The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin captured a pair of this week’s NCAA Div. III weekly accolades from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, while the New Jersey Athletic Conference had this week’s top hitter. This week’s honorees were recognized for performances spanning March 8-14.
HITTER OF WEEK
Kean University junior outfielder Philip Mahlik went 10-for-14 (.714) from his leadoff position with six RBI and three extra-base hits, including an inside-the-park home run. Mahlik went 6-for-8 with five RBI, an inside-the-park homer, and a stolen base in the season-opening doubleheader sweep of New Jersey City University. In a doubleheader split with William Paterson University, Mahlik went a combined 4-for-6 with a triple and RBI. He posted a 1.143 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage for the week
Honorable Mention Hitter: Adam Moore, Sr., Washington & Jefferson College – Led Washington & Jefferson offensively in last weekend’s four-game sweep of Bethany College (W.Va.). The senior compiled a .571 average (8-of-14), slugged a pair of home runs, and totaled 10 RBI. Moore also scored four runs and recorded 14 total bases. He finished the series with a .625 on-base percentage.
PITCHER OF WEEK
North Central College’s (Illinois) Ryan Behling pitched a nine-inning no-hitter in a 4-0 shutout against Spalding University on March 14. Impressively, only two of the 27 outs came via strikeouts and only one out was recorded out of the infield – an eighth-inning fly out to center field.
Honorable Mention Pitcher: RJ Kuruts, Sr., St. John Fisher College – Was untouchable last week as he was part of a combined no-hitter against Clarkson University on Tuesday. Kuruts got the start and allowed just one walk over six innings while striking out a career-high 13 batters. Kuruts retired 19 of 20 batters faced in the win.
ROOKIE OF WEEK
Illinois Wesleyan University’s Jacob Cyrus powered the team to a sweep over Wartburg College on March 13. Cyrus finished the doubleheader 6-for-8 with a double, a homer, and 10 RBI. He scored two runs, swiped two bases, and walked once. In game one, Cyrus finished 3-for-4 with seven RBI and two runs scored. The highlight of his performance was a three-run homer in the eighth that broke a 10-10 tie and secured IWU’s 13-10 win. His seven RBI are the most by a Titan since 2019, and the most by an IWU freshman since 2007. He added a 3-for-4 effort in game two with three more RBI and ran his reached base streak to eight games.
2021 WINNERS
• Month of February: Ty Morgan, Louisiana College (Hitter); Brett Sanchez, Belhaven (Pitcher); Levi Cloud, Berry (Rookie)
• Week ending March 7: Caleb Durbin, Washington-St. Louis (Hitter); Patrick O’Rourke, Berry (Pitcher); Amani Jones, Stevenson (Rookie)
• Week ending March 14: Philip Mahlik, Kean (Hitter); Ryan Behling, North Central (Pitcher); Jacob Cyrus, Illinois Wesleyan (Rookie)
ABOUT THE NCBWA
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