DALLAS (NCBWA) – A Div. III freshman first baseman reached base safely 11 straight times, a graduate student pitcher lost his no-hit bid with two outs in the ninth inning, and a junior first baseman hit four home runs and knocked in 18 on the week. Those were the performances that claimed the week six National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Div. III Hitter, Pitcher, and Rookie of the Week awards for games played March 27-April 2.
HITTER OF THE WEEK
Lebanon Valley College (Pennsylvania) junior first baseman Shane Stossel became the first Middle Atlantic Conference baseball athlete to earn both the Player and Pitcher of the Week awards in the same week. At the plate, Stossel led the Dutchmen to a 4-0 record with four home runs and 18 RBI. The junior hit .500 (7-for-14) and slugged 1.429 on the strength of four homers. He scored seven times and drew three walks on the week. He began the week with two hits including a seventh inning grand slam in an 11-1 win over Messiah University (Pennsylvania). In a 15-7 victory at Albright College (Pennsylvania), he hit a pair of three-run home runs in back-to-back innings and finished the game with eight RBI and three runs scored. He hit his second grand slam of the week in a 12-0 win over Albright in game one of a doubleheader, while also firing a three-hit, seven-inning shutout. He finished the week with a hit and run scored in a 4-3 game-two victory over the Lions on Saturday. Stossel was named to D3baseball.com’s Team of the Week as a pitcher.
Honorable Mention Hitter: Brett Carson, Sr., OF, Marietta College (Ohio) – D3baseball.com Team of the Week selection and Ohio Athletic Conference co-Hitter of the Week. Hit .714 (10-for-14) over three wins with eight runs scored, six RBI, four doubles, three home runs, and a triple. Carson had at least three hits in each game on the week. He went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, two RBI, a double, and homer in an 18-5 win at Wittenberg University (Ohio) and was 7-for-11 with five runs scored, four RBI, three doubles, a triple, and a homer in Sunday’s sweep over Ohio Northern University. He was a single shy of the cycle in Sunday’s nightcap.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
State University of New York Brockport graduate student Matthew Colucci’s no-hit bid was broken up by State University of New York at Plattsburgh’s Alex Kornblau with two outs in the ninth inning on Saturday. Colucci, who struck out a career-high 14 batters in Brockport’s 5-0 win, did not walk or hit any batters. Colucci was named to D3baseball.com’s Team of the Week and was the State University of New York Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week.
Honorable Mention Pitchers: Michael Aceto, So., Trinity College (Connecticut) – Tossed a two-hit shutout in Trinity’s 6-0 win over Colby College (Maine) on Sunday. Faced one batter over the minimum in the nine-inning affair, had zero walks, and struck out one. Named to D3baseball.com’s Team of the Week and was the New England Small College Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week. Brett Sanchez, Jr., Belhaven University (Mississippi) – Was dominant against Covenant College (Georgia) in a 10-0 seven-inning run-rule victory on Saturday. Fired a one-hit shutout for his third straight complete-game win. Struck out 11 batters and became the program’s all-time leader in strikeouts, surpassing the previous mark of 273. Was named to D3baseball.com’s Team of the Week and earned third straight Collegiate Conference of the South Pitcher of the Week award. Sanchez was the NCBWA Div. III’s Pitcher of the Month for February 2022.
Note there are two honorable mention pitchers this week due to a voting tie between Aceto and Sanchez, with both players receiving identical numbers of first-, second-, and third-place votes.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Marietta College (Ohio) freshman first baseman Austin Amburgey had a week to remember, as he started it by going 6-for-6 with eight RBI and a home run in Wednesday’s 18-5 win over Wittenberg University (Ohio). Amburgey’s six hits tied the single-game program record. He then got base hits in his first two at bats at Ohio Northern University before walking twice and getting hit by a pitch to reach base safely in 11 straight plate appearances. Amburgey finished the week batting .846 (11-for-13) with nine RBI, six runs scored, and a home run. Amburgey was named to D3baseball.com’s Team of the Week and was the Ohio Athletic Conference’s co-Hitter of the Week.
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