DALLAS (NCBWA) – No. 25 York College (Pennsylvania) junior outfielder Chris Betler powered his team into the D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 25 Poll, while Colby College’s (Maine) Nicholas Thompson fired the program’s first no-hitter in 66 years to collect the NCBWA Div. III Hitter and Pitcher of the Week honors for games played March 11-17. A four-homer week by a first-year joined the duo as this week’s Rookie of the Week.
HITTER OF THE WEEK
York College (Pennsylvania) junior outfielder Chris Betler earned D3baseball.com Team of the Week and Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth Baseball Player of the Week honors after powering the Spartans to four wins last week, including a 9-8 come-from-behind win over No. 17 Misericordia University (Pennsylvania) and a three-game sweep over Albright College (Pennsylvania). Betler hit .800 (12-for-15) with 17 RBI, eight runs scored, five home runs, and a double on the week. He went 2-for-4 in the win over nationally-ranked Misericordia, drove in a career-high six, and blasted a pair of home runs. Betler clubbed a grand slam with the Spartans trailing 8-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning in a game York went on to walk off. Was 4-for-5 with two runs scored and another four RBI in the series-opening win over Albright. Betler has homered in four straight games and entered this week hitting .579 (22-for-38) with 22 RBI.
Honorable Mention Hitter: James Marsden, So., OF, Wesleyan University (Connecticut) – New England Small College Athletic Conference Player of the Week after putting together a five-game hitting streak and leading the entire NCAA – Div. I, II, and III – in slugging percentage – 1.455 – through Wesleyan’s first six games of the season. Batted .444 (12-for-27) with five homers, three triples, and a double last week, while adding 18 RBI, nine runs scored, and two stolen bases. Recorded four straight multi-hit games, including an impressive performance in a win over Hamline University (Minnesota) where he went 3-for-5 with four RBI, two runs scored, two triples, and a home run.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Colby College (Maine) senior Nicholas Thompson fired the program’s first no-hitter since 1958 in Saturday’s 9-0 win over Brandeis University (Massachusetts). Thompson faced one over the minimum over the first six innings of the seven-inning affair. He retired 10 batters by groundout, five by strikeout, and five by flyout. Thompson’s lone walk was erased by a caught stealing. Thompson was named to D3baseball.com’s Team of the Week and was the NESCAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week.
Honorable Mention Pitcher: Brett Pierson, Sr., Lewis & Clark College (Oregon) – Threw a career-high eight innings and struck out a career-high 13 batters while allowing just one hit in a 12-1 victory over Vassar College (New York). Retired the final 23 batters he faced. Named to D3baseball.com Team of the Week and was the Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Week.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Eastern Connecticut State University first-year catcher Ian Moser hit .444 (8-for-18) with seven RBI, five runs scored, and four home runs last week. He went 2-for-4 with a pair of two-run homers in a 14-2 rout of Johnson & Wales (Rhode Island) on Thursday. He then went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in a 6-5 win over Otterbein University (Ohio) before capping his week with a 2-for-4 showing with two runs, a solo homer, and double in an 18-7 win over Wittenberg University (Ohio). Moser was named to D3baseball.com’s Team of the Week and was the Little East Conference Rookie of the Week.
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 contests, and writing contests.
2024 DIV. III HITTER, PITCHER, AND ROOKIE OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS
• Month of February: Luke Finn, UT Dallas (Hitter); Wil Wood, Millsaps (Pitcher); Alex Miller, Centenary (Louisiana) (Rookie)
• Week ending March 3: Dane Jones, LeTourneau (Hitter); Brandon Cassedy, Christopher Newport (Pitcher); JB Landrum, Huntingdon (Rookie)
• Week ending March 10: Patrick Gillen, Calvin (Hitter); Sayers Collins, ETBU (Pitcher); Greg Pierantoni, Pomona-Pitzer (Rookie)
• Week ending March 17: Chris Betler, York (Hitter); Nicholas Thompson, Colby (Pitcher); Ian Moser, Eastern Connecticut State (Rookie)
ABOUT THE NCBWA
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 contests, and writing contests.