DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its National Player of the Week awards for the period ending March 19. Houston junior infielder Jake Scheiner was named National Hitter of the Week, while Cal State Fullerton junior left-handed pitcher John Gavin 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.
Scheiner belted six home runs and hit .813 (13-for-16) last week, helping Houston to a perfect 4-0 week and to a 13-5 overall record with a midweek win over McNeese and a series sweep of Alabama State. The Santa Rosa, Calif. native, went 13-for-16 (.813 avg.) with eight runs, 15 RBI, six home runs and a triple on the week. He notched two games where he hit at least two home runs, McNeese, Alabama State (3/19), and became the first Cougar since Austin Gracey in 2010 to hit three home runs in a game. Scheiner slugged an impressive 2.063 in the four games and notched an on-base percentage of .789, while walking once and not recording a strikeout at the plate.
Gavin scattered just two hits over eight scoreless innings against New Mexico and struck out a career-high 14 batters to earn the victory in a 1-0 pitchers duel. He tallied the most strikeouts by a Titan since Thomas Eshelman also fanned 14 against Arizona State on May 30, 2015. The San Jose, California native retired 16 straight Lobos to end his day, helping the Titans to stretch their winning streak to seven straight.
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 NCBWA Division I National Players of the Week, contact NCBWA Assistant Executive Director Mike Montoro at West Virginia University at 304-293-2821.
2017 NCBWA Division I Players of the Week:
Feb. 21: Andrew Kendrick, Youngstown State (Hitter);
Jared Poché, LSU and Robbie Welhaf, Elon (Pitcher)
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Feb. 28: Brent Rooker, Mississippi State (Hitter);
Justin Dillon, Sacramento State (Pitcher)
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March 7: Chase Lunceford, Louisiana Tech (Hitter);
Danny Hrbek, Radford and Parker Rigler, Kansas State (Pitcher)
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March 14: Connor Smith, Western Michigan (Hitter);
Eli Morgan, Gonzaga (Pitcher)
· March 21:
Jake Scheiner, Houston (Hitter); John Gavin, Cal State Fullerton (Pitcher)
· March 28: Matt Lloyd, Indiana (Hitter); Cory Abbott,
Loyola Marymount (Pitcher)
· April 4: Keaton
Kringlen, BYU (Hitter); Alex Cunningham, Coastal Carolina (Pitcher)
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April 11: Brent Rooker, Mississippi State (Hitter);
Michael Grove, West Virginia (Pitcher)
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April 18: Stuart Fairchild, Wake Forest (Hitter); Kyle Wright, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
· April 25: Dylan Busby, Florida State (Hitter);
Alex Faedo, Florida (Pitcher)
· May 2: Hunter
Hargrove, Texas Tech (Hitter); David Peterson, Oregon (Pitcher)
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May 9: Dan Kerwin, UT Martin (Hitter); Trevor Stephan,
Arkansas (Pitcher)
· May 16: Jared Barnes,
South Alabama (Hitter); Zach Prendergast, Seton Hall (Pitcher)
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May 23: Kevin Milam, St. Mary's (Hitter); Cole Bartlett,
Missouri (Pitcher)
2017 NCBWA Division I Players of the Month:
February: Brendon McKay, Lousiville (Hitter); James
Poché, LSU (Pitcher)
· March: Brent
Rooker, Mississippi State (Hitter); David Peterson, Oregon (Pitcher)
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April: Drew Ellis, Louisville (Hitter); Jake Thompson,
Oregon State (Pitcher)
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May: Chris Carrier, Memphis (Hitter); Trey Cumbie,
Houston (Pitcher)