FROM NCBWA RELEASE
MORGANTOWN, W.Va – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released the Pro-Line Athletic National Player of the Week awards for the period ending March 28, today. Gonzaga senior outfielder Mark Castellitto was named National Hitter of the Week, while South Florida junior Randy Fontanez was named National Pitcher of the Week. This marks the second week that a USF pitcher has earned the national recognition. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.
In four games last week, Castellitto went 10-for-17 (.588) with four home runs, two doubles, 11 runs scored and 13 RBI. He had a .667 on-base percentage and slugged 1.412. The San Diego, Calif., native had a career-night last Thursday at Utah Valley, going 5-for-7 with three home runs, one double, five runs scored, and seven RBI in a 23-12 win. He followed that up with a 4-for-5 performance on Friday. He closed out his week with a four-RBI game, hitting a three-run homer in the eighth inning to put the game out of reach in the Zags 8-3 win on Saturday.
Fontanez threw a complete game, no-hit shutout in the Bulls’ Big East opener against Notre Dame on March 26. The Oviedo, Fla., native recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts, allowing just a pair of walks in the 4-0 win over the Irish. The no-hitter was the first at USF since Mark Reed threw a perfect game against Charlotte in 1992, and third in program history. It also was the first Big East no-hitter since Scott Barnes of St. John’s reached the feat against Georgetown on April 20, 2007. In total, of his 119 pitches, 80 were strikes.
Pro-Line Athletic, owned by Badger Sport, supplies caps and uniforms to several D-1 college baseball teams and this is the sixth season Pro-Line has sponsored the NCBWA’s Players of the Week. The sponsorship provides for plaques to be awarded to each of the weekly winners and other promotional consideration. For more information about Pro-Line and Badger, visit their web sites at: www.badgersport.com and www.prolinecap.com
Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. For more information about the NCBWA, visit the association’s official Web site, www.ncbwa.com.
For more information, contact NCBWA Executive Assistant Director Mike Montoro (304-293-2821, mike.montoro@mail.wvu.edu).
2010 WINNERS:
Pro-Line Athletic Hitter of the Week – Feb. 23 – Zack MacPhee, 2B, Arizona State; March 2 – Brian Fletcher, OF, Auburn; March 9 – Mark Micowski, Georgia State; March 16 – Pat Biserta, Rutgers; March 23 – Hunter Morris, INF, Auburn; March 30 – Mark Castellitto, OF, Gonzaga.
Pro-Line Athletic Pitcher of the Week – Feb. 23 – Matt Bywater, LHP, Pepperdine; March 2 – Jason Mitchell, RHP, UT – Arlington; March 9 – Michael Goodnight, Houston; March 16 – Billy Barber, RPH, Richmond; March 23 – Teddy Kaufman, LHP, USF; Marc 30 – Randy Fontanez, RHP, USF.
