DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
has announced its sixth NCAA Division III National Players of the Week for
the 2006 season, with top honors going to outfielder Jake Bell of
Mississippi College (Clinton, Miss.) and southpaw Chuck Huggins of
Trinity University (San Antonio, Texas) for April 3-9.
In a week of close voting in which eight different players received votes,
Bell, a senior from Pearl, Miss., emerged on top after leading the Choctaws
to a 6-0 week. He batted .571 (12-for-21) with five extra-base hits, including
four home runs, with a 1.190 slugging pct., 13 RBI, 10 runs scored, and
three stolen bases. He batted .545 (6-for-11) to help Mississippi College
sweep ASC East rival Austin College in a three-game series, including an
ASC single-game record-tying three home runs with six RBI in the series
opener on Friday. In non-conference games vs. Tougaloo and Rhodes earlier
in the week, he went 6-for-10. Bell was the American Southwest Conference
East Division Hitter of the Week.
Huggins, a sophomore from Atherton, Calif., made Trinity the first team
to have two players with weekly honors this season when he tossed a seven-inning
complete-game no-hitter to beat Hendrix on Sunday and finish off a weekend
conference series sweep by the Tigers. He struck out a career-high 13 batters,
allowing just three total base runners (two walks, one hit batter). In two
starts against Hendrix this year, he has allowed just one hit through 14
innings, striking out 23 batters. For the season, he is 5-1 with an ERA
of 2.86, has struck out 47 batters, and opponents are hitting .191 against
him. Huggins was the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Pitcher of
the Week.
Honorable mention hitters: John Tine (Utica) .417 (5-12), 5
runs, 10 RBI, 1 double, 4 home runs, 1.500 slugging pct.; Tyler Haddock
(Ripon) · .579 (11-19), 7 runs, 9 RBI, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs,
1.211 slugging pct.; Blake Shaffer (Howard Payne) · .750 (12-16), 10 runs,
6 RBI, 2 doubles, 1 home run, 1.063 slugging pct.; Jason Fosler (Wisconsin-Oshkosh)
· .636 (14-22), 8 runs, 11 RBI, 1 double, 2 triples, .864 slugging pct.;
Jeremy Peters (Ithaca) · .632 (12-19), 3 runs, 2 RBI, 1 double, .684 slugging
pct.; Nick Perkins (Dickinson) · .857 (6-7), 4 runs, 6 RBI, 3 doubles, 1
home run, 1.714 slugging pct.; Kyle Sherman (Ohio Wesleyan) · .500 (13-26),
10 runs, 13 RBI, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 1 home run, .846 slugging pct.
Honorable mention pitchers: Ted Serro (Franklin & Marshall)
1-0, 0.60 ERA, 1 save, 9 ip, 4 hits, 9 strikeouts; Dean Shirley (Mary Hardin-Baylor)
· 1-0, 1.63 ERA, 11 ip, 7 hits, 1 strikeout; Pat Berndsen (Thomas More)
· 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7 ip, 2 hits, 8 strikeouts; Cory Anderson (Coast Guard)
· 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 10 ip, 8 hits, 10 strikeouts; Tim Dunphy (Brandeis) · 2-0,
1.59 ERA, 14 ip, 11 hits, 7 strikeouts, 2 complete games; Jon Kensecki (DeSales)
· 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 4.1 ip, 4 hits, 10 strikeouts.
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, www.ncbwa.com.
For more information on the NCBWA Division III Players of the Week, contact
Blair Cash at George
Fox University at 503-554-2926.