DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its NCAA Division II National Player of the Week awards for the period ending March 6. Barry senior outfielder Drew Dwelly is the National Hitter of the Week while Cal. St.-Los Angeles senior right-hander Gabriel Asakura is the National Pitcher of the Week.
Dwelly (New Bedford, Mass.) batted .667 with seven runs and eight RBI to lead the Buccaneers to a 3-0 weekly slate. Dwelly was on fire in the lead-off slot, posting a 1.250 slugging percentage with a double and two home runs. He posted multiple hits in each game, notching a .643 OBP. He was particularly lethal in the Bucs' 19-1 shellacking of Chesnut Hill, going 3-for-4 with two homers and six RBI while playing with a wood bat. Dwelly was successful in two stolen base attempts for the week and did not commit a single error in the field.
Asakura (Sau Paulo, Brazil) had an outstanding start in the second game of a doubleheader against Cal. St.-East Bay. He surrendered only an infield single in the first inning and wound up with a seven-inning complete-game one-hitter. Asakura retired 10 in a row at one point and 15 of the last 16 batters of the game. He is now 3-0 on the season with a 0.69 ERA. Asakura leads the CCAA in earned-run average and strikeouts (38).
Division II Regional Players of the Week:
Central: Jeff Poppick, Mesa State (Hitter); Alex Alvarez, SW Minnesota State (Pitcher)
· East: Ryan Geffert, Southern Connecticut State (Hitter); Brian Maloney, Franklin Pierce (Pitcher)
· Midwest: Garrett Yatch, Grand Valley State (Hitter); Kyle, Schepel, Grand Valley State (Pitcher)
· South: Drew Dwelly, Barry (Hitter); Ziggy Vanderwall, Southern Arkansas (Pitcher)
· South Central: David Albritton, Emporia State (Hitter); Landon Patterson, St. Edward's (Pitcher)
· West: Blake Tagmyer, UC-San Diego (Hitter); Gabriel Asakura, Cal. St.-Los Angeles (Pitcher)
Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. Members receive a membership card, directory, newsletter updates and official votes in the Howser Award Player of the Year, Regional Player of the Year and NCBWA All-America voting. The NCBWA also sponsors preseason All-America awards, publication and writing contests.
2011 NCBWA Division II Players of the Week:
Feb. 20: Tyler Migl, St. Mary's, Texas (Hitter);
Trey Mitchell, North Alabama (Pitcher)
· Feb. 27: Wayne Hawkins, Arkansas-Monticello
(Hitter); Dave Middendorf, Northern Kentucky (Pitcher)
· March 6: Drew Dwelly, Barry (Hitter); Gabriel
Asakura, Cal State-Los Angeles (Pitcher)
· March 13: Kaleb Cunningham, Indianapolis (Hitter);
Manny Rodriguez, Barry (Pitcher)
· March 20: Brandon Gipson, Benedict (Hitter);
Mike Fuller, Colorado-Mines (Pitcher)
· March 27: Chase Larsson, Cameron (Hitter);
Ryan Griffin, Alabama-Huntsville (Pitcher)
· April 4: Jenzen Torres, Cal Poly Pomona (Hitter);
Joby Lapkowicz, Slippery Rock (Pitcher)
· April 11: Chase Larsson, Cameron (Hitter);
Ben Hawkins, West Florida (Pitcher)
· April 18: Dillon Hazlett, Emporia State (Hitter);
Vinny DePierro, UMass Lowell (Pitcher)
· April 25: Daniel Dillard, Western Oregon (Hitter);
Zach Jeney, Slippery Rock (Pitcher)
· May 2: Josh Vining, Valdosta State (Hitter);
Scott Lieser, St. Cloud State (Pitcher)
· May 9: Clay Mohr, New Mexico Highlands (Hitter);
Grady Wood, Western Oregon (Pitcher)