DALLAS (NCBWA) – A .724 week with 26 RBI and six homers, a program’s first no-hitter since 2005, and a rookie who hit .500 with three homers collected the final National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Div. III Hitter, Pitcher, and Rookie of the Week honors for the 2023 season. This week’s choices cover games played May 1-7, 2023.
HITTER OF THE WEEK
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater junior second baseman Adam Cootway had a monster week, batting .724 (21-for-29) with 26 RBI, 18 runs scored, and six home runs over a seven-game stretch. Cootway became the 10th player in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference history to hit for the cycle, and he added a bonus home run in the game he did it. Cootway was 8-for-8 with 12 RBI, seven runs scored, and three home runs in a doubleheader against the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. He had 10 hits go for extra bases on the week with two doubles and two triples in additional to the six homers. Cootway was named to D3baseball.com’s Team of the Week and was the WIAC Kwik Trip Position Player of the Week.
Honorable Mention Hitters: Coltin Green, Jr., C, Westminster College (Missouri) – St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Diamond Sports Baseball Hitter of the Week after powering the Blue Jays to a series sweep of Principia College (Illinois). Hit .800 (8-for-10) over the three games, finishing with 12 RBI and four home runs. Also scored six times and finished with a 2.000 slugging percentage. In game one of Saturday’s doubleheader, Green was 2-for-2 with two home runs and a walk, as he drove in seven runs, scored three times, and stole a base. He hit two more home runs as part of a 3-for-3 showing in the nightcap. Jake Miller, Gr., SS, East Texas Baptist University – D3baseball.com Team of the Week selection after helping ETBU to its first American Southwest Conference Tournament title. Batted .550 (11-for-20) over six games with 15 RBI, five doubles, and a grand slam. Miller had a .950 slugging percentage and scored six times. Went 4-for-7 with five RBI and a run scored in the championship round against Hardin-Simmons University (Texas).
Note there are two honorable mention hitters this week due to a voting tie between Green and Miller, with both players receiving identical numbers of first-, second-, and third-place votes.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Denison University (Ohio) senior right-hander Charlie Fleming threw the third no-hitter in program history during Saturday’s 14-0 nine-inning win over Waynesburg University (Pennsylvania). Fleming, who logged the 11th-ranked Big Red’s first no-hitter since 2005, recorded 15 straight outs after walking the first batter of the game. He finished with seven one-two-three innings and struck out 10. He was named to D3baseball.com’s Team of the Week and was the North Coast Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week.
Honorable Mention Pitcher: Adam Biewen, Jr., Gustavus Adolphus College (Minnesota) – D3baseball.com Team of the Week and Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week after having the best pitching performance of his collegiate career on May 2. Fired a complete-game nine-inning shutout against then-MIAC-leading Bethel University (Minnesota). Biewen struck out eight, allowed just two hits, and did not walk anybody in the 8-0 victory.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Benedictine University (Illinois) first-year catcher Logan Gregorio hit .500 (13-for-26) in a 4-2 week. He logged 11 RBI, scored eight times, homered three times, doubled twice, and had a triple. Gregorio hit safely in all six games and drove home five runs in a 12-4 win at Rockford University (Illinois) on Saturday, before finishing the nightcap 5-for-5 with a double and a homer.
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