DALLAS (NCBWA) – Performances that saw five homers, a no-hitter, a record 17 strikeouts, 12 runs scored and four homers captured the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Div. III honors for the week of March 24-30.
HITTER OF THE WEEK
University of Wisconsin La Crosse senior outfielder Andrew Rajkovich helped his team sweep a four-game series from UW-Stout by recording multiple hits in each contest, batting .714 (10-of-14) in the series with five homers. The Madison, Wis. native also crossed the plate 11 times, drove home 13, walked three times and recorded a double along with a steal in the sweep. Rajkovich slugged 1.857 with an on-base percentage of .765. Rajkovich homered in the first three games of the series for La Crosse, who has won 11 straight.
Honorable Mention Hitter: Andy Rivas, Sr., C, Keystone College (Pennsylvania) was retired only three times, finishing 11-for-14 at the plate. Rivas tallied two homers and doubled five times in four games while knocking in 11 runs. Rivas slugged 1.571 while tallying an on-base percentage of .789.
PITCHERS OF THE WEEK
Catholic University (Washington, D.C.) sophomore right-hander Sam Fairhurst set a Landmark Conference record with 17 strikeouts to pitch his team to a win in the series finale with Wilkes. The Reston, Va. native fanned eight consecutive batters between the third and sixth, striking out the side in the fourth and fifth. The 17 strikeouts were the most for Catholic in the Landmark Conference era and came over 8.1 innings of work in a 9-0 shutout.
LeTourneau University (Texas) senior hurler Dalton Pickett threw the fourth no-hitter in program history on March 29, blanking Mary Hardin-Baylor in the process. The Euless, Texas native retired the first 15 batters and allowed only two baserunners in a 5-0 win, striking out seven in a seven-inning contest. Pickett faced the minimum in the win in the first solo no-hitter for LeTourneau in the NCAA era.
ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
Bethany Lutheran (Minnesota) first baseman Xander Meissner receives his second Rookie of the Week Award after hitting .625 with four homers. The first of the four longballs was a two-run walk-off to defeat the 22nd-ranked team in the nation, Gustavus Adolphus. The Parker, Colo. resident finished the week by matching a program record with three homers in a 5-for-5 game. Meissner ranks in the top five nationally with nine homers this season.
Concordia University Wisconsin infielder Graham Kasten scored at least two runs in each of the four games played, finishing the week with 12 runs scored while also going 10-for-15 at the plate (.667). Kasten homered twice, doubled three times, walked five times and drove home 10 runs in a 3-0 week for Concordia Wisconsin. The Mequon, Wis. native slugged 1.267 while tallying an on-base percentage of .750.
2025 NCBWA DIVISION PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
• Month of February: Dane Camphausen, Case Western Reserve (Hitter); Nick Tarantino, Millsaps (Pitcher); Ian Swanson, Methodist, North Carolina (Rookie)
• Week of February 24-March 2: Caleb Gray, Whitworth (Hitter); Jacob Davis, Kalamazoo (Pitcher); Aiden Berg, Martin Luther (Rookie)
• Week of March 3-9: Jack Gold, Pomona-Pitzer (Hitter); Mark Eddie, Buena Vista (Pitcher); Xander Meissner, Bethany Lutheran (Co-Rookie); Carson Orvis, Kalamazoo (Co-Rookie)
• Week of March 10-16: Brendan Tabor, Anderson (Hitter); Robert Nathan, William Paterson (Pitcher); Ethan McDonald, Eureka (Rookie)
• Week of March 17-23: Hunter Strong, Spalding (Hitter); Townsend Stevenson, Washington-St. Louis (Pitcher); Emerson Alberhasky, Wartburg (Rookie)
• Week of March 24-30: Andrew Rajkovich, Wisconsin-La Crosse (Hitter); Sam Fairhurst, Catholic (Co-Pitcher); Dalton Pickett, LeTourneau (Co-Pitcher); Graham Kasten, Concordia University Wisconsin (Co-Rookie); Xander Meissner, Bethany Lutheran (Co-Rookie)