DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released the Pro-Line Athletic National Player of the Week awards for the period ending March 14. Gardner-Webb redshirt junior first baseman/DH Dusty Quattlebaum was named National Hitter of the Week, while Baylor junior right-hander Logan Verrett 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.
Quattlebaum batted .632 (12-19) with five doubles, one home run and nine RBI in leading Gardner-Webb to a 4-0 week, which included two wins over preseason Top 25 and 2010 Big East Champion St. John's. He had at least two RBIs in each of the four wins, had a 1.053 slugging percentage and struck out just once.
In the opener against the Red Storm, the Boiling Springs, N.C., native had two of GWU's three hits, and he belted a game-tying two-run home run off of 2011 preseason All-American Kyle Hansen. He also snared a line drive at first base and doubled off the runner to end the game. On Saturday, Quattlebaum went 5-6 with three doubles, three runs scored and three RBI. He opened the week going 5-10 with four RBI in two games against Holy Cross, including a 4-5 day in the opener.
Verrett fired a complete game one-hitter with 14 strikeouts in Baylor's 7-0 win over Louisiana Tech Friday night. The Corpus Christi, Texas, native allowed an infield single to lead off the game, before holding the next 27 batters hitless and facing just one batter over the minimum with a walk in the eighth. From there, he retired the next four batters to tie a Baylor Ballpark record with the 14 punch outs. His performance marks the fewest hits allowed in a nine-inning game at BU since Feb. 16, 2002.
Pro-Line Athletic, owned by Badger Sport, supplies the cap and uniforms to several Division I college teams. This is the seventh 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 or Badger Sports, visit their Web sites at prolineathletic.com and badgersport.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.
2011 Pro-Line Athletic Players of the Week:
Feb. 22: David Herbek, James Madison (Hitter);
Taylor Jungmann, Texas (Pitcher)
· March 1: Corben Green, ULM (Hitter); Danny Hultzen,
Virginia (Pitcher)
· March 8: Anthony Trajano, Cal State Fullerton
(Hitter); Kyle Fitzpatrick, FIU (Pitcher)
· March 15: Dusty Quattlebaum, Gardner-Webb (Hitter);
Logan Verrett, Baylor (Pitcher)
· March 22: Saxon Butler, Samford (Hitter); Frankie
Vanderka, Stony Brook (Pitcher)
· March 29: Colin Moran, North Carolina (Hitter);
Trevor Bauer, UCLA (Pitcher)
· April 5: Victor Roache, Georgia Southern (Hitter);
Will Roberts, Virginia (Pitcher)
· April 12: Brad Miller, Clemson and Doug Bream,
Liberty (Hitter); Jeremy Gonzales, Northern Illinois (Pitcher)
· April 19: Tyler Ogle, Oklahoma (Hitter); John
Simms, Rice (Pitcher)
· April 26: D.J. Hicks, UCF and Trenton Moses, Southeast
Missouri State (Hitter); Trevor Bauer, UCLA (Pitcher)
· May 3: James Brooks, Utah and Clint Moore, Army
(Hitter); Josh Osich, Oregon State (Pitcher)
· May 10: Jeff Holm, Michigan State (Hitter); Alex
Meyer, Kentucky and Carson Smith, Texas State (Pitcher)
· May 17: Paul Karmas, St. John's (Hitter); Mike
Strong, Oklahoma State (Pitcher)
· May 24: Ryan Huston, UTSA and Ryan Wright, Louisville
(Hitter); Mike McCarthy, Cal State Bakersfield (Pitcher)