DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its National Player of the Week awards for the period ending February 16. Texas Tech freshman catcher/designated hitter Nate Rombach was named National Hitter of the Week, while Long Beach State sophomore left-handed pitcher Alfredo Ruiz 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.
Rombach blasted five home runs on opening weekend, four of which were of the three-run variety, on his way to 15 RBI over four outings. He is tied for the nation's lead in home runs and ranks second in RBI after the first weekend of the season. Rombach was 7-for-14 at the plate (.500) with an eye-popping 1.714 slugging percentage in games against Houston Baptist and Northern Colorado. The Mansfield, Texas, product had a .650 on-base percentage and scored nine runs for the Red Raiders.
Ruiz tossed seven shutout innings in a series-clinching win against California, striking out a career-high 10 batters. He also didn't walk a batter, while establishing a new career high in innings pitched. Ruiz gave up just two singles in the contest, but neither ball made it out of the infield. He was also remarkably efficient with his pitches, needing just 79 to make it through seven innings. Perhaps more impressively, a whopping 62 of those pitches were for strikes, giving him a strike percentage of over 78 percent. He threw mothing but strikes in the first inning and his first 16 pitches of the game found the strike zone.
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, 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.
2020 NCBWA Division I Players of the Week:
Week ending Feb. 16: Nate Rombach, Texas Tech (Hitter); Alfredo Ruiz, Long Beach State (Pitcher)
· Week ending Feb. 23: Tyler Kelder, St. Bonaventure (Hitter); Bryce Jarvis, Duke (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 1: HUnter Goodman, Memphis (Hitter); Dane Acker, Oklahoma (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 8: Alex Gattinelli, Coastal Carolina (Hitter); Gavin Stone, Central Arkansas (Pitcher)
2020 NCBWA Division I Players of the Month:
February: Nick Gonzales, New Mexico State (Player); Brian Van Belle, Miami (Pitcher)