NCBWA NAMES DIVISION IIINATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Contact Kevin Smith
ksmith@wooster.edu
330-263-2374

DALLAS (NCBWA) – A near-1.000 average and a two-hitter took home the top honors for the final 2019 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Div. III Weekly Awards, while a 7-for-11 performance at a conference tournament was the top outing of the week by a rookie. This weeks honorees were selected for games played April 29-May 5.

Hitter of the Week: Sophomore infielder Eric Devore slashed .889/.900/1.222 as Heidelberg University wound down the regular season last week. Devore smacked eight hits, including three doubles, in nine at-bats, and accounted for five RBI and five runs scored. Needing to sweep Capital University to claim a share of the Ohio Athletic Conference regular-season title, Devore came up big to spark an offense that produced 30 runs in Sundays twin bill. In game one, Devore was a perfect 5-for-5 from the dish with two doubles and three RBI. In game two, he went 1-for-2, walked once, and knocked in two more runs.

Honorable Mention Hitter: Brennan Schmitt, Jr., 3B, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse - Hit .536 (15-of-28) in eight starts during the week, while recording six doubles, two home runs, and 12 RBI. Schmitt finished the week with 27 total bases and six straight multi-hit contests. He was 5-for-8 with two doubles, one round-tripper, and three runs in a doubleheader against College of St. Scholastica on May 1. He then finished 10-for-15 in a four-game series against Finlandia University over the weekend. Against Finlandia, Schmitt recorded five runs, six RBI, four doubles, and a home run.

Pitcher of the Week: Washington University in St. Louis sophomore Ryan Loutos helped his team complete a doubleheader sweep over Knox College with a two-hit shutout on Saturday. The right-hander finished with 14 strikeouts and didnt issue any walks in his nine innings of work. The 14 strikeouts are the second-most in an outing by Loutos.

Honorable Mention Pitcher: Brice Swick, Jr., Ripon College Did not allow an earned run in 10 innings last week. Swick gave up five hits and struck out 16. He earned the win in an 11-1 victory at Lawrence University that clinched a spot in the Midwest Conference Tournament. In that game, Swick allowed five hits, while tying a single-game school record with 15 strikeouts. In his other appearance, Swick pitched a perfect ninth inning for his first save of the season in a 3-1 win at 16th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Rookie of the Week: Kobe Rogerson helped Husson University capture the No. 1 seed for the North Athletic Conference Tournament with two hits and five RBI in a pair of wins over the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Then, Rogerson went on to string together a 7-for-11 showing at the NAC Tournament. In total, Rogerson helped the Eagles to a 5-0 week with nine hits, seven RBI, five runs, and two walks. He was perfect in 21 total chances at second base and was named to the all-tournament team.

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 Dick Howser Player of the Year Award, Regional Player of the Year and NCBWA All-America voting. The NCBWA also sponsors preseason All-America awards, publication and writing contests.