DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released the Pro-Line Athletic National Player of the Week awards for the period ending March 8.
Murray State junior outfielder Daniel Hill was named National Hitter of the Week, while Evansville junior right-hander Wade Kapteyn 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 six games last week, Hill clubbed five home runs and drove in 18 RBIs as Murray State compiled a 5-1 overall record. Overall, the Germantown, Tenn., native hit .577 (15-of-26) with nine runs scored and two doubles. In the series-opening victory over North Dakota State, Hill was 5-for-7 with a four runs scored, double, three home runs and eight RBI in the 20-9 Thoroughbred victory. He also had two or more RBIs in four of the other five games during the week (the fifth game he had only one official plate appearance as he walked three times).
Kapteyn went 2-0 this past week with a perfect 0.00 ERA in two starts at Cal State Northridge and No. 10 Pepperdine, as he tossed 11 consecutive scoreless innings in two starts on just three days rest. The Lansing, Ill., native tossed seven shutout innings in Evansville's 3-0 victory at Cal State Northridge, as he scattered five singles and a walk, while striking out four. He allowed just one man to advance past first base in the seven inning stint, which was a career-high for the right-hander.
Kapteyn then came back on Saturday to toss four shutout innings in the Purple Aces' 2-0, seven-inning victory in game one of the doubleheader at No. 10 Pepperdine. He allowed just two singles while striking out three, and allowed just two men to advance past first base on the afternoon. For the week, Kapteyn tossed 11.0 scoreless innings on the mound, giving up just seven singles and one walk, while striking out seven men. He held Cal State Northridge and No. 10 Pepperdine to a combined .179 opponents batting average, and allowed just three men to advance into scoring position, with only one runner advancing past second base.
Fort Worth-based Pro-Line Athletic supplies the official cap to more than 100 Division I college teams and official uniforms and team wear to six Division I college teams. This is the fifth season Pro-Line has sponsored the NCBWA's Players of the Week. The sponsorship provides for plaques to be awarded to each of the weekly winners and other promotional consideration. For more information about Pro-Line, visit their Web site at prolineathletic.com.
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, www.ncbwa.com.
For more information on the Pro-Line Athletic Players of the Week, contact NCBWA Assistant Executive Director Mike Montoro at West Virginia University at 304-293-2821.
2009 Pro-Line Athletic Players of the Week:
Feb. 24: Chris Kersten, Louisiana Tech (Hitter);
Schaeffer Hall, Kansas (Pitcher)
· March 3: Kent Matthes, Alabama (Hitter); Ryan
Berry, Rice and Brandon Workman, Texas (Pitcher)
· March 10: Daniel Hill, Murray State (Hitter);
Wade Kapteyn, Evansille (Pitcher)
· March 17: Digger Towe, UAB (Hitter); Kyle Gibson,
Missouri (Pitcher)
· March 24: Kyle Roller, East Carolina (Hitter);
Stephen Strasburg, San Diego State (Pitcher)
· March 31: Rich Poythress, Georgia (Hitter); Cody
Wheeler, Coastal Carolina (Pitcher)
· April 7: Brett Nommensen, Eastern Illinois (Hitter);
Nolan Moody, Michigan State (Pitcher)
· April 14: Juan Martinez, Oral Roberts (Hitter);
Brad Stillings, Kent State (Pitcher)
· April 21: Derek McCallum, Minnesota (Hitter);
Alex White, North Carolina (Pitcher)
· April 28: Shane Brown, UCF and Jesse Sawyer, South
Dakota State (Hitter); J.T. Ross, Northeastern (Pitcher)
· May 5: Justin Bour, George Mason (Hitter); Alex
Wimmers, Ohio State (Pitcher)
· May 12: Greg Folgia, Missouri (Hitter); Stephen
Strasburg, San Diego State (Pitcher)
· May 19: Chris Hermann, Miami (Hitter); Justin
Marks, Louisville (Pitcher)