NCBWA NAMES DIVISION INATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released its National Player of the Week awards for the period ending April 10. Texas Tech sophomore second baseman Michael Davis was named National Hitter of the Week, while North Carolina junior right-handed pitcher Zac Gallen was named National Pitcher of the Week. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.


Davis led all Big 12 players with 11 RBI last week as he helped lead the Red Raiders to a 4-1 road trip that included a midweek split at No. 5 Florida State and then a series sweep at No. 16 Oklahoma State. The three wins over the Cowboys marked Texas Techs first sweep against a ranked opponent since the 2002 season. The Red Raiders are now 11-1 in Big 12 play, marking their best start to league action in school history.


The Lubbock, Texas, native hit .400 for the week (8-for-20) as he recorded four runs scored, four doubles and a team-leading 11 RBI. He capped the week with a seven RBI performance Sunday that marked the most runs driven in by a Red Raider since Chris Richburg had seven on May 1, 2007, at Dallas Baptist. It also marked the most RBI for a Red Raider in a Big 12 contest since Gera Alvarez also had seven RBI on May 19, 2002, against Baylor. Davis cleared the bases twice in the win, as he had a three-run double in the third inning and then another in the sixth. He opened the week going 2-for-5 with two RBI, both off doubles, in Texas Techs 8-4 victory at No. 5 Florida State. Davis closed the week with three multi-hit games, two of which that came in the Oklahoma State series, as well as a pair of multi-RBI games.


Gallen struck out a career-high 13 batters and faced just three more than the minimum in a four-hit complete-game shutout win over Virginia Tech on Friday. His 13 strikeouts were the most by a Tar Heel pitcher since Matt Harvey struck out 15 at Clemson in 2010. The Gibbsboro, New Jersey native allowed just one batter past first base on the night and threw 80 of his 118 pitches for strikes.


The win was his first complete game of the year and his second career complete-game shutout. He lowered his ERA to 1.93 for the season and now has 66 strikeouts to just 10 walks on the year.


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 I National Players of the Week, contact NCBWA Assistant Executive Director Mike Montoro at West Virginia University at 304-293-2821.


2016 NCBWA Division I Players of the Week:

Feb. 21: Jeren Kendall, Vanderbilt (Hitter); Zach Muckenhirn, North Dakota (Pitcher)

· Feb. 28: Brandon Gutzler, Murray State (Hitter); Logan Shore, Florida (Pitcher)

· March 6: Darik Hall, Dallas Baptist (Hitter); Lucas Humpal, Texas State (Pitcher)

· March 13: Joe Cronin, Boston College (Hitter); Jesse Scholtens, Wright State (Pitcher)

· March 20: John Jones, South Carolina (Hitter); Seth Romero, Houston (Pitcher)

· March 27: Tyler Chadwick, Coastal Carolina (Hitter); Ryan Hingst, Arizona State (Pitcher)

· April 5: Tanner Kirwer, Niagara (Hitter); Andrew Wantz, UNCG (Pitcher)

· April 12: Michael Davis, Texas Tech (Hitter); Zac Gallen, North Carolina (Pitcher)

· April 19: Greg Guers, Penn State (Hitter); Shane McCarthy, Seton Hall (Pitcher)

· April 26: Logan Gray, Austin Peay (Hitter); Cody Sedlock, Illinois (Pitcher)

· May 3: J.B Woodman, Ole Miss (Hitter); Chad Donato, West Virginia (Pitcher)

· May 10: Brandon Soat, IPFW (Hitter); Kyle Simonds, Texas A&M (Pitcher)

· May 17: Blake Benefield, Middle Tennessee (Hitter); Eric Lauer, Kent State (Pitcher)

· May 24: Dillon Cooper, Alabama State (Hitter); Sam Perez, Missouri State (Pitcher)


2016 NCBWA Division I Players of the Month:

February: Taylor Braley, Southern Miss (Hitter); Brendon McKay, Lousiville (Pitcher)

· March: Seth Beer, Clemson (Hitter); Seth Romero, Houston and Clarke Schmidt, South Carolina (Pitcher)

· April: Hunter Melton, Texas A&M (Hitter); Will Hibbs, Lamar (Pitcher)

· May: Daniel Johnson, New Mexico State (Hitter); Dakota Hudson, Mississippi State (Pitcher)