A dominant six-game stretch has earned Benedictine University freshman first baseman Damen Castillo national recognition as the NCAA Division III National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Rookie of the Week.
Castillo hit .652 over six conference contests last week, logging 15 hits in 23 at bats. The Highland, Ind. native opened the week with a 5-for-5 showing in a 17-4 conference win over regionally ranked Aurora, homering and driving home three. Castillo finished 7-of-8 in a doubleheader with MSOE, doubling twice and knocking home three. Castillo capped the week with two hits, a homer and three RBIs in the final game against Marian. The freshman entered the week hitting just .245.
Following action on Wednesday, Castillo is batting .360, tops on the team. Benedictine (23-12), ranked fourth in the region, welcomes the consensus #1 team in the nation, Concordia Chicago, for a pair of games on Saturday in the final conference doubleheader of the year.
BELOW COURTESY OF THE NCBWA
5/1 - NCAA DIVISION III NATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
Tenth weekly awards of 2019 announced
Seven of the 10 Div. III National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Pitchers of the Week this season have fired no-hitters, with this week's honoree being the third to come from an institution in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. A speedster who legged out three inside-the-park round-trippers and a rookie who hit .652 rounded out the honorees for performances spanning games played April 22-28.
HITTER OF THE WEEK
State University of New York College at Cortland's Colin BeVard accomplished something rare last week, as the junior outfielder legged out two inside-the-park homers in the same inning and three for the week. BeVard was instrumental in helping Cortland sweep the College at Brockport to finish 18-0 in the State University of New York Athletic Conference. BeVard finished the series batting .538 with four homers, a triple, two steals, seven RBI, seven runs scored, and an amazing 1.615 slugging percentage.
Honorable Mention Hitter: Garrett Crum, Sr., 1B, The College of Wooster – Upped his hitting streak to 21 games during the 15th-ranked Fighting Scots' Saturday sweep over ninth-ranked Denison University. Crum went 6-for-9 with three doubles, three RBI, and two runs scored as the Scots moved into first-place in the North Coast Athletic Conference. Overall, Crum was 10-for-14 over three games last week. During his hitting streak, Crum's hit a remarkable .563 (49-for-87) with 33 RBI and 26 runs scored.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Matt O'Sullivan tossed the seventh no-hitter in the history of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's baseball program. Last Tuesday, the sophomore recorded nine strikeouts during the 18th-ranked Warhawks' 12-0 victory against the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. O'Sullivan was perfect through 5 2/3 innings before allowing a walk in the bottom of the sixth. He needed 75 pitches to record 21 outs in the run-rule shortened contest. The no-no marked the program's first since 2010.
Honorable Mention Pitcher: Nate Luscombe, Sr., Hood College – Pitched seven innings of one-hit baseball, while not allowing a run in a 4-2 win over Widener University on "senior day". Luscombe was perfect for six innings before allowing a single in his final inning of work. The senior struck out five batters and did not issue any walks. Luscombe retired the first 18 batters he faced with only two balls leaving the infield.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Damen Castillo went 15-for-23 (.652) during six games last week for Benedictine University. The first baseman clubbed two doubles and two home runs, while driving in nine. Castillo had a 5-for-5 game on Monday against regionally-ranked Aurora University and was 7-for-8 in Thursday's twin bill against Milwaukee School of Engineering. Castillo belted a three-run home run in a 5-0 win over Marian University.
2019 NCBWA DIV. III PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Week ending Feb. 24: Tre D'Amico, Frostburg State (Hitter); Keith Long, Texas-Tyler (Pitcher); Andrew Santobuono, Alfred State (Rookie)
Week ending March 3: Deauton Delgado, Louisiana College (Hitter); David Hall, Belhaven (Pitcher); Casey Jones, St. Vincent (Rookie)
Week ending March 10: Davis Mikell, Castleton (Hitter); Jake Binder, Ithaca (Pitcher); Jacob Thompson, Oberlin (Rookie)
Week ending March 17: Holden Bridge, Swarthmore (Hitter); Tyler Showers, Arcadia (Pitcher); Colton Lineman, Grove City (Rookie)
Week ending March 24: Preston Ludwick, Centenary (Hitter); Brian Johnson, Springfield (Pitcher); Mason Sefcik, St. Norbert (Rookie)
Week ending March 31: Chris DeGiacomo, Johns Hopkins (Hitter); Chris Atwood, Wis.-Oshkosh (Pitcher); Jacob Thompson, Oberlin (Rookie)
Week ending April 7: Zack Smith, Salve Regina (Hitter); Worth Walrod, Suffolk (Pitcher); Nick Denove, Case Western Reserve (Rookie)
Week ending April 14: Christian Jones, Catholic (Hitter); Shayne Audet, New England College (Pitcher); Dylan Fashempour, UMass Boston (Rookie)
Week ending April 21: Joey Stock, St. John's (Minn.) (Hitter); Connor Cook, Wis.-La Crosse (Pitcher); Kyle Schaefer, Roger Williams (Rookie)
Week ending April 28: Colin BeVard, Cortland State (Hitter); Matt O'Sullivan, Wisconsin-Whitewater (Pitcher); Damen Castillo, Benedictine (Rookie)
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.