DALLAS (NCBWA) A .765 week at the plate for Gregg Steinman of Moravian College and two wins over strong teams from Wisconsin for Steve Maher of the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) have earned the pair NCAA Division III National Hitter and Pitcher of the Week honors respectively for the week of March 12-18 as voted on by a panel of D-III members of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Steinman, a senior third baseman from Miami, Fla., led Moravian to a 4-1 record, including a three-game sweep of The Catholic University of America to open the 2012 Landmark Conference season. The right-handed hitter went 13-for-17 at the dish with two doubles, a .882 slugging percentage, five runs scored, eight RBIs, a walk and a sacrifice. He had at least two hits in four of five games, opening the week with a 3-for-3 game vs. Muhlenberg. He went 9-for-11 in the weekend series with Catholic, going 4-for-4 in the second game and 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBIs in the final game. He also had nine putouts and seven assists in 18 chances in the field, with four games at third base and one at first base. He has a six-game hitting streak and a six-game RBI streak, and is ten hits shy of becoming the 18th player in school history with 100 career hits. Steinman was named the Landmark Conference Player of the Week.
Maher, a sophomore right-hander from Burnsville, Minn., won both of his starts last week, including a four-hit 3-0 shutout of No. 5-ranked UW-Stevens Point. Against the Pointers, he scattered four hits in seven innings, striking out seven with no walks. He also worked five innings in a 3-1 win over UW-Oshkosh earlier in the week, allowing one run on only one hit, with five punch-outs and one walk. In all, the junior-college transfer allowed one run and five hits in 12 innings last week for a 0.75 earned run average, with 12 strikeouts and one walk. He limited foes to a .121 batting average and handed Stevens Point its first shutout loss since 2010. In three starts this season against top-15 ranked teams (St. Scholastica, UW-Whitewater and UW-Stevens Point), he is 3-0 with a 0.89 ERA, 20 strikeouts and just one walk with a .182 opponents average. For the season, Maher is 4-0 with a 0.71 ERA, 25 strikeouts and two walks and a .163 opponent·s average.
Honorable mention hitters: Tyler Pfeffer (Whitworth) - .522 (12-23), 2 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs, 12 RBIs, 10 runs, 1.043 slugging pct.; Ryan Normoyle (Washington MD) - .600 (12-20), 3 doubles, 3 triples, 1 home run, 9 RBIs, 8 runs, 7 stolen bases, 1.200 slugging pct.; Michael LaTempa (SUNY-Cortland) - .667 (8-12), 2 doubles, 1 triples, 2 home runs, 3 RBIs, 5 runs, 1.500 slugging pct.; Ethan Moser (DeSales) - .556 (5-9), 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 7 RBI, 7 runs, 1.444 slugging pct.; Ryan Hayes (Earlham) - .563 (9-16), 3 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 6 RBIs, 7 runs, 1.250 slugging pct.; Jeremy Juhl (Augustana) - .588 (10-17), 2 doubles, 8 RBIs, 7 runs, .706 slugging pct.; William Bissell (Gallaudet) - .556 (10-18), 2 triples, 1 home run, 5 RBIs, 8 runs, 3 stolen bases, .944 slugging pct.; Cam Stephens (Concordia-Chicago) - .667 (8-12), 3 RBIs, 5 runs, .667 slugging pct.
Honorable mention pitchers: Connor Medler (Rutgers-Newark) - 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 15.0 ip, 1 cg, 7 hits, 5 strikeouts; Austin Blaski (Marietta) - 1-0, 1 save, 0.00 ERA, 10.0 ip, 5 hits, 14 strikeouts; Eric Johnson (New England) - 3-0, 1.62 ERA, 16.2 ip, 2 cg, 6 hits, 21 strikeouts; Justin DAmato (St. John Fisher) - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 ip, 1 cg, 5 hits, 14 strikeouts; Nick DeFabo (Marywood) - 1-0, 2.00 ERA, 9.0 ip, 1 cg, 1 hit, 17 strikeouts; Ben Klimesh (Trinity TX) - 1-0, 1.13 ERA, 8.0 ip, 14 strikeouts; Logan Carman (Southern Maine) - 1-0, 0.00, 8.1 ip, 4 hits, 4 strikeouts.
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2012 NCBWA Division III Players of the Week:
March 4: Andy King, Hamline (Hitter); Mitch
Hunnicutt, Hanover (Pitcher)
· March
11: Zach Hofer, Elmhurst (Hitter); Blaine O'Brien, Keystone (Pitcher)
· March 18: Gregg Steinman, Moravian (Hitter);
Steve Maher, St. Thomas (Pitcher)
· March
25: Bruce Maxwell, Birmingham-Southern (Hitter); Brian Ranta, George Fox (Pitcher)
· April 1: Dan Fiorito, Manhattanville (Hitter);
Jarrett Gish, Case Western Reserve (Pitcher)
·
April 8: Matt Thompson, McMurry (Hitter); Jhonneris
Mendez, Suffolk (Pitcher)
· April 15:
Kyle Cook, Centre (Hitter); Kyle Cunningham-Rhoads, Wooster (Pitcher)
·
April 22: Edwin Moser, DeSales (Hitter); Tyler
Erickson, Castleton State (Pitcher)
·
April 29: Tim Saunders, Marietta (Hitter); Kyle Szatrowski, UMass-Boston (Pitcher)
· May 6: Brett Van Asdlen, Aurora (Hitter);
Bill Oppriecht, Wisconsin-Plattevile (Pitcher)