An eight-home run week, a nine-inning no-hitter, and a seven-homer, 15-RBI week caught the eyes of the selection committee and warranted the week 10 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Div. III Hitter, Pitcher, and Rookie of the Week awards, respectively. This week’s selections were chosen based on performances for games played April 26 through May 2.
HITTER OF WEEK
North Park University senior shortstop Jake Reinhardt won his third College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin honor this season. He hit eight home runs, tallied 21 RBI, scored 11 runs, and slugged 1.286 for the 3-3 Vikings last week. He batted .429 (12-for-28) during the week. He hit all eight home runs in a four-game series against Carthage College over the weekend, including three in the series finale on May 2. Reinhardt had six-RBI games in a 13-2 win over the Firebirds on May 1 and during a 17-6 win on May 2. Reinhardt’s 14 home runs are second nationally, and he’s third with 57 RBI this season. His 14 homers are tied for the most in single-season program history.
Honorable Mention Hitter: Austin Denlinger, Jr., SS, York College (Pa.) – Had a huge week for the 3-1 Spartans. York closed the regular season out against Stevens Institute of Technology on Wednesday, and Denlinger went 4-for-5 with four runs scored, four RBI, and a school-record-tying three home runs. In the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth quarterfinal series opener against Hood College, Denlinger went 2-for-4 with a run scored, three RBI, a double, and a home run. In the second game of the series, Denlinger was 3-for-5 with a run scored, three RBI, and a pair of home runs. For the week, the junior shortstop hit .500 (9-for-18) with nine runs scored, 10 RBI, six home runs, and a pair of doubles.
PITCHER OF WEEK
Gustavus Adolphus College senior Weston Lombard made history on April 26 by tossing a nine-inning no-hitter, as Gustavus completed a three-game series sweep with a 2-0 victory over Bethel University (Minn.). Lombard’s no-hitter in just his seventh career start is the first by a Gustavus pitcher since Josh Spitzack threw a seven-inning no-hitter in a 5-0 win over Carleton College on April 4, 2005. It is also just the third no-hitter in the past 46 years of Gustie baseball. Including the final two outs of the third inning, Lombard retired nine consecutive batters before beaning the Royals’ No. 2 hitter in the sixth. Lombard responded by retiring the final 11 Bethel batters in order. He struck out nine in the win.
Honorable Mention Pitcher: Joe Raab, Sr., United States Merchant Marine Academy – Tossed his first-career no-hitter in a 4-0 win over Farmingdale State College on Saturday. Struck out seven in the seven-inning contest. In his last 14 innings pitched, he has only allowed one hit (went 6 2/3 hitless in previous start) and is now 4-1 on the season with five complete games and three shutouts. He lowered his season ERA to 0.77 and he has a league-leading 43 strikeouts.
ROOKIE OF WEEK
Penn State Altoona freshman Jake Hillard had an outstanding week at the plate for the Lions, helping his team go 4-0 in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference play. He went 3-for-7 with four RBI, two runs scored, a home run, and a triple against Mount Aloysius College last week Tuesday. He followed that up by going 6-for-9 with 11 RBI, five runs scored, three home runs, and two doubles in a pair of games against Hilbert College on Saturday. On the week, Hillard batted .563 (9-for-16) with 15 RBI, seven runs scored, four home runs, two doubles, and a triple. He finished the week with a .529 on-base percentage, a 1.563 slugging percentage, and 25 total bases.
2021 WINNERS
• Month of February: Ty Morgan, Louisiana College (Hitter); Brett Sanchez, Belhaven (Pitcher); Levi Cloud, Berry (Rookie)
• Week ending March 7: Caleb Durbin, Washington-St. Louis (Hitter); Patrick O’Rourke, Berry (Pitcher); Amani Jones, Stevenson (Rookie)
• Week ending March 14: Philip Mahlik, Kean (Hitter); Ryan Behling, North Central (Pitcher); Jacob Cyrus, Illinois Wesleyan (Rookie)
• Week ending March 21: Dane Pedersen, Louisiana College (Hitter); Thomas Gallant, Mount Union (Pitcher); Nolan Sparks, Rochester (Rookie)
• Week ending March 28: Jack Hollinshead, Wittenberg (Hitter); Sam Westermeyer, St. Olaf (Pitcher); Cam Seymour, Southern Maine (Rookie)
• Week ending April 4: Catcher Cumming, Penn State Altoona (Hitter); Chris Chiriboga, St. Thomas (Pitcher); Jake Freed, Oberlin (Rookie)
• Week ending April 11: Adam Zebrowski, St. John Fisher (Hitter); Nolan Rowan, Kean (Pitcher); Amani Jones, Stevenson (Rookie)
• Week ending April 18: Dougie DelaCruz, Mitchell (Hitter); Michael Vallone, DePauw (Pitcher); Owen Robbins, Mitchell (Rookie)
• Week ending April 25: Daniel Coleman, Cortland (Hitter); Brock Weirather, Grinnell (Pitcher); James Ward Jr., St. John Fisher (Rookie)
• Week ending May 2: Jake Reinhardt, North Park (Hitter); Weston Lombard, Gustavus Adolphus (Pitcher); Jake Hillard, Penn State Altoona (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 contests, and writing contests.