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| Freshman Catholic catcher Logan Eilbacher, Middlebury senior designated hitter Mitchell Schroender, Dubuque senior righthander pitcher Johnny Blake earned NCBWA honors the first week in April. Catholic, Middlebury, Dubuque athletics photos |
A two-grand slam week, a 17-strikeout outing, and a rookie on an offensive tear captured the week seven National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association NCAA Div. III weekly honors. This week’s selections were chosen based on performances for games played April 1-7.
HITTER OF MONTH
Middlebury College (Vermont) senior designated hitter Mitchell Schroeder led his team to a series sweep over Bowdoin College (Maine) with three sensational performances. The Panther posted a .625 average (5-for-8) and slugged 1.875 with 12 RBI, five runs scored, three homers, and a double. Schroeder shined in a Saturday doubleheader, finishing 4-for-5 with a pair of grand slams. The senior surpassed the 100 career hits mark. Schroeder’s seven RBI are tied for the third-most in single-game program history. Schroeder was named to D3baseball.com’s Team of the Week and was the New England Small College Athletic Conference Baseball Player of the Week.
Honorable Mention Hitter: Anselmo Joya, Jr., OF, St. Joseph’s University, New York – Long Island – Led the Golden Eagles at the plate in a 4-0 week, hitting .778 (7-for-9) with eight runs, five RBI, four doubles, and three triples. The junior drew five walks and swiped four bases in four attempts. Joya posted a 1.889 slugging percentage with a .867 on-base percentage. He went 3-for-5 with three walks, three stolen bases, two doubles, and triple while scoring four runs in a pair of wins over Manhattanville University (New York). Was named the Skyline Conference Baseball Player of the Week.
PITCHER OF MONTH
University of Dubuque (Iowa) senior Johnny Blake recorded his fourth win of the season in a 7-2 victory over Simpson College (Iowa) on Friday. The senior recorded a school-record 17 strikeouts over his 24 batters faced. Blake fired seven innings of one-hit shutout baseball and logged his fourth double-digit strikeout performance of the season. Blake was named to D3baseball.com’s Team of the Week and was the American Rivers Conference Male Athlete of the Week and Baseball Pitcher of the Week. Blake was the honorable mention NCBWA Div. III Pitcher of the Week for games played March 18-24, 2024.
Honorable Mention Pitcher: Cody Bosak, Jr., Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.) – Was dominant as the Cardinals completed a three-game Landmark Conference sweep of Drew University (New Jersey) on Sunday afternoon. Tossed a nine-inning two-hit shutout in the 5-0 win. Struck out a career-high 14 batters for the program’s highest strikeout count since 2022. Was named to D3baseball.com’s Team of the Week and was the Landmark Pitcher of the Week.
ROOKIE OF MONTH
Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.) first-year catcher Logan Eilbacher continued to shine in an expanded role as he logged multi-hit games in all three Landmark contests against Drew over the weekend. Eilbacher went 7-for-10 (.700) at the plate with five RBI, two home runs, a double, and a triple. Eilbacher upped his season average to .364 and scored six times. He is riding a seven-game hitting streak and has multiple base knocks in five of those seven contests. Eilbacher was named to D3baseball.com’s Team of the Week and was the Landmark Baseball Athlete of the Week.
2024 DIV. III HITTER, PITCHER, AND ROOKIE OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS
- Month of February: Luke Finn, UT Dallas (Hitter); Wil Wood, Millsaps (Pitcher); Alex Miller, Centenary (Louisiana) (Rookie)
- Games played Feb. 26 – March 3: Dane Jones, LeTourneau (Hitter); Brandon Cassedy, Christopher Newport (Pitcher); JB Landrum, Huntingdon (Rookie)
- Games played March 4-10: Patrick Gillen, Calvin (Hitter); Sayers Collins, ETBU (Pitcher); Greg Pierantoni, Pomona-Pitzer (Rookie)
- Games played March 11-17: Chris Betler, York (Hitter); Nicholas Thompson, Colby (Pitcher); Ian Moser, Eastern Connecticut State (Rookie)
- Games played March 18-24: Jacob Charon, Lawrence (Hitter); Adam Maher, UMass Dartmouth (Pitcher); Harry Middlebrooks, Wilson (Rookie)
- Games played March 25-31: James Murphy, St. John Fisher (Hitter); Michael Hilker Jr., UW-Whitewater (Pitcher); Kyle Baxt, Oberlin (Rookie)
- Games played April 1-7: Mitchell Schroeder, Middlebury (Hitter); Johnny Blake, Dubuque (Pitcher); Logan Eilbacher, Catholic (Rookie)
ABOUT THE NCBWA: 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.