| Marcus Begg, Southern Virginia Southern Virginia athletics photo |
Southern Virginia’s Marcus Begg and St. John Fisher’s Mark Iseneker gained Hitter and Pitcher of the Week standing on the Division III National Collegiate Baseball Writers’ Association awards for the period of March 21-27.
Begg, a freshman infielder from Clearwater, Fla., batted .700 (14-for-20) with 10 RBIs and six runs scored last week. Begg registered at least two RBI and two hits in each of the Knights' four contests, including a 5-for-5 performance in game one of a doubleheader with York. The Capital Athletic Conference’s Hitter of the Week also registered one home run, one double and stole two bases on the week.
Iseneker, a junior right-handed pitcher from Sherrill, N.J., was masterful for the Cardinals in a 9-0 win over Elmira Saturday, March 26. The Empire 8 Conference’s Pitcher of the Week, he became the first SJF player to have a no-hitter since the 2011 season and is just the second player in Fisher history to record the feat. The junior, facing the minimum 27 batters, struck out a season-high 11 and allowed just one to reach base on a lead-off walk in the second inning. The runner was taken away with a double play, and the final 22 hitters were retired with the ball leaving the infield only twice. With the win, Iseneker, who owns a 2.65 earned run average and a conference-leading 41 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched, improved to 2-1 on the season.
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Mark Iseneker, St. John Fisher |
Honorable Mention Hitters: Gavin Blodgett, so, UT, Chapman: Went off last week with a .727 average in four games. He hit four doubles, scored five times and drove in 10 RBI to lead Chapman to a 4-0 week. Blodgett walked twice and was hit by a pitch for a .733 OBP while slugging 1.091.
Andrew Neich, sr., 1B/DH/C, New Jersey City University: Put up big numbers in NJCU’s 2-1 week. He batted .615, going 8-for-13 and homering in all three games while driving in nine runs. He blasted a two-run game-tying home run in a loss to Lehman. He ramped up more in the following game, going 4-for-5 with another home run in a win over St. Joseph’s (Brooklyn). He wrapped up the week with a 3-for-5 performance with his third home run of the week and five RBIs in a 10-9 road win at Drew. With the nine RBIs last week, Niech moved into the top 10 in school history in career RBIs (86) during the span, too.
Sam Sivo, sr., OF, McDaniel: Led the Green Terror to a 4-0 week, hitting .733 from the leadoff position. He went 11-for-15 at the plate and also drew four walks. He added a double and two triples among his hits to slug 1.067. He also had eight runs scored, four RBIs, and three stolen bases.
Honorable Mention Pitcher: Tommy Parsons, so., RHP, Adrian: Tossed a no-hitter in an 8-0 decision over Olivet in the second game of a doubleheader Friday, March 25, to become part of program history. The right-hander struck out seven Comets and walked just one. Parsons faced just two over the minimum 27 batters and the no-hitter was completed in just 88 pitches, 62 went for strikes. Parsons retired the next 19 straight batters before a Bulldog throwing error in the seventh frame. The effort marks the first no-hitter during the 23-year tenure of Bulldogs head coach Craig Rainey and is believed to be just the second no-no since the program was founded in 1901, as Eric Davis pitched a no-hitter during the 1970s.
National Players of the week for:
March 21-27: Marcus Begg, Southern Virginia, Mark Iseneker, St. John Fisher
March 14-20: Aaron Barclay, Washington College and Sam Gillespie, Kenyon
March 7-13: Justin Taylor, Lancaster Bible, Brian Bohman, Penn St.-Behrend, and Josh Outsen, St. Joseph’s (L.I.)
February 29-March 6: Joe Zimmer, Whitman and Matt Backlund, Alvernia
February 22-28: Andrew Waters, Trinity (Texas) and Andrew Stull, Rose-Hulman
February 15-21: Tommy Vitaletti, Christopher Newport and Greg Schneider, Frostburg St.
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