DALLAS (NCBWA) – East Texas Baptist University's Sayers Collins book-ended the 2022 season with National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Div. III pitching honors, while the University of Minnesota Morris became the third Div. III institution to claim two awards in the same week. This week's selections were chosen based on games played May 2-8 and are the final Div. III selections for the 2022 season.
HITTER OF THE WEEK
Minnesota Morris senior shortstop Alex Baumann earned Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Baseball Player of the Week honors after going 22-of-41 (.537) in a 9-1 week for the Cougars. Baumann recorded 23 runs, 19 RBI, six stolen bases, and five walks. Nine of his hits went for extra bases, including two that went down as home runs. Baumann had a pair of 4-for-5 games on the week, the first of which came in a 15-4 win over Martin Luther College (Minnesota) on Thursday. In that game, Baumann logged four RBI, two runs scored, a home run, and a double. His other 4-for-5 game came in Saturday's 26-15 win over Northland College (Wisconsin), a game in which Baumann had three RBI and three runs scored.
Honorable Mention Hitter: AJ Anzai, So., P/INF, Chapman University (California) – Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hitter of the Week after helping 19th-ranked Chapman to a series sweep of 17th-ranked University of La Verne (California) and the top seed in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament. Anzai hit .750 on the week, going 9-for-12 at the plate with nine RBI, six runs scored, three home runs, and two walks. Anzai went deep in each game during the series and drove in six of his nine RBI in the series opener.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
East Texas Baptist junior right-hander Sayers Collins blanked University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) 10-0 in eight innings to help the Tigers gain a trip to the American Southwest Conference Baseball Championship Gold Bracket Finals. Collins, who allowed one hit in the shutout, struck out seven and allowed two walks. Collins is currently tied for first nationally in wins (11), second in strikeouts (115), and sixth in hits allowed per nine innings (4.87). Collins started the year with NCBWA Div. III Pitcher of the Month honors for February.
Honorable Mention Pitcher: Caleb Reyes, Sr., P, Occidental College (California) – SCIAC Pitcher of the Week after a complete-game effort against California Lutheran University. Reyes allowed just one hit during the 6-1 victory. The run was unearned, and he struck out six in the nine-inning contest.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
University of Minnesota, Morris first-year right-hander Jacob Schaaf went 2-0 on the week with a 0.60 ERA. The UMAC Pitcher of the Week allowed one run on nine hits in 15 innings of work. The Cougars' rookie struck out 11 in eight innings of a 9-1 win over North Central University (Minnesota), then went the distance against the University of Wisconsin-Superior in a 12-0 Minnesota Morris win.
Mitchell College (Connecticut) (Week 8, 2021) and Saint John Fisher College (New York) (Week 11, 2021) are the previous institutions with multiple NCBWA Div. III winners in the same week. Both claimed the hitter and rookie honors in their respective week. The NCBWA has recognized Div. III Hitters and Pitchers of the Week since 2003 and Rookies of the Week since 2018.
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