DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its National Player of the Week awards for the period ending April 1. BYU sophomore outfielder Keaton Kringlen was named National Hitter of the Week, while Coastal Carolina senior right-handed pitcher Alex Cunningham 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.
Kringlen was key in all of BYU's four victories this past week at Utah and the sweep over then league-leading Saint Mary's College. He had a slugging percentage of 1.571 with a batting average of .571, hitting four home runs and driving in 14 runs on the week. In game three against SMC (14-1) he hit three home runs (a second inning solo shot, a three-run homer in the seventh and a three-run homer in the eighth) during a 14-1 victory. Kringlen went 4-for-5 with three home runs and seven RBI in that game.
In game two vs. SMC (6-2) he hit a sac-fly to give BYU a 2-0 lead. In game one against SMC (7-6) he had the game-winning RBI with a two-run inside the park home run in the seventh inning. It was BYU's first inside the park homer since 2009. At Utah (11-6 win) Kringlen singled past the Ute shortstop, giving enough time for Scheemann to score. Then Kringlen drove in three runs in the game and plated the final run when he scored off a wild pitch.
Cunningham only allowed five hits, walked none and struck out 11 Panthers to become just the second Chanticleer to throw back-to-back, complete-game shutouts (Austin Kerr in 2014). Cunningham has not allowed a run in his last 18.2 innings and, over his last two starts, has allowed just six hits and two walks.
In perhaps his most dominant overall performance this past Friday, Cunningham only went to ball three on a GSU batter once a 3-2 count that led to a ground ball for the final out of the third inning. In fact, the Byrnes product only faced ball two a total of eight times, including the one time he went to ball three.
The first hit surrendered was a two-out double in the first. After that, Cunningham sat down nine straight Panthers with four strikeouts. Then, after allowing a leadoff single in the fifth, he retired the next 13 with five strikeouts until allowing a hit with one out in the ninth. He had a strikeout in eight of the nine innings, including three innings with two.
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)