DALLAS (NCBWA) In a week filled with some of the best performances of the season, run-producing machine Ryan Pike of the University of Southern Maine and no-hit hurler Cory Collins of Curry College stood out enough to earn the eighth NCAA Division III National Hitter of the Week and Pitcher of the Week honors for 2009, covering the week of April 13-19, as voted on by a panel of members from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Pike, a senior outfielder from Saco, Maine, made the most of his times at bat with men on base, driving in a phenomenal 28 runs in eight games. In sparking the fifth-ranked Huskies to an 8-0 week, he batted .447 (17-for-38) with 13 runs scored, five doubles, three home runs, and 28 RBI. He hit safely in seven of his eight games, including six multiple-hit efforts. He drove in multiple runs six times, matching the school record with nine RBI against St. Joseph 's. He went five-for-six with a double and two home runs in that game against the Monks. He also had five-RBI and four-RBI games against Plymouth State, and a four-RBI game against Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Pike was named the Little East Conference Player of the Week.
Collins, a junior right-hander from Whitman, Mass., enjoyed a 2-0 week while tossing 13.1 scoreless innings. In his second start of the week, a 2-0 win over Wentworth that ran his record to 6-0, he tossed a seven-inning no-hitter in which he struck out five batters and walked two. The no-hitter came just five days after he hurled 6.1 shutout innings in a 5-0 win over third-ranked Wheaton ( Mass. ) in which he allowed just five hits and no walks, while striking out three. In 13.1 innings of work, Collins allowed five hits and two walks while registering eight strikeouts. Collins was named the Commonwealth Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week. He is the sixth pitcher to earn national Pitcher of the Week honors this season while throwing a no-hitter.
Honorable mention hitters: Ben Shively (Pacific Lutheran) - .765 (13-17), 6 doubles, 1 home run, 13 RBI, 5 runs, 1.294 slugging pct.; Todd Emr (Johns Hopkins) - .692 (18-26), 5 doubles, 2 home runs, 14 RBI, 13 runs, 1.230 slugging pct.; Ian Sanders (Franklin) - .611 (11-18), 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 10 RBI, 9 runs, 1.111 slugging pct.; Mike Moceri (Kean) - .600 (15-25), 8 doubles, 13 RBI, 9 runs, .920 slugging pct.; James Geosits (Curry) - .483 (14-29), 5 doubles, 3 home runs, 18 RBI, 8 runs, .966 slugging pct.; Cody Ross (Texas-Dallas) - .519 (14-27), 3 doubles, 5 home runs, 8 RBI, 11 runs, 1.037 slugging pct.; Charlie Antal (Wheaton IL) - .533 (8-15), 1 double, 1 triple, 4 home runs, 12 RBI, 7 runs, 1.533 slugging pct.; Pat Richmond (Coe) - .750 (15-20), 2 doubles, 1 triple, 7 RBI, 9 runs, .950 slugging pct.; Tyler Kruse (St. Marys MN) - .625 (10-16), 1 triple, 3 RBI, 2 runs, .688 slugging pct.
Honorable mention pitchers: Steve Salazar (Aurora) - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 ip, 1 cg, 0 hits, 9 strikeouts; Bryan Calzone (Western New England) - 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 14.0 ip, 2 cg, 5 hits, 12 strikeouts; Conor Fahey (Worcester Tech) - 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 17.0 ip, 1 cg, 10 hit, 19 strikeouts; Michael OBrien (Babson) - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 10.1 ip, 1 cg, 6 hits, 20 strikeouts; Matt Schuld (St. Thomas MN) - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 save, 8.2 ip, 1 cg, 2 hits, 8 strikeouts; Adam Hartzell (Elizabethtown) - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 ip, 5 hits, 9 strikeouts; Joe Lange (Wisconsin-Platteville) - 1-1, 0.87 ERA, 20.2 ip, 2 cg, 16 hits, 25 strikeouts.
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2009 NCBWA Division III Players of the Week:
March 1: Jeremy Macklin, Texas Lutheran (Hitter);
D.J. Keckler, Wesley College and Matt Schuld, St. Thomas (Pitcher)
· March 8: Joel Chrobak, Franklin (Hitter);
Cody Boals, Elmhurst (Pitcher)
· March 15: Garrett Lamborn, Wesleyan (Hitter);
Tyler Seaman, Mississippi College (Pitcher)
· March 22: Cody Callahan, Keene State (Hitter);
Tim McMenamin, Gwynedd-Mercy (Pitcher)
· March 29: Thomas Phillips, MIT (Hitter); John
Lunardi, Susquehanna (Pitcher)
· April 5: Bo Bell, Mississippi College (Hitter);
Evan Michaud, Western New England (Pitcher)
· April 12: Daniel Ward, Hendrix (Hitter); Tyler
Seaman, Mississippi College (Pitcher)
· April 19: Ryan Pike, Southern Maine (Hitter);
Cory Collins, Curry (Pitcher)
· April 26: Joe Biagini, Webster (Hitter); Tim
Flannery, Albright (Pitcher)
· May 3: Richard Michelin, California Lutheran
(Hitter); Chuck Nicholas, Alvernia (Pitcher)