DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its National Player of the Week awards for the period ending April 16. Wake Forest junior outfielder Stuart Fairchild was named National Hitter of the Week, while Vanderbilt junior right-handed pitcher Kyle Wright 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.
Fairchild hit .500 with 14 RBIs, 11 hits, nine runs, four home runs, and three doubles on the week to lead Wake Forest to a perfect 5-0 record. In a 19-9 win over defending national champion Coastal Carolina, he went 3-for-5 with seven RBIs and two home runs. In a sweep of Notre Dame, the junior outfielder from Seattle, tallied six hits with five runs and four runs driven in. Fairchild has reached base safely in 39 straight games dating back to last season, and is the only player in the league with double digits in both home runs (11) and stolen bases (10).
Wright was magnificent in throwing his second consecutive three-hit shutout against the Gators. The right-hander allowed only three base runners in his first shutout of the season, scattering three singles over his nine innings. The Huntsville, Ala., native retired 10 straight Gators from the first to the fifth inning and responded to a leadoff single in the fifth by retiring the next 12 batters in a row. He struck out at least one batter in every inning en route to a new career-best 13 strikeouts with no walks. Last season, Wright shut out the Gators in Gainesville on three hits with 10 strikeouts.
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)