The Team of the Week is D3baseball.com's weekly honor roll, in its twelfth 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 fifth Team of the Week of the 2024 season.
Games of March 11-17, 2024
C Ian Moser, Fr., Eastern Conn. St.
In six games during the week, Moser batted .444 (8-for-18) with six extra-base hits which included four home runs and two doubles, seven RBI and five runs scored. Moser has hit a home run in three of his four starts this year.
1B Sam Angelo, Sr., Montclair St.
Angelo batted .563 (9-for-16) amd slugged 1.375 (double and four home runs). He scored six with 13 RBI in a 3-1 week for Montclair State. He matched a school-record with 9 RBI in win over Redlands.
2B Josh Dezenzo, So., Washington & Jefferson
Dezenzo put together a record-breaking effort during a spectacular week. Dezenzo finished the week with a .692 batting average (9-for-13), four home runs, seven runs scored and six RBI. Dezenzo established a new single-game program record with three home runs Thursday versus Muskingum.
SS Connor Maryniak, Jr., Misericordia
Maryniak had hits in all four games, batting .471 (8-for-17) on the week. He hit a double and three home runs as he slugged 1.059. Maryniak scored seven runs and drove in 10.
SS Noah Meffert, Jr., George Fox
Meffert had one of the best weeks in recent George Fox memory. The junior finished the four games with a .526 (10-for-19) batting average, bringing in 12 RBI. For the wekk , Meffert had two triples giving him a 1.400 slugging percentage. On the defensive side, Meffert shone as well, totaling six put-outs, 14 assists, and no errors and in a 8-7 win stopped what appeared to be a surefire run in the eighth inning, completing a 7-6-2 relay and throwing out the runner at home.
SS Jonny Wall, Sr., Roanoke
Wall slashed .700/.733/1.200 in three games where he drove in seven and scored three runs. His three extra-base hits were a double and two home runs. He walked three time.
3B Riley Bender, Jr., Mary Hardin-Baylor
Bender had seven of his eight hits (15 AB) go for extra bases as he batted .533 and slugged 1.400. He had four doubles, three home runs, six runs and eight RBIs.
OF Chris Betler, Jr., York (Pa.)
Belter powered the Spartans to four wins for the week. Betler hit .800 (12-for-15) with eight runs scored, one double, five home runs, and 17 RBI in the four wins.
OF Andrew Kell, Jr., Salisbury
Kell hit a whopping .765 (13-for-17) with multi-hit efforts in all five of the Sea Gulls' wins for the week. Kell racked up five extra-base hits, including two home runs, to go along with five RBIs, five stolen bases, 11 runs scored, and a 2.140 OPS.
OF Mike Petrucelly, So., Old Westbury
Petrucelly had a standout week as the Panthers put up a combined 84 runs this past weekend. He slashed .643/.647/1.643. Seven of his hits were of the extra base kind - three doubles, triple and three home runs. He score eight and drove in 14. He was 2-2 in stolen bases.
OF Kris Stojanovski, Jr., Albion
Stojanovski batted .889 (8-for-9) in three games. He scored six runs and drove in five. With two doubles, three triples and a home run, he slugged 2.111 on the week. He walked five times and stole three bases.
DH Joe Comins, Fr., Misericordia
Commins had 10 hits in 16 AB (.625) on a week where five of his hits went for extra bases (three doubles, triple and a home run). He scored nine times and had another nine RBIs.
SP Brent Herrmann, Sr., Allegheny
Herrmann pitched a complete-game two-hit shutout to lead Allegheny to a 3-0 win over Rochester in the first half of Saturday's doubleheader. He struck out six and threw four 1-2-3 innings and retired eight in a row between the second and fifth innings for his first complete-game of his career. He was the first Allegheny pitcher to throw 9.0 innings in a complete game since 2019 and the first with 9.0 innings in a complete-game shutout since 2015.
SP Dan Merkel, Jr., TCNJ
Merkel came a whisker away from a seven-inning no-hitter against Muhlenberg on Friday, conceding only an infield single in the sixth inning of a 12-0 shutout win. The right-hander walked one and struck out 11.
SP Brett Pierson, Sr., Lewis & Clark
Pierson put together the best start of his collegiate career to lead Lewis & Clark past Vassar 12-1. The senior threw a career-high eight innings, struck out a career-high 13 batters and allowed just one hit and one unearned run. After allowing two of the first three runners to reach on an error and a softly-hit single, the senior ace retired the final 23 batters he faced. Pierson went over 200 career innings (206.2) in his 40th collegiate start.
SP Nicholas Thompson, Sr., Colby
Thompson threw Colby's first no-hitter since before 1980 on Saturday when he hurled 7.0 innings against the Brandeis Judges without surrendering a hit. Through six innings the senior faced one over the minimum, closing the door on a 9-0 shutout in the seventh with a strikeout, a fly to center, and a roll-over to first base to end the game. The southpaw retired 10 batters by groundout, five by strikeout, and five by flyout, with a base on balls erased by a caught stealing.
RP Joe Ferreri, Sr., TCNJ
Ferreri allowed just two base-runners in three appearances during an undefeated spring break trip for the Lions. Across 4.2 innings, he conceded one hit and one walk while striking out six batters. He tossed two perfect innings with three strikeouts against Southern Maine, then struck out two in 1.2 hitless innings of relief against No. 7 Wisconsin-La Crosse. He finished the week by throwing a scoreless inning versus Middlebury.
RP Rob Manetta, Sr., Old Westbury
Manetta contiues to do it all for Old Westbury. On the mound last week, Manetta made two appearances with no hits or walks allowed. He ended the week with five strikeouts.