DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released the Pro-Line Athletic National Player of the Week awards for the period ending March 28. North Carolina freshman third baseman Colin Moran was named National Hitter of the Week, while UCLA junior right-hander Trevor Bauer 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.
Moran led UNC to a 5-0 week with four home runs and 13 RBI. He started the week with the best single-game performance of his career, going 3-for-4 with a run scored six RBI in the 14-2 win over UNC Wilmington, connecting on a triple and a two-run home run in the rout. The Rye, N.Y., native blasted another two-run home run in the 4-0 win over High Point on Wednesday before scoring and driving in a run in Friday's 8-5 win over rival Duke.
Moran went deep again on Saturday when he drove in the game-winning run against Duke with a solo home run in the sixth inning. He finished Saturday's game with a season-high three runs scored. Moran capped off the weekend in style on Sunday when he connected on a game-tying three-run home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth against the Blue Devils. The home run capped off a day that saw him tally a pair of doubles, score two runs and drive in three more. For the week Moran hit .529 (9-17) with eight runs, 13 RBI, 25 total bases and slugged a remarkable 1.471. Moran also drew five walks, including two intentional free passes, and reached base at a .636 clip.
Bauer recorded two victories in two starts last week, scattering just three hits through 16.0 scoreless innings. The Valencia, Calif., native struck out 14 batters in his second career complete-game one-hitter in a 4-0 shutout at USC on Saturday, after fanning 12 batters in seven scoreless innings in the second game of a doubleheader at Cal Poly last Monday. Against USC, Bauer carried a perfect game into the seventh inning and had his bid for a no-hitter broken with one out in the eighth inning. In 16 innings last week, Bauer allowed just three hits and four walks, striking out 26 batters while limiting opponents to a .059 batting average. He became UCLAs career strikeout leader on Saturday evening, as his 14-strikeout effort against USC pushed his career total to 329.
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)