DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released its National Player of the Week awards for the period ending April 18, today. Indiana State redshirt junior outfielder Aaron Beck was named National Hitter of the Week, while Gonzaga junior right-handed pitcher Alek Jacob 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.
Beck continued to impress as he led No. 22 Indiana State at the plate during a four-game sweep of Valparaiso in ISUs first home games of the 2021 season. In four starts, Beck went 12-for-14, recording three or more hits in three games. The Evansville, Indiana, native finished the weekend with an .857 batting average, 1.214 slugging percentage and an .875 on-base percentage. He drove in nine runs, including three RBIs in each of the first two games of the series while scoring three times. In total, Beck recorded a trio of doubles, a triple and 17 total bases. The redshirt junior drew two walks, including an intentional walk, in the series. During the series opener, Beck finished a home run short of the cycle.
Jacob threw his first career no-hitter Friday in a 10-0 rout of Pepperdine in Malibu, California. On 124 pitches, the Spokane, Washington, native struck out a career-tying 12, finishing the game with a 61.3 strike percentage with only two walks. It marked the first time since 1990 that a Zag has pitched a no-hitter, and it was just the fifth no-hitter in program history. For his efforts, Jacob was also selected as a Golden Spikes Award Performance of the Week.
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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.
2021 NCBWA Division I Players of the Week:
Week ending Feb. 22: Blayne Jones, Dallas Baptist (Hitter); Jordan Wicks, Kansas State (Pitcher)
· Week ending Feb. 28: Dominic Keegan, Vanderbilt (Hitter); Will Dion, McNeese State (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 7: Kenyon Yovan, Oregon (Hitter); Ty Madden, Texas (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 14: Cade Doughty, LSU (Hitter); Jarrett Whorff, Louisiana Tech (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 21: Robby Martin, Florida State (Hitter); Jack Leiter, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 28: Caden Grice, Clemson (Hitter); Chayce McDermott, Ball State (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 4: Adrian Del Castillo, Miami (Hitter); Seth Lonsway, Ohio State (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 11: Ivan Melendez, Texas (Hitter); Jonathan Cannon, Georgia (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 18: Aaron Beck, Indiana State (Hitter); Alek Jacob, Gonzaga (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 25: T.J. Collett, Kentucky (Hitter); Landen Bourassa, San Francisco (Pitcher)
· Week ending May 2: Dustin Demeter, Hawaii (Hitter); Tyler Burnham, Seton Hall (Pitcher)
· Week ending May 9: Will Frizzell, Texas A&M (Hitter); Justin Campbell, Oklahoma State (Pitcher)
· Week ending May 16: Ethan Long, Arizona State (Hitter); Andrew Abbott, Virginia (Pitcher)
· Week ending May 23: Cody Littlejohn, Tennessee Tech (Hitter); Cooper Hjerpe, Oregon State (Pitcher)
2021 NCBWA Division I Players of the Month:
February: Wes Clarke, South Carolina (Player); Carson Whisenhunt, East Carolina (Pitcher)
· March: Tim Elko, Ole Miss (Player); Jack Leiter, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
· April: Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Oklahoma State (Player); Kevin Kopps, Arkansas (Pitcher)
· May: Jack Rogers, Sam Houston (Player); Kevin Kopps, Arkansas (Pitcher)