DALLAS (NCBWA) – St. John Fisher University (New York) moved into a tie with the State University of New York at Cortland with its eighth all-time National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Div. III of the Week selection, while Oberlin College (Ohio) garnered its organization-leading fourth Rookie of the Week. An impressive pitching performance from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater rounded out the honorees for games played March 25-31.
HITTER OF THE WEEK
St. John Fisher University (New York) senior third baseman James Murphy batted an incredible .842 (15-for-19) for the Cardinals. Murphy scored 13 times, drove in 11 runs, stole seven bases, and walked six times during a 4-1 week in Empire 8 Conference play. Murphy reached base in all four plate appearances and scored three times in the E8 opener against Russell Sage College (New York) on Tuesday. He went 4-for-5 in game two with three RBI and a pair of stolen bases. Murphy finished a home run short of the cycle, scored four times, walked twice, and stole two bases on Friday against Utica University (New York). On Saturday, Murphy reached base four times in game one and logged three RBI and three runs before capping the week by going 5-for-6 with three RBI, three runs, two doubles, and two stolen bases in a game-two win. Murphy recorded an incredible 2.057 OPS on the week. He was named to D3baseball.com’s Team of the Week and was the E8 Player of the Week. Murphy was the NCBWA Div. III Rookie of the Week for games played May 3-9, 2021.
Honorable Mention Hitter: Nik Panico, Sr., DH, No. 10 Aurora University (Illinois) – Hit .692 (9-for-13) with 10 RBI, six runs, three home runs, and two doubles in a 2-2 week. Slugged 1.615 with a .765 on-base percentage. Hit a home run in lone at bat and was hit by a pair of pitches in the first game of a doubleheader against No. 12 Benedictine University (Illinois). Posted two doubles and a home run while driving in four, as the Spartans dropped a 12-11 slugfest in the nightcap against the Eagles. Was 5-for-7 in a doubleheader sweep of Lakeland University (Wisconsin), including a 4-for-4 effort with four RBI and three runs. Panico was named to D3baseball.com’s Team of the Week and was the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Baseball Student-Athlete of the Week.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater sophomore Michael Hilker Jr. had a no-hitter going through eighth innings in Saturday’s second game against University of Wisconsin-Stout. The sophomore started the 6-0 win with nine consecutive strikeouts and did not allow a baserunner until the fifth inning. Hilker Jr. fanned 17 Blue Devil batters for the second-most strikeouts in program history. He pitched 8 1/3 innings in the combined one-hitter, which gave Whitewater the four-game Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series sweep. Hilker Jr. was named to D3baseball.com’s Team of the Week and was the WIAC Kwik Trip Baseball Pitcher of the Week.
Honorable Mention Pitcher: Luis Misla, Jr., State University of New York at Cortland – Was dominant on the mound in two Cortland victories during the week. In a 4-1 win at State University of New York at Oneonta on Monday, Misla tossed a complete-game three-hitter with 13 strikeouts and two walks. He tossed five no-hit innings with eight strikeouts and two walks on Saturday in a 3-0 home victory over State University of New York at Plattsburgh. Misla finished the week with a 0.64 ERA, three hits allowed, 21 strikeouts, and four walks in 14 innings. He was named to D3baseball.com’s Team of the Week and was the State University of New York Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Oberlin College first-year first baseman Kyle Baxt hit .526 (10-for-19) with five RBI, three runs, two home runs, and a double, as the Yeomen went 2-2 on the week. Baxt went 9-for-11 with two RBI, two runs, and a homer in Saturday’s split with The College of Wooster (Ohio). Baxt’s efforts helped the Yeomen defeat the Fighting Scots for the first time since April 1, 2017. Earlier in the week, the first-year produced a home run and three RBI in a midweek split with Maryville College (Tennessee).
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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)
• Week ending March 3: Dane Jones, LeTourneau (Hitter); Brandon Cassedy, Christopher Newport (Pitcher); JB Landrum, Huntingdon (Rookie)
• Week ending March 10: Patrick Gillen, Calvin (Hitter); Sayers Collins, ETBU (Pitcher); Greg Pierantoni, Pomona-Pitzer (Rookie)
• Week ending March 17: Chris Betler, York (Hitter); Nicholas Thompson, Colby (Pitcher); Ian Moser, Eastern Connecticut State (Rookie)
• Week ending March 24: Jacob Charon, Lawrence (Hitter); Adam Maher, UMass Dartmouth (Pitcher); Harry Middlebrooks, Wilson (Rookie)
• Week Ending March 25: James Murphy, St. John Fisher (Hitter); Michael Hilker Jr., UW-Whitewater (Pitcher); Kyle Baxt, Oberlin (Rookie)