DALLAS (NCBWA) – A pitcher in the American Rivers Conference turned in the second perfect game in NCAA Div. III this season, a first-year in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference shut out a nationally-ranked conference rival over eight innings, and a North Coast Athletic Conference outfielder went 11-for-15 at the dish to take home the week five National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Div. III honors. This week’s honorees were recognized for performances spanning March 21-27.
HITTER OF THE WEEK
Wabash College (Indiana) sophomore outfielder Kamden Earley hit for a .733 average (11-for-15) and an .867 slugging percentage across three victories to help the Little Giants improve to 12-2 on the season. The NCAC Player of the Week drove in six runs with a five-hit effort at Earlham College (Indiana) on Wednesday to tie for the fifth-most RBI in a single game in program history. His five hits also tied for the most in a single game by a Little Giant player, making him the 11th in school history to accomplish the feat. Earley added three hits in each game of Sunday’s doubleheader against Illinois Wesleyan University, driving in two runs in the Little Giants’ comeback win in the nightcap. On the week, Earley scored four runs, collected eight RBI, and was a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen bases.
Honorable Mention Hitter: Jonathan Toth, So., SS, Muhlenberg College (Pennsylvania) – Centennial Conference Player of the Week after hitting a home run in four consecutive at-bats over a two-game stretch in a 2-1 week for the Mules. After hitting a game-tying solo home run in the top of the ninth at Eastern University (Pennsylvania), Toth belted a three-run shot, a two-run shot, and a solo blast in his first three plate appearances against New Jersey City University. He became the third Muhlenberg player to hit three round-trippers in a game, and he later added an RBI single to set a school record with 13 total bases in the game. For the week, Toth hit .500 (6-for-12) with nine RBI, four runs scored, and a 1.962 OPS.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Buena Vista University (Iowa) junior right-hander Dalton Glenn became the first player in program history to record a perfect game during the Beavers’ 12-0 seven-inning victory over Central College (Iowa) on March 26. The A-R-C Male Athlete and Pitcher of the Week shut down a Dutch offense that scored 17 runs over the first four innings against Buena Vista in Saturday’s opening game. He recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts, including mowing down the side in the seventh inning. Glenn’s perfect game is the program’s first no-hitter since Dan Christiansen’s against Central on April 18, 2002. It is the second perfect game in Div. III this spring and the 25th all-time.
Honorable Mention Pitcher: Harrison Boushele, So., Augustana College (Illinois) – College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Student-Athlete of the Week after going the distance in Augustana’s 8-0 nine-inning shutout of Benedictine University on Friday. Boushele gave up just one hit, no walks, and struck out 11 batters to move to 4-0 on the season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Centenary College of Louisiana left-hander Tyler Herrera was the SCAC Pitcher of the Week. Herrera turned in a dynamite performance on the mound on Friday night in the Gents’ series-opener against 16th-ranked Trinity University (Texas). He fired eight innings of three-hit shutout baseball against the Tigers and struck out nine Trinity batters. Herrera improved to 3-0 and lowered his team-leading ERA to a staggering 0.69. Herrera struck out a pair in the first, induced an inning-ending double play in the second, struck out two more in the fifth, and also struck out a pair in both the seventh and eighth innings.
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