St. John Fisher College had its fifth honoree this season, and the Cardinals are now tied with State University of New York College at Cortland and the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) for the most all-time National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Div. III Hitters, Pitchers, and Rookies of the Week with seven. For the first time since 2015, a voting tie resulted in co-NCBWA Div. III Pitchers of the Week, while a 19-RBI week and a .762 on-base percentage over four games rounded out this week’s winners. This week’s selections were chosen based on performances for games played May 10-16 and are the final Div. III selections for the 2021 season.
HITTER OF WEEK
Marietta College junior first baseman Drew Holderbach went 14-for-27 with 19 RBI, eight runs, three doubles, two homers, and a triple during a 6-0 week for the Pioneers. Holderbach had five multi-hit games. He went 4-for-5 with seven RBI, a double, and a home run in the final game against Heidelberg University. He then went a combined 5-for-9 with four RBI and a double in Marietta’s doubleheader sweep at the University of Mount Union. He finished the week with a 5-for-9 day with eight RBI, a double, triple, and homer in the sweep of Mount Union at home on Sunday.
Honorable Mention Hitter: Payton Nelson, Sr., OF, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point – Hit .647 with four home runs, a 1.471 slugging percentage, and 10 RBI in a four-game sweep of University of Wisconsin-Platteville to help Wis.-Stevens Point clinch its first league title in 10 years. Nelson began the week with a career-high five hits in game one on May 12, during which he had his first multi-homer game and tied a career-high with five RBI. In game two, Nelson hit another home run and added two doubles, two RBI, and three runs. On May 15, he hit another homer in game one of a twin bill.
PITCHER OF WEEK
St. John Fisher graduate student Anthony Brophy moved to 7-0 on the year after winning the opening game of the Empire 8 Athletic Conference Championship on Friday, as the top-seeded Cardinals completed the sweep of Keuka College. Brophy pitched eight strong innings and allowed just one run on four hits. The lefty finished with 12 strikeouts and did not yield a walk. Brophy collected his second E8 weekly honor of 2021 this week.
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire senior Tom Ginther led the Blugolds to an 11-1 seven-inning victory against third-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on May 12. In just seven innings, Ginther registered eight strikeouts and only allowed one run on two hits during his 125-pitch performance. Ginther’s 1.29 ERA in the contest is the second-lowest in the nine appearances he made during the season.
Honorable Mention Pitcher: Jake Seymour, Sr., La Roche University - Improved to 7-0 on the season in a 14-1 win over Alfred State College in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference semifinals. In a seven-inning complete game performance, Seymour tied his career-high with 11 strikeouts. He let up just two hits, one earned run, and walked two batters. Seymour's 0.56 ERA ranks first in the conference and 13th in Div. III.
ROOKIE OF WEEK
Augustana College’s (Ill.) Alex Simon batted .667 (8-for-12) for the 4-0 Vikings last week. He reached base 16 times, with eight hits, seven walks, and one hit-by-pitch and also had a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly. Simon slugged .833 and had a .762 on-base percentage. He had three hits, scored three runs, had two doubles, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch in a 12-2 win at Wheaton College (Ill.) on May 12. Simon ended the week by going 3-for-4 with a run scored and one walk in a 7-3 win at Elmhurst University.
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 16: Drew Holderbach, Marietta (Hitter); Anthony Brophy, St. John Fisher & Tom Ginther, UW-Eau Claire (Pitcher); Alex Simon, Augustana (Ill.) (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.