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 May 8, today. Michigan State senior 1B Jeff Holm was named National Hitter of the Week, while Kentucky junior RHP Alex Meyer and Texas State junior RHP Carson Smith were named Co-National Hitters of the Week. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.
Holm led the Spartans at the plate with impressive power production as Michigan State swept previous Big Ten co-leader Purdue at McLane Baseball Stadium last weekend. Holm was 7-for-13 against the Boilermakers (.538) with two doubles, three homers and nine RBI, good for a 1.385 slugging percentage. Holm’s three-run blast on Friday changed the game around and tied it at 3, eventually sparking MSU to an 11-4 victory. He then hit his second three-run blast of the game in the eighth inning. Holm finished game one going 3-for-4 with a career-high six RBI, and it was his first career multi-home run game. Holm was 3-for-5 in Saturday’s 5-3 win, and then hit a two-run homer in Sunday’s win to give MSU a 5-3 lead in the fifth inning (MSU won 6-5). He also walked once and was hit by a pitch to record a .600 on-base percentage.
Smith earned a share of the pitching honor after his dominant pitching performance last Friday against UTSA when the junior struck out a career-high 14 batters over eight scoreless innings. He fanned the leadoff batter in all eight innings he pitched en route to a career-best 14 strikeout performance. The right-hander allowed just two hits, both singles, in his eight innings on the mound while keeping the Roadrunners off the scoreboard. Smith earned his seventh win of the season as the Bobcats won 3-0 before also defeating UTSA on Saturday and Sunday for the I-35 Rivalry Series sweep.
After tossing a complete-game shutout in a 2-0 win over No. 1 Vanderbilt last Friday, Meyer shares the award with Smith. A native of Greensburg, Ind., Meyer tossed a gem in a pitching duel with Vanderbilt ace right-hander Sonny Gray. Meyer turned in the best start of his career, going the full nine innings, allowing only five singles and one walk, striking out five. The complete-game was Meyer’s SEC-leading fourth of the year and was his second complete-game shutout of the season. Meyer, who leads the SEC with 96 strikeouts, needed just 110 pitches for the complete game, with Vandy not getting a runner to second base until the seventh frame. Meyer threw 72 strikes and tossed first-pitch strikes to 17 hitters. He faced only four batters above the minimum and faced the minimum through his first six frames.
Pro-Line Athletic, owned by Badger Sport, supplies caps and uniforms to several D-1 college baseball teams, and this is the seventh season Pro-Line has sponsored the NCBWA’s Players of the Week. 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).
2011 WINNERS:
Pro-Line Athletic Hitter of the Week – Feb. 22 – David Herbek, SS, James Madison; March 1 – Corben Green, INF, Louisiana-Monroe; March 7 – Anthony Trajano, INF, Cal State Fullerton; March 14 – Dusty Quattlebaum, 1B/DH, Gardner-Webb; March 21 – Saxon Butler, 1B, Samford; March 28 – Colin Moran, 3B, North Carolina; April 5 – Victor Roache, OF, Georgia Southern; April 12 – Brad Miller, SS, Clemson & Doug Bream, OF, Liberty; April 19 – Tyler Ogle, C, Oklahoma; April 26 – D.J. Hicks, DH, UCF and Trenton Moses, 3B, Southeast Missouri State; May 3 – James Brooks, SS, Utah and Clint Moore, SS, Army; May 10 – Jeff Holm, 1B, Michigan State.
Pro-Line Athletic Pitcher of the Week – Feb. 22 – Taylor Jungmann, RHP, Texas; March 1 – Danny Hultzen, LHP, Virginia; March 7 – Kyle Fitzpatrick, RHP, Florida International; March 14 – Logan Verrett, RHP, Baylor; March 21 – Frankie Vanderka, RHP, Stony Brook; March 28 – Trevor Bauer, RHP, UCLA; April 5 – Will Roberts, RHP, Virginia; April 12 – Jeremy Gonzales, RHP, Northern Illinois; April 19 – John Simms, RHP, Rice; April 26 – Trevor Bauer, RHP, UCLA; May 3 – Josh Osich, LHP, Oregon State; May 10 – Alex Meyer, RHP, Kentucky and Texas State junior RHP Carson Smith.
Transactions – NCBWA named Michigan State senior first baseman Jeff Holm National Hitter of the week and Kentucky junior RHP Alex Meyer and Texas State junior RHP Carson Smith as Pro-Line Athletic National Co-Pitchers of the Week.
