DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its weekly NCAA Division II National Players of the Week awards of the season for the period ending April 21. Southern Arkansas senior infielder Brady Capshaw is the National Hitter of the Week while St. Thomas Aquinas junior righthander Robert Frank is the National Pitcher of the Week.
Brady Capshaw (Kennedale, Texas) gained GAC Player of the Week notice by slugging out 11 hits and 18 RBIS in five games against Arkansas Tech, Arkansas Monticello and Southern Nazarene. He had 11 runs, two doubles and two homers over the week and batted .458 (11-of-24). He had 7 RBIs in the game vs. Southern Nazarene on Apr. 20 and also had five RBIs apiece in games against Arkansas Tech and Southern Nazarene. For the season, Capshaw is hitting .325 with 14 doubles and a team-best 51 RBI. This is the first National Player of the Week for the Muleriders.
Robert Frank (Closter, N.J.) continued his recent dominance with a nine-inning complete-game shutout at LIU-Post. Rob scattered just four hits and didn't walk a batter while fanning 11 in the Spartans' victory. Frank's numbers have been nothing short of stunning of late. Over his past four outings, he is 3-1 with a miniscule 0.62 earned run average, allowing just two earned runs on nine hits in 29 innings of work, striking out 42 while walking 11. His current scoreless innings streak stands at 22.2 innings - all in conference play. For the season, Frank is 4-4 with a 3.32 ERA. This is the first National Pitcher of the Week for the Spartans.
Division II Regional Players of the Week:
Atlantic: Kyle Petty, California (Pa.) (Hitter); Justin Taylor, California (Pa.) (Pitcher)
· Central: Brady Capshaw, Southern Arkansas (Hitter); Jake Bell, Arkansas Tech (Pitcher)
· East: Shane Keedy, Assumption College (Hitter); Robert Frank, St. Thomas Aquinas (Pitcher)
· Midwest: Jake Hartley, Indianapolis (Hitter); Anthony Campanella, Grand Valley State (Pitcher)
· South: Josh Cyr, North Alabama (Hitter); Nic Kovacs, Palm Beach Atlantic (Pitcher)
· South Central: James Black, Texas A&M-Kingsville (Hitter); Jerry Hawkins, Texas A&M-International (Pitcher)
· Southeast: Chris Zittrouer, Armstrong Atlantic (Hitter); Dan Meyer, Coker (Pitcher)
· West: Blake Miller, Western Oregon (Hitter); Jon Bengard, California Baptist (Pitcher)
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 Howser Award Player of the Year, Regional Player of the Year and NCBWA All-America voting. The NCBWA also sponsors preseason All-America awards, publication and writing contests.
2013 NCBWA Division II Players of the Week:
Feb. 10: Lee Neumann, Angelo State (Hitter); Nick Fogarty, Valdosta State (Pitcher)
· Feb. 17: Josh Wenger, Concord (Hitter); Ryan Goodbrand, UC San Diego (Pitcher)
· Feb. 24: Connor McCain, Alabama-Huntsville (Hitter); Chris Murphy, Millersville (Pitcher)
· March 3: Dylan Tice, Indiana, Pa. (Hitter); Junior Mendez, Southern New Hampshire (Pitcher)
· March 10: Gioncarlo Brugnoni, Grand Valley State (Hitter); Shane Trattles, Mary (Pitcher)
· March 17: Kyle Giusti, Abilene Christian (Hitter); Chris Murphy, Millersville (Pitcher)
· March 24: Charlie Sharrer, Cal State-East Bay (Hitter); Scott Lieser, St. Cloud State (Pitcher)
· March 31: Colton Little, Colorado Mesa (Hitter); Dylan James, West Texas A&M (Pitcher)
· April 7: Nate Olinger, Colorado Mines (Hitter); Stephen Cooke, Indiana (Pa.) (Pitcher)
· April 14: Ryan Messina, Shepard (Hitter); Dallas Ponder, Texas A&M-Kingsville (Pitcher)
· April 21: Brady Capshaw, Southern Arkansas (Hitter); Robert Frank, St. Thomas Aquanis (Pitcher)
· April 28: Jacob Nelson, Metro State (Hitter); Collin Sherrod, St. Edward's (Pitcher)
· May 5: Zach Bricknell, Young Harris (Hitter); Brian Ernst, East Stroudsburg (Pitcher)