The Team of the Week is D3baseball.com's weekly honor roll, in its tenth season of recognizing the top performers at each of nine positions from the previous week. Players are selected from nominations from their school's sports information directors. This is the twelfth and final Team of the Week of the 2021 season.
Games of May 10-17 2021
C John Moses, So., Rochester
Moses finished with a .556 (5-for-9) batting average across two wins as Rochester claimed the conference title last week. He added four runs, one double, one home run and a team best six RBI across the two games. His on base mark was .583 and he slugged 1.000 during the two-game week. The sophomore had a huge 2-run home run in the first inning of the title game win, grabbing all the momentum for Rochester in the eventual 19-4 win. Moses also was a perfect 19-for-19 on fielding chances from behind the plate.
C Jack Surin, Sr., Benedictine
Surin logged a pair of four-hit games and a three-hit contest in the South Division Tourney, finishing 12-for-20 with two doubles, a homer, eight runs and five RBIs to hit .600. Hit the go-ahead homer in the eighth inning against Rockford. Surin reached base in every game this season.
1B Drew Holderbach, Jr., Marietta
Holderbach led Marietta to a 6-0 week including a 4-game sweep of OAC #2 team, Mount Union. Five multiple-hit games. Went 4-for-5 with one double, one home home, two runs scored and seven RBI in final game against Heidelberg. Went a combined 5-for-9 with one double, one triple, one home run, four runs scored and eight RBI.
2B Brennan Schmitt, Sr., UW-La Crosse
Schmitt hit .500 (nine-of-18) in four starts against UW-Oshkosh with seven runs, six RBI, four doubles, one triple and 15 total bases. He recorded a .550 on-base and .833 slugging percentage. Schmitt recorded a double and RBIs in all four games, including going 5-for-5 with four runs, two RBIs, one double and one triple in a 9-6 win May 15. He scored the winning run in a 5-4 walk-off victory May 12 and the game-winning RBI in a 6-2 victory May 15.
SS Stephen Rice, Jr., Salisbury
Rice had a pair of big games to help the fifth-ranked Sea Gulls bury Southern Virginia and reach the C2C championship series. Rice went 5-for-7 (.714) with three doubles and a triple (1.429 slugging). He scored four and drove in two.
3B Cameron Falk, Jr., Benedictine
Falk notched seven hits in 16 at bats (.438) during the conference tournament with a double, five RBIs and three runs scored. He slugged .500.
OF Kavi Caster, So., Salisbury
Caster didn't miss a beat in his first game action in over three weeks for the fifth-ranked Sea Gulls. On Friday he went 2-for-4 with two runs, an RBI and a stolen base. The next day he hit for the cycle, finishing it off with a three-run home run in the fifth inning of Salisbury's 16-0 romp of Southern Virginia. Behind Caster's big weekend, the Sea Gulls advanced to the inaugural Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Championship Series.
OF Tristan Shoemaker, So., Crown (Minn.)
As the no. 9 batter Shoemaker was incredible late to lead Crown over Carleton in a non-conference game. In the ninth, eleventh, and twelfth he had a hit directly leading to a run, which either kept the game alive or won the game. He reached first without an out hitting a single in the ninth, eventually scoring to tie the game in the ninth. Then in the eleventh, he doubled to reach, and though he was out on a fielder's choice later that inning, the new runner scored to take a lead (which Carleton matched in the bottom of the inning). Then in the twelfth, he came up big again hitting a single to score a runner from second with two outs, the game-winning run of the ballgame.
OF Aaron Whitley, So., Rochester (N.Y.)
Aaron Whitley was named Most Outstanding Performer of the Liberty League Baseball tournament and secured league Performer of the Week honors. In leading Rochester to its second straight (and second ever) conference tournament title, the sophomore went 7-for-11 (.636) at the plate with five runs scored, three doubles and one RBI. He was also 2-for-2 stolen bases, had a .909 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage over UR's two games. Whitley also made the championship clinching catch out in left field for the Yellowjackets.
DH Matt Korman, So., Wis.-Whitewater
Korman batted 8-for-17 (.471) with three doubles, one home run, four walks, four runs scored and nine runs batted in to help the No. 3 Warhawks finish with a 4-1 record last week. His performance helped UW-Whitewater clinch a share of the WIAC regular season championship.
SP Kasey Henderson, Sr., Anderson
Henderson tossed a two-hit shutout as Anderson captured an 8-0 victory against Hanover on Friday. He struck out five batters, issued two walks and allowed two hits in nine scoreless innings.
SP Henry Litman, Jr., Washington & Jefferson
Litman allowed just two hits in eight shutout innings during a 1-0 victory over Grove City Friday in the PAC Tournament. Litman struck out five and walked just one. He carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning during the victory, which improved his record to 9-0 in 2021.
SP Zack Potts, So., Lynchburg
Potts tossed a three-hit shutout in game one of Lynchburg's series win over Bridgewater to help the Hornets into the ODAC championship series. It was his second complete game of the year and first-career shutout.
SP Gino Sabatine, Jr., Marietta
Sabatine posted wins against Heidelberg and Mount Union over the week. He scattered 6 hits in 9.0 innings pitched and allowed just one run, unearned as Marietta claimed the OAC regular season title.
RP Simon Herold, Jr., Benedictine
Herold tossed seven shutout innings of relief to earn the win in an elimination game. He allowed just four hits while striking out eight.
RP Conor Miller, Sr., York
Miller was named the MAC Commonwealth Championship Most Valuable Player after leading the Spartans to their first MAC Commonwealth Title on Saturday with a sweep of Lebanon Valley. Miller pitched 3.1 innings of work on Saturday and earned a save in game one (W, 7-3) and the win in game two (W, 5-4). Miller retired the side in order in the top of the ninth inning of game two to secure the title.