DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
(NCBWA) released the Pro-Line Cap National Players of the Week for
the period ending Feb. 20. Texas sophomore outfielder Drew Stubbs
was named National Hitter of the Week, while Arkansas State's junior left-hander
Taylor Fowler 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.
Stubbs batted .556 (10-for-18) with six runs scored, two doubles, four
home runs, 11 RBI, two walks and two stolen bases in leading the Longhorns
to a three-game sweep of No. 5 Stanford, a mid-week victory over UT-San
Antonio and extend their record to 11-0, their best start since 1995. Not
only did the Atlanta, Texas, native hit a team-best .556 over Texas' four
games last week with club-high totals for runs (6), hits (10), doubles (2),
home runs (4), RBI (11), total bases (24), slugging (1.333), on-base percentage
(.600) and stolen bases (2), but his effort included a .538 average with
three home runs, four runs scored, eight RBI and a pair of steals over three
games against No. 5 Stanford (Feb. 18-20).
With his inside-the-park home run against No. 5 Stanford on Feb. 19,
Stubbs became the first Longhorns player to hit an inside-the-park round-tripper
since Omar Quintanilla turned the trick at home against Arizona on March
9, 2003. Notably, when he connected on his second inside-the-park home run
in as many days to win the series finale with the Cardinal in the bottom
of the ninth inning on Feb. 20, Stubbs became the first player in UT history
to hit two inside-the-park home runs in two games. Both of Stubbs inside-the-park
home runs also accounted for the game-winning RBI in each of Texas' final
two games against the Cardinal. For the week, Stubbs also batted .875 (7-for-8)
and .833 (5-for-6), respectively, with runners on base and in scoring position.
Fowler tossed just the sixth no-hitter in Arkansas State baseball history
on Saturday afternoon as the Indians defeated Big Ten member Northwestern,
4-0 in the UTA-Invitational. Fowler, a native of Marion, Ark., was making
his first-ever start at ASU. He tossed his first collegiate complete game
as he struck out nine batters and walked four. He only faced 31 batters
in his 124-pitch masterpiece. Fowler became the first to toss a no-hitter
at ASU since 1993 and the first solo no-hitter since 1991.
With this week's honor, Fowler automatically is named to the watch list
for Roger Clemens Award, given to the national collegiate pitcher of the
year, sponsored by the Greater Houston Baseball Organization.
The Fort Worth-based Pro-Line Cap Co. supplies the official cap to more
than 100 Division I college teams. This is the first season Pro-Line has
sponsored the NCBWA's Players of the Week. The sponsorship provides for
plaques to be awarded to each of the weekly winners and other promotional
consideration. For more information about Pro-Line, visit their website
at www.prolinecap.com.
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 website, www.ncbwa.com.
2005 Pro-Line Cap Players of the Week:
• Feb. 8: Grant Rembert, Elon (Hitter); Erik Averill, Arizona State (Pitcher)
• Feb. 15: Scott Bridges, Arkansas (Hitter); Brian Bogusevic, Tulane (Pitcher)
• Feb. 22: Drew Stubbs, Texas (Hitter); Taylor Fowler, Arkansas State (Pitcher)
• March 1: Kurt Eichorn, Kent State (Hitter); Tyler Chambliss, Florida State (Pitcher)
• March 8: Matt Wieters, Georgia Tech (Hitter); J.C. Biagi, Centenary (Pitcher)
• March 15: Jeremy Slayden, Georgia Tech (Hitter); Lance Broadway, TCU and Gib Hobson, N.C. State (Pitcher)
• March 22: Alex Gordon, Nebraska (Hitter); Luke Hochevar, Tennessee (Pitcher)
• March 29: Josh Rodriguez, Rice (Hitter); Brent Gaphardt, Delaware (Pitcher)
• April 5: Mike Baxter, Vanderbilt (Hitter); Max Scherzer, Missouri (Pitcher)
• April 12: Dusty Bensko, Illinois (Hitter); J. Brent Cox, Texas (Pitcher)
• April 19: Mike Costanzo, Coastal Carolina (Hitter); Adrian Alaniz, Texas (Pitcher)
• April 26: Brandon Taylor, BYU (Hitter); Ricky Brooks, East Carolina (Pitcher)
• May 3: Doug Beck, Utah (Hitter); Matt Maloney, Ole Miss (Pitcher)
• May 10: J.R. Kyes, Illinois (Hitter); Brad Lincoln, Houston (Pitcher)
• May 17: Justin Beam, Pacific (Hitter); Jeff Denlea, Hofstra (Pitcher)
• May 24: Craig Cooper, Notre Dame and Adam Tucker, Birmingham-Southern
(Hitter); Lance Broadway, TCU (Pitcher)
Related links:
• Pro-Line Cap to sponsor NCBWA Players of the Week
• Pro-Line Cap Player of the Week plaques