DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released the 2018 NCAA Division II National Players of the Week awards for the week ending on April 23. Delta State senior outfielder Clay Casey is the National Hitter of the Week, while Belmont Abbey sophomore lefty Griffin Baker is the National Pitcher of the Week.
Casey, a native of Melbourne, Fla., helped lead the Statesmen to a 5-0 week, including a three-game sweep of No. 27 North Alabama and a pair of wins over Arkansas Tech. He hit .536 with a home run and five RBIs with four runs scored and a 1.182 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage in the UNA series. He also went 4-for-4 with a home run and five RBIs in an 11-8 win in game three against North Alabama.
Baker, a native Durham, N.C., tossed a seven-inning no-hitter for the Crusaders in a 6-0 victory over Erskine last week. He struck out six batters and issued one walk in the contest. It was the first no-hitter for Belmont Abbey since the 2014 season. Baker faced the minimum on the day, with the lone baserunner being erased on a double play.
Division II Regional Players of the Week:
Atlantic: Brenton Doyle, Shepherd (Hitter); Chris Metrick, West Virginia Wesleyan (Pitcher)
· Central: Jake Gozzo, Oklahoma Baptist (Hitter); Alec Lemmon, East Central (Pitcher)
· East: Cory Wasylow, Merrimack (Hitter); Luke Dawson, Bentley (Pitcher)
· Midwest: Brennan Williams, Maryville (Hitter); Josh Kneeland, Cedarville (Pitcher)
· South: Clay Casey, Delta State (Hitter); Zack Ingram, Mississippi College (Pitcher)
· South Central: Austin Atkerson, Colorado Christian (Hitter); Conner Fletcher, Tarleton State (Pitcher)
· Southeast: Kevin Clanton, Newberry (Hitter); Griffin Baker, Belmont Abbey (Pitcher)
· West: Andrew Bash, California Baptist (Hitter); Joe Ryan, Stanislaus State (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.
2018 NCBWA Division II Players of the Week:
Week ending Feb. 19: Austin Norman, Fairmont State (Hitter); Dillon Cate, Carson-Newman (Pitcher)
· Week ending Feb. 26: Chance Bowden, Catawba (Hitter); Jumpei Akanuma, Lee University (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 5: Andrew Taft, LeMoyne (Hitter); Dan Wirchansky, Pace (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 12: Francisco Rodriguez, Tarleton State (Hitter); Kyle Leahy, Colorado Mesa (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 19: Zack Shannon, Delta State (Hitter); Josh Gaworski, Concordia-St. Paul (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 26: Nick Atkinson, Shepherd (Hitter); Adam Riggleman, Glenville State (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 2: Matt Honeycutt, Mars Hill (Hitter); Dalton Morrow, Southwest Baptist (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 9: Mikey Gangwish, Colorado School of Mines (Hitter); Kyle Flessner, Purdue Northwest (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 16: Ted DeSanti, Indiana, Pa. (Hitter); Ryan Murphy, LeMoyne (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 23: Griffin Baker, Belmont Abbey (Hitter); Clay Casey, Delta State (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 30: Mondesi Gutierrez, Northwest Missouri State (Hitter); Grant Wolfram, Davenport (Pitcher)