DALLAS (NCBWA) The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin captured a pair of this week's NCAA Div. III weekly accolades from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, while the New Jersey Athletic Conference had this week's top hitter. This week's honorees were recognized for performances spanning March 8-14.
Hitter of the Week: Kean University junior outfielder Philip Mahlik went 10-for-14 (.714) from his leadoff position with six RBI and three extra-base hits, including an inside-the-park home run. Mahlik went 6-for-8 with five RBI, an inside-the-park homer, and a stolen base in the season-opening doubleheader sweep of New Jersey City University. In a doubleheader split with William Paterson University, Mahlik went a combined 4-for-6 with a triple and RBI. He posted a 1.143 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage for the week.
Honorable Mention Hitter: Adam Moore, Sr., Washington & Jefferson College Led Washington & Jefferson offensively in last weekend's four-game sweep of Bethany College (W.Va.). The senior compiled a .571 average (8-of-14), slugged a pair of home runs, and totaled 10 RBI. Moore also scored four runs and recorded 14 total bases. He finished the series with a .625 on-base percentage.
Pitcher of the Week: North Central College's (Illinois) Ryan Behling pitched a nine-inning no-hitter in a 4-0 shutout against Spalding University on March 14. Impressively, only two of the 27 outs came via strikeouts and only one out was recorded out of the infield an eighth-inning fly out to center field.
Honorable Mention Pitcher: RJ Kuruts, Sr., St. John Fisher College Was untouchable last week as he was part of a combined no-hitter against Clarkson University on Tuesday. Kuruts got the start and allowed just one walk over six innings while striking out a career-high 13 batters. Kuruts retired 19 of 20 batters faced in the win.
Rookie of the Week: Illinois Wesleyan University's Jacob Cyrus powered the team to a sweep over Wartburg College on March 13. Cyrus finished the doubleheader 6-for-8 with a double, a homer, and 10 RBI. He scored two runs, swiped two bases, and walked once. In game one, Cyrus finished 3-for-4 with seven RBI and two runs scored. The highlight of his performance was a three-run homer in the eighth that broke a 10-10 tie and secured IWU's 13-10 win. His seven RBI are the most by a Titan since 2019, and the most by an IWU freshman since 2007. He added a 3-for-4 effort in game two with three more RBI and ran his reached base streak to eight games.
Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. Members receive a membership card, directory, newsletter updates and official votes in the Dick Howser Player of the Year Award, Regional Player of the Year and NCBWA All-America voting. The NCBWA also sponsors preseason All-America awards, publication and writing contests.
2021 NCBWA Division III Players of the Week:
Week ending March 7: Caleb Durbin, Washington U. (Hitter); Patrick O'Rourke, Berry (Pitcher); Amani Jones, Stevenson (Rookie)
· Week ending March 14: Philip Mahlik, Kean (Hitter); Ryan Behling, North Central (Pitcher); Jacob Cyrus, Illinois Wesleyan (Rookie)
· Week ending March 21: Dane Pedersen, Louisiana College (Hitter); Thomas Gallant, Mount Union (Pitcher); Nolan Sparks, Rochester (Rookie)
· Week ending March 28: Jack Hollinshead, Wittenberg (Hitter); Sam Westermeyer, St. Olaf (Pitcher); Cam Seymour, Southern Maine (Rookie)
· Week ending April 4: Catcher Cumming, Penn State Altoona (Hitter); Chris Chiriboga, St. Thomas (Pitcher); Jake Freed, Oberlin (Rookie)
· Week ending April 11: Adam Zebrowski, St. John Fisher (Hitter); Nolan Rowan, Kean (Pitcher); Amani Jones, Stevenson (Rookie)
· Week ending April 18: Dougie DelaCruz, Mitchell (Hitter); Michael Vallone, DePauw (Pitcher); Owen Robbins, Mitchell (Rookie)
· Week ending April 25: Daniel Coleman, SUNY-Cortland (Hitter); Brock Weirather, Grinnell (Pitcher); James Ward Jr., St. John Fisher (Rookie)
· Week ending May 2: Jake Reinhardt, North Park (Hitter); Weston Lombard, Gustavus Adolphus (Pitcher); Jake Hillard, Penn State Altoona (Rookie)
· Week ending May 9: Adam Zebrowski, St. John Fisher (Hitter); James Palmer, Wisconsin-Stout (Pitcher); James Murphy, Adam Zebrowski (Rookie)
2021 NCBWA Division III Players of the Month:
February: Ty Morgan, Louisiana College (Hitter); Brett Sanchez, Belhaven (Pitcher); Levi Cloud, Berry (Rookie)