DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released its Dick Howser Trophy National Player of the Week awards presented by The Game Headwear for the period ending April 2. Morehead State junior shortstop Colton Becker was named National Hitter of the Week, while Florida State sophomore right-handed pitcher Jackson Baumeister was named National Pitcher of the Week. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.
In four wins last week, Becker hit .625 (10-for-16) with nine runs scored, a double, two triples, four home runs, 15 RBI, three stolen bases, a .667 on-base percentage and 1.688 slugging percentage. In a midweek victory at Ohio, he smashed two home runs and drove in five runs while scoring three times. In the series opener against Canisius, the Maineville, Ohio, native was a single short of the cycle, driving in three runs and scoring twice. He added two hits and five RBI in the middle game of the series, finishing with a triple and home run. He capped the weekend with his fourth multi-hit and multi-RBI game of the week, going 2-for-2 with two RBI while stealing three bases as the Eagles won their sixth game in a row. On the season Becker ranks second in the OVC in triples (0.13/game), fourth in stolen bases (0.45/game), fifth in RBI (1.03/game), seventh in doubles (0.26/game), eighth in batting (.330), hits (1.19/game) and slugging (.580) and 10th in total bases (2.10/game).
Baumeister, making his eighth start of the season, struck out a career-high 14 batters and allowed just four hits and no runs while working seven innings in the Seminoles’ 5-1 win over Clemson on Friday night. He walked two batters.
A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Baumeister struck out the side to begin the game and had at least one strikeout in each of his seven innings pitched. Along with his 14 strikeouts (the most in a single game by an ACC pitcher this season), his seven innings pitched and 110 pitches were also career bests.
This marks the eighth consecutive year that the NCBWA has honored a player and pitcher of the month. 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, ncbwa.com.