DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released its National Player of the Week awards for the period ending May 23. Tennessee Tech senior outfielder Cody Littlejohn was named National Hitter of the Week, while Oregon State freshman left-handed pitcher Cooper Hjerpe 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.
In four games, Littlejohn hit .556 (10-for-18) with two doubles, a triple, three home runs, eight RBI, a 1.278 slugging percentage, a .556 on-base percentage and scored seven runs. He had two hits and stole a base in the team's midweek game at Kentucky. In the first game against SIUE, he was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and a RBI. Littlejohn followed that with two doubles, two runs scored and two RBI against the Cougars.
The Decatur, Alabama native, concluded the regular season by tying the Tennessee Tech record with three home runs and 15 total bases in a 13-12 victory. He also added a triple, scored three runs and drove in five runs. Three of his RBI came in the bottom of the ninth inning and pulled the Golden Eagles to within a run, as the team scored five total runs to win 13-12. Littlejohn ranks second in the OVC in home runs (0.30/game), third in slugging (.635), fourth in triples (0.06/game) and fifth in total bases (2.30/game).
Hjerpe is coming off a seven-inning effort versus then-No. 7 Arizona on Saturday. He struck out a career-best 11 batters and held the Wildcats who came into the game with a .331 batting average · to two hits and a run.
Arizona's lone run scored came on an attempted double steal in the sixth inning. That inning also happened to be the only time Hjerpe, a Capay, California, native, allowed the Wildcats to put a runner in scoring position.
Hjerpe retired the side in four of his seven innings and never faced more than four batters in a frame.
The win marked Hjerpe's third of the season. He also upped his season strikeout total to 84, which comes into Oregon State's series with Stanford ranking third in the Pac-12.
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.
2021 NCBWA Division I Players of the Week:
Week ending Feb. 22: Blayne Jones, Dallas Baptist (Hitter); Jordan Wicks, Kansas State (Pitcher)
· Week ending Feb. 28: Dominic Keegan, Vanderbilt (Hitter); Will Dion, McNeese State (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 7: Kenyon Yovan, Oregon (Hitter); Ty Madden, Texas (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 14: Cade Doughty, LSU (Hitter); Jarrett Whorff, Louisiana Tech (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 21: Robby Martin, Florida State (Hitter); Jack Leiter, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 28: Caden Grice, Clemson (Hitter); Chayce McDermott, Ball State (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 4: Adrian Del Castillo, Miami (Hitter); Seth Lonsway, Ohio State (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 11: Ivan Melendez, Texas (Hitter); Jonathan Cannon, Georgia (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 18: Aaron Beck, Indiana State (Hitter); Alek Jacob, Gonzaga (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 25: T.J. Collett, Kentucky (Hitter); Landen Bourassa, San Francisco (Pitcher)
· Week ending May 2: Dustin Demeter, Hawaii (Hitter); Tyler Burnham, Seton Hall (Pitcher)
· Week ending May 9: Will Frizzell, Texas A&M (Hitter); Justin Campbell, Oklahoma State (Pitcher)
· Week ending May 16: Ethan Long, Arizona State (Hitter); Andrew Abbott, Virginia (Pitcher)
· Week ending May 23: Cody Littlejohn, Tennessee Tech (Hitter); Cooper Hjerpe, Oregon State (Pitcher)
2021 NCBWA Division I Players of the Month:
February: Wes Clarke, South Carolina (Player); Carson Whisenhunt, East Carolina (Pitcher)
· March: Tim Elko, Ole Miss (Player); Jack Leiter, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
· April: Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Oklahoma State (Player); Kevin Kopps, Arkansas (Pitcher)
· May: Jack Rogers, Sam Houston (Player); Kevin Kopps, Arkansas (Pitcher)