The Team of the Week is D3baseball.com's weekly honor roll, in its twelfth 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 first Team of the Week of the 2023 season.
Games of February 1-19, 2023
C Jacob Ference, Sr., Salisbury
Ference slashed .714/.750/1.857 with two doubles, two homers, four runs scored and six RBIs in two of the Sea Gulls' three wins over Widener and Cortland. Ference, who hit two home runs total in 2022, matched that mark on the first two pitches he saw in 2023.
1B Rob Marinec, Sr., North Central (Ill.)
Marinec batted .615, 8-for-13 in the opening weekend for the Cardinals. He had five extra base hits (three doubles, two home runs) for a 1.308 slugging. He scored eight and drove in six. Moving to first base from catcher, he was pefrect in 26 chances.
2B Jaxon Masterson, So., Hampden-Sydney
Masterson began the season with an outstanding 6-for-11 effort at the plate (.545), including his first collegiate home run, one double, two runs, eight RBIs, three walks and three stolen bases. Masterson is currently second in the ODAC in RBIs, is tied for 10th in batting average, tied for fourth in steals and sixth in slugging percentage.
SS Jacob Laduca, So., Washington & Jefferson
LaDuca finished with a pair of hits, one a double, and four RBI in W&J's 10-6 season-opening win over Muskingum. He scored two runs.
SS Drew Salyers, So., UW-Eau Claire
Salyers tallied two multi-hit games at the Rhodes Classic in Memphis, Tenn. as he batted .600 (6-for-10). He scored four runs and had an RBI. His three stolen bases against Rhodes on Feb. 17 set a new career high for a single game. His three hits in that game matched a single-game career best.
3B Jack Thomson, Sr., Lewis & Clark
Thomson has picked right back up from his 2022 season. The fifth-year senior leads all of Division III with his seven home runs, 26 runs scored, .651 on-base percentage, 1.108 slugging percentage, 20 walks and nine hit by pitches. He opened the season batting .432 (16-for-37) with 13 RBIs, leading Lewis & Clark off to their best start since 2004 and the first team to 10 wins in 2023.
OF Kavi Caster, Sr., Salisbury
Caster homered in all three games over the weekend for Salisbury, slashing .364/.533/1.364 with three dingers, one triple, six RBIs and seven runs scored. His most impressive game came in the nightcap of a Sunday doubleheader against Cortland in which he went 2-for-3 with a triple, homer, three RBIs and three runs scored.
OF Gavin Horning, Sr., Shenandoah
Horning opened the Hornet season with six extra-base hits (two double, three triples, one home run) for a .571 batting average (8-for-14). He scored seven times with another seven RBIs.
OF Dane Jones, Jr., LeTourneau
Jones is batting .500 on the year (12-for-24) with four homers, 12 RBIs, 10 runs scored and eight extra-base hits. He has an OPS of 1.734 while compiling a 1.167 slugging percentage. Jones has five multi-hit games and was 6-for-8 in stolen bases on the year.
OF Maxwell Mims, Jr., Southwestern (Tex.)
The center fielder from Friendswood, Texas, Mims recorded six hits, two home runs, three runs scored and eight RBIs in the three-game series vs North Park including a walk-off hit in the Pirates' first game of the series versus North Park to get the 4-3 win. He is batting .545.
DH Ethan Currin, Sr., Hampden-Sydney
Currin opened the season with an offensive explosion at the plate, going 6-for-12 (.500) with four home runs, one double, eight runs, 11 RBIs and three walks. Currin leads the ODAC in home runs and RBIs, is tied for first in runs, is second in slugging percentage and tied for 10th in batting average.
SP Dawson Gabe, Sr., Baldwin Wallace
Gabe showed why he was the team's ace as he opened the season with six innings of no hit baseball as the staff completed an eight inning no-hitter. Gabe notched eight strikeouts while only allowing one walk.
SP Tyler Herrera, So., Centenary (La.)
Sophomore LHP Herrera picked up right where he left off following a phenomenal rookie season as he tossed a complete game one-hitter on Friday in the Diamond Gents' 11-1 season-opening win at home over Ozarks in seven innings. Herrera, who now has thrown three CG's in his young career, allowed a two-out single in the third and that was all as he allowed just one unearned run and one walk with a career-high 10 K's.
SP David Muirhead, So., Marymount
In his first start of the season, Muirhead put on a show on the bump, helping the Saints complete the doubleheader sweep over Stevenson in game two. Taking a perfect game into the sixth inning, the sophomore ended his day with 6.2 innings pitched, four strikeouts to just one walk, while allowing just one hit and no earned runs.
SP Chris Parsons, Sr., St. Thomas (Texas)
Parsons was untouchable on the mound in the Celts 3-0 victory over McMurry last weekend. He allowed just one hit and struck out 11 batters in eight innings of work. Parsons didn't allow a single walk and has yet to allow a single run through his opening 15 innings of action this season.
RP Evan Blair, So., Washington and Lee
Blair entered Sunday's game trailing 3-4. In his four innings of play, Blair faced the minimum of 12 batters. He pitched four perfect innings with five strikeouts. This dominating performance allowed W&L to take the lead with a five-run fifth inning.