
Honorable Mention Hitters: Erik Mini, Sr., OF, Williams College - Mini hit .583 (7-for-12) to help the Ephs kick off the 2021 season with a sweep of New England Small College Athletic Conference West opponent Hamilton College. Mini posted a .615 on-base percentage and slugged 1.333 while fielding four chances flawlessly in left field. His signature game came Sunday, when he became the first Eph since 2008 to hit for the cycle. In an 11-10 win over the Continentals, Mini went 5-for-5 with two home runs and seven RBI, while scoring three runs. He drove in eight runs and scored five times over the three games. Devin Ryan, So., INF, Muskingum University Hit .600 (15-for-25) over five games for the Muskies last week. Totaled 13 RBI, nine runs scored, six doubles, and a triple.
Pitcher of the Week: Sophomore Chris Chiriboga went 1-0 in the first two varsity starts of his University of St. Thomas (Minn.) career. He allowed one hit and no runs over nine innings with 18 strikeouts to help the Tommies go 5-0 on the week. In Monday's 2-1 win over the University of Northwestern-St. Paul, Chiriboga struck out 10 in four scoreless innings and allowed one hit. In Saturday's non-conference win at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, he threw five hitless innings to open game two and fanned eight. Opponents hit .040 against Chiriboga in the two games. Of note, this is the seventh time a St. Thomas pitcher is the NCBWA's Div. III Pitcher of the Week in the 19 seasons the organization's sponsored weekly awards at the Div. III level. No other institution has had more than three NCBWA Div. III Pitchers of the Week.
Honorable Mention Pitcher: Daniel Johnson, So., University of Scranton Turned in a dominant outing, as the right-hander allowed just one hit and struck out a career-high nine batters over a complete-game, seven-inning effort in Saturday's 6-0 win over Drew University. Johnson retired the first 10 batters he faced and now has a 12-inning scoreless streak. The nine strikeouts are the most by a Scranton pitcher since Brian Markowski fanned nine on March 10, 2018 versus State University of New York Maritime College.
Rookie of the Week: Oberlin College's Jake Freed opened his career up with a 5-for-7 showing in a doubleheader with Hilbert College. Freed slashed .714/.778/1.000 and had three RBI, two runs scored, two stolen bases, and a triple. In game two, he pitched an inning of relief, striking out one. Notable, Freed is Oberlin's third all-time NCBWA Div. III Rookie of the Week selection, and that's the most since the organization started sponsoring a Div. III Rookie of the Week in 2018.
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2021 NCBWA Division III Players of the Week:
Week ending March 7: Caleb Durbin, Washington U. (Hitter); Patrick O'Rourke, Berry (Pitcher); Amani Jones, Stevenson (Rookie)
· Week ending March 14: Philip Mahlik, Kean (Hitter); Ryan Behling, North Central (Pitcher); Jacob Cyrus, Illinois Wesleyan (Rookie)
· Week ending March 21: Dane Pedersen, Louisiana College (Hitter); Thomas Gallant, Mount Union (Pitcher); Nolan Sparks, Rochester (Rookie)
· Week ending March 28: Jack Hollinshead, Wittenberg (Hitter); Sam Westermeyer, St. Olaf (Pitcher); Cam Seymour, Southern Maine (Rookie)
· Week ending April 4: Catcher Cumming, Penn State Altoona (Hitter); Chris Chiriboga, St. Thomas (Pitcher); Jake Freed, Oberlin (Rookie)
· Week ending April 11: Adam Zebrowski, St. John Fisher (Hitter); Nolan Rowan, Kean (Pitcher); Amani Jones, Stevenson (Rookie)
· Week ending April 18: Dougie DelaCruz, Mitchell (Hitter); Michael Vallone, DePauw (Pitcher); Owen Robbins, Mitchell (Rookie)
· Week ending April 25: Daniel Coleman, SUNY-Cortland (Hitter); Brock Weirather, Grinnell (Pitcher); James Ward Jr., St. John Fisher (Rookie)
· Week ending May 2: Jake Reinhardt, North Park (Hitter); Weston Lombard, Gustavus Adolphus (Pitcher); Jake Hillard, Penn State Altoona (Rookie)
· Week ending May 9: Adam Zebrowski, St. John Fisher (Hitter); James Palmer, Wisconsin-Stout (Pitcher); James Murphy, Adam Zebrowski (Rookie)
2021 NCBWA Division III Players of the Month:
February: Ty Morgan, Louisiana College (Hitter); Brett Sanchez, Belhaven (Pitcher); Levi Cloud, Berry (Rookie)