| Lancaster Bible’s Nate Long Lancaster Bible athletics photo |
Lancaster Bible’s Nate Long and Cortland’s Seth Lamando earned National Collegiate Baseball Writers’ Association Division III accolades for the period of April 27 – May 3.
Long, a senior outfielder from Jonestown, Pa., joined Chargers’ teammate Nate Burns in gaining LBC’s second NCBWA award of the year. He racked up 11 hits in his final 13 at-bats for a .846 batting average while registering three home runs, three doubles, 10 RBIs, eight runs scored and no strikeouts in just three games to help the team go 2-1. Long opened the week going 3-for-4 with two home runs, five RBIs, three runs scored and a stolen base in a 14-4 nonconference win over Cairn April 30, before continuing to swing a scorching hot bat in a doubleheader series with conference foe Penn State Abington May 2. Long finished the series 8-for-9 at the plate, including a perfect 4-for-4 performance with a home run, two doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored in his final collegiate game that ended in a 6-4 win for a series split. The North Eastern Athletic Conference’s Hitter of the Week also finished the span with a .867 on-base percentage and a 1.769 slugging percentage to help him close the regular season as the conference leader in both of those categories (.539 OBS, .753 SLG), while also ranking first in the NEAC in batting average (.454) and home runs (7).
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Previous NCBWA Players of the Week Hitter: Pitcher: |
Lamando, a junior right-hander pitcher from Hopewell Junction, N.Y., flirted with a no-hitter in helping guide the Red Dragons to the State University of New York Athletic Conference tournament championship. He earned a spot on the SUNYAC All-Tournament Team after taking the “no-no” bid into the ninth inning during Cortland's 8-1 win over Brockport in the winner's bracket final. The SUNYAC Pitcher of the Week’s attempt was broken up on a one-out double, and he finished with one hit and one run allowed with 11 strikeouts in eight and a third innings.
Honorable Mention Hitter: Justin Katich, Jr., OF, Iowa Wesleyan - Closed out the 2015 season with a bang, helping his team pick up four wins on the week. Katich powered the Tiger offense, hitting .750 with two home runs and 15 runs batted in. He was 2-for-5 with six runs batted in during a double header against Lincoln Christian. Katich followed with a perfect day against Robert Morris-Springfield, going 7-for-7 in a double header with two home runs and nine RBIs. Katich finished the week with a .688 on base percentage and a 1.750 slugging percentage with nine hits and four runs scored over four games.
Honorable Mention Pitcher: Dylan Diveney, Fr., RHP, Central - Picked up a save and a win in Central's four-game sweep of Loras. He pitched a perfect ninth with one strikeout to secure a 5-4 win in the second game of the May 1 doubleheader, then took a no-hitter into the bottom of the 10th inning in the first game of the May 2 doubleheader before it was broken up by a two-out single. Diveney allowed just three base runners in 11 innings of work in the series.
Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. Members receive a membership card, directory, newsletter updates and official votes in the Dick Howser Player of the Year Award, Regional Player of the Year and NCBWA All-America voting. The NCBWA also sponsors preseason All-America awards, publication and writing contests.