The Team of the Week is D3baseball.com's weekly honor roll, in its eighth 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 eleventh Team of the Week of the 2019 season.
Games of April 15-21, 2019
C Erich Lange, Sr., Wabash
Lange batted .556 for the week to lead Wabash to a pair of series sweeps over Ohio Wesleyan and Oberlin. He collected 10 hits in 18 at bats with three doubles and three home runs with 12 RBIs and 10 runs scored over the four games.
1B Josh Crummer, Sr., Washington & Jefferson
Crummer compiled a .632 batting average (12-for-19) with nine RBIs and eight runs scored last week. The senior slugged a home run, added six doubles and recorded multi-hit efforts in all five games for W&J, reaching base at a .636 clip and recorded a 1.105 slugging percentage.
2B Ryan Burciaga, Sr., Texas-Dallas
Burciaga became the Texas-Dallas all-time RBI leader over the weekend as he finished a three-game home series with Sul Ross State hitting .615 with 13 runs batted in. He was 8-for-13 from the plate with five extra-base hits (1.231 slugging percentage) against the Lobos, adding five runs scored.
SS TJ Johnson, Jr., Coe
Johnson went 10-for-16 (.625) at the plate with three triples, two doubles, 10 RBIs, and eight runs scored to help Coe up their winning streak to 16 games during a perfect 4-0 week on the road. He also won a game on the mound in relief.
3B Lukas Granado, Sr., La Verne
Granado led the Leopards to a big series win over the Occidental Tigers to help La Verne retain second place in the SCIAC. Granado finished the week with three RBIs, three hits, and a walk with a .429 batting average (3-for-7) and a .857 slugging percentage.
OF Nick Cotraro, Jr., Mass.-Boston
Cotraro had the biggest week of his college career as he led the Beacons to a 4-1 week. He slashed .643/.688/1.357 with nine hits in 14 at-bats. He recorded six runs scored, two doubles, one triple, two home runs, nine RBI, one walk and 19 total bases.
OF Thomas Craig, Sr., Texas-Dallas
Craig hit .733 with four extra-base hits as the Comets hosted Sul Ross State for a three-game ASC series over the weekend. Craig homered in each contest as he boasted a 1.400 slugging percentage in the set. He was 11-for-15 from the plate with seven runs scored and seven RBI.
OF Nathan Davis, Jr., Johns Hopkins
Davis finished a 4-0 week for the Blue Jays hitting .500 (6-for-12) with two doubles and four home runs during the week while knocking in 10 runs and scoring eight. The Ashburn, VA native slugged 1.667 for the week and had an OBP of .700.
OF Jake Ryan, So., Case Western Reserve
Ryan helped lead the Spartans to wins against two of the top teams in the Mideast Region, with a big week at the plate. Ryan finished the week batting .556 (5-for-9) with five runs scored, one double, three home runs and five RBIs, while also being hit by two pitches. He reached base at a .636 clip for the week, while slugging 1.667.
DH Joey Stock, Jr., Saint John's (Minn.)
Stock batted .565 (13-for-23) with eight extra-base hits, including five home runs, an OPS of 1.977, 16 RBIs and 10 runs scored as SJU went 5-1 on the road last week in MIAC play.
SP Connor Cook, Jr., UW-La Crosse
Cook pitched UWL's seventh no-hitter in school history in the Eagles' 10-0 win in seven innings at number-one ranked Concordia Chicago April 18. He went 7.0 innings, allowing one walk while striking out eight. Cook faced two batters over the minimum. The loss snapped the Cougars' 24-game winning streak.
SP Andrew Hill, So., Wooster
Hill fired the 13th no-hitter in program history on Sunday during the 11th-ranked Fighting Scots' 16-0 win over Allegheny. Hill retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced between innings two and five. The right-hander struck out three on the day.
SP Stephen Keskinidis, Sr., Salem State
Keskinidis fired a no-hitter against the Fitchburg State Falcons in a dominating performance on April 19th. Keskinidis, struck out five and walked three to lead the Vikings to a 1-0 MASCAC victory in game one of the Vikings' scheduled doubleheader.
SP Austin Smith, So., Southwestern
Smith followed his dominant performance against No. 4 Trinity (Texas) with his first no-hitter of the season to defeat the University of Dallas Crusaders 15-0 in seven innings on April 19th. Smith induced a pop out to end the game and complete his no-hitter, finishing with 10 strikeouts and three walks.
RP Christian Slattery, Jr., Cal Lutheran
Slattery was instrumental in Cal Lutheran's three-game series sweep over Redlands, earning the save in game one and win in game three. He came in the ninth in game one with the one-run lead, facing the top of the lineup, and ended the game with a 1-2-3 inning for his eighth save on the year. In game three, he came in the eighth, in a one-run ballgame with runners on the corners with no outs. After a wild-pitch play brought in the tying run, Slattery settled in to induce three straight flyouts and strand the go-ahead run at third. The junior took the mound again in the ninth, now with a two-run lead, and retired the side.