DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association has named its Dick Howser Trophy Players of the Month for April, presented by The Game Headwear, honoring Saint Joseph’s sophomore catcher Blake Primrose as its national hitter of the month and Florida’s sophomore right-handed pitcher Aidan King as the national pitcher of the month.
Primrose put up monster power numbers throughout April, hitting .453 (29-for-64) with 11 home runs and 33 RBIs. He added five doubles and a triple to slug 1.078 for the month, reaching base at a .556 clip and scoring 28 runs for the Hawks. Primrose was twice named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week (April 6 and April 13), then hit grand slams in both ends of an April 18 doubleheader and three slams on the week from April 12-18. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native homered in four consecutive games to start the month and in six of the Hawks’ first seven contests in April, totaling seven blasts across that span. Primrose helped power his team to a 13-3 mark in games he played in April, including an 11-1 conference record and a new program record for conference wins in a season – 19, with still nine games to play. For the year, Primrose is batting .378 with 62 total hits, including 17 home runs and has driven in 53.
King posted a 4-0 record across four starts and logged a 1.57 ERA in April, striking out 28 batters and walking just four over 28.2 innings for the Gators. The Jacksonville, Florida, native collected three wins against top-10 SEC teams, opening the month with seven shutout innings vs. Ole Miss with eight strikeouts and no walks allowed, then going 7.2 frames at No. 4 Georgia, allowing just a pair of runs on two hits with six punchouts in UF’s series-opening victory. He allowed just one run in six innings the following week vs. No. 6 Auburn, adding another eight K’s, then went a season-long eight innings in the win vs. No. 7 Texas A&M, again without surrendering a walk and fanning six. He gave up 13 hits on the month and just five runs, lowering his season ERA to 1.78.
This marks the 11th consecutive year that the NCBWA has honored a national hitter and national pitcher of the month. 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.