DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its weekly NCAA Division II National Players of the Week awards for the week ending March 23. Lander junior third baseman Colby Painter is the National Hitter of the Week while Mercyhurst junior right-hander Dan Altavilla is the National Pitcher of the Week.
Painter (Chesnee, S.C.) was unstoppable in four games last week, hitting .562 with two homers, 12 RBI and a 1.062 slugging percentage for the NCBWA second-ranked Bearcats. The junior had multiple hits in every game, including the sweep of Montevallo where he hit .538. He went 2-for-4 in the opener against the Falcons with a double and a homer for four RBIs, hit a grand slam in game two with five total RBIs and cracked another double with another RBI in the finale. For the week, Painter scored six runs, had a .632 on-base percentage and struck out only once in 16 at-bats. He is ninth in the PBC in home runs and 11th in RBIs.
Altavilla (Greenock, Pa.) threw Mercyhurst's third no-hitter in the Joe Spano era (since 2000) when he defeated Clarion 3-0. It was the Lakers' first no-hitter since April 4, 2009 when Steve Grife no-hit Lake Erie College. Paul Baumert threw the other no-hitter, during Spano's tenure, on March 19, 2002 against Edinboro. Altavilla walked one and struck out a career-high 12 batters in the win. Over his last three starts, Altavilla is 3-0 and has allowed one run on eight hits in 22 innings. He has walked two and struck out 31 during that stretch.
Division II Regional Players of the Week:
Atlantic: Atlantic: Seth Tressler, Mansfield (Hitter); Dan Altavilla, Mercyhurst (Pitcher)
· Central: Trevor Rucker, Southern Arkansas (Hitter); Eric Browning, Wayne State (Neb.) (Pitcher)
· East: Rich Baerga, St. Thomas Aquinas (Hitter); Abraham Almonte, Philadelphia (Pitcher)
· Midwest: Lucas Raley, Lake Erie College (Hitter); Patrick Kelly, Grand Valley State (Pitcher)
· South: Alex Fernandez, Nova Southeastern (Hitter); Michael Manley, Delta State (Pitcher)
· South Central: Austin Wallingford, Colorado Mesa (Hitter); Matthew Artalejo, Eastern New Mexico (Pitcher)
· Southeast: Colby Painter, Lander (Hitter); Olen Little, Wingate (Pitcher)
· West: Parker Miles, Western Oregon (Hitter); Eric Huson, Western Oregon (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.
2014 NCBWA Division II Players of the Week:
Feb. 2: Nick Perez, St. Leo (Hitter); David Ward, Ouchita Baptist (Pitcher)
· Feb. 9: Jordan Edgerton, UNC Pembroke (Hitter); Daniel Barfield, Francis Marion (Pitcher)
· Feb. 16: Hunter Boose, GRU Augusta (Hitter); Jordan DeLorenzo, West Florida (Pitcher)
· Feb. 23: Andrew Brodbeck, Flagler (Hitter); Matt McClain, St. Mary's (Pitcher)
· March 2: Nick Kranick, Flagler (Hitter); Chris Murphy, Millersville (Pitcher)
· March 9: Josh Coker, Lincoln Memorial (Hitter); Brannon Easterling, St. Edward's (Pitcher)
· March 16: Seth Tressler, Mansfield (Hitter); Joe Axelson, Southwest Minnesota State (Pitcher)
· March 23: Colby Painter, Lander (Hitter); Dan Altavilla, Mercyhurst (Pitcher)
· March 30: Giancarlo Saia, Lander (Hitter); Matt Kastelic, Notre Dame (Ohio) (Pitcher)
· April 6: Will Kengor, Slippery Rock (Hitter); Jonathan Russell, Queens (Pitcher)
· April 13: Giancarlo Brugnoni, Grand Canyon (Hitter); Will Landsheft, Drury (Pitcher)
· April 20: Tony Viger, Augustana (Hitter); Ryan O'Connor, Bentley (Pitcher)
· April 27: Jordan Liester, Colorado Mesa (Hitter); Josh Eagle, Cal State Monterey Bay (Pitcher)
· May 4: Payton Reed, Drury (Hitter); Dan Altavilla, Mercyhurst (Pitcher)