MORGANTOWN, W.Va – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released its National Player of the Week awards for the period ending March 16 today. Georgia State senior first baseman Nic Wilson was named National Hitter of the Week, while VCU’s junior left-handed pitcher Heath Dwyer was named National Pitcher of the Week. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.
Wilson, who hit five home runs and drove in 15 runs last week, hit .579 (11-for-19) while compiling a 1.421 slugging percentage and a .625 on-base percentage for a remarkable OPS of 2.046. His week included a .500 average (6-for-12) with two homers and six RBIs in the Panthers’ Sun Belt Conference series against Western Kentucky.
In three one-run games against the Hilltoppers, he drove in six of the Panthers’ 14 runs. Wilson homered in both ends of Saturday’s doubleheader against WKU. In GSU’s 4-3 loss in game one, he drove in all three Panther runs with a homer, a double and a single. In the nightcap, he hit another solo homer in the first inning, delivered a two-out, run-scoring single to tie the game at 4-4 in the fifth, and then gave GSU a 5-4 lead in the seventh on a fielder’s choice as the 6-6, 235-pounder beat the throw at first base to score the go-ahead run.
Dwyer went the distance, posting one of the most dominant pitching performances in recent VCU history, in a 1-0 two-hit win over Buffalo. The Chandler, Ariz., native’s day was highlighted by his 15 strikeouts, setting a new career-high. The final two strikeouts of the pitcher’s night came in the ninth inning to preserve the Rams’ 1-0 win and conclude his fifth career complete game.
