PS-Behrend’s Bittner, St. Vincent’s Henry earn D-III honors
| Matt Bittner's three home run week for Penn State
Behrend earned him national honors this week. Penn State Behrend sports information |
Colleges in western Pennsylvania dominated the ninth NCAA
Division III National Hitter and Pitcher of the Week honors as
third baseman Matt Bittner of Penn State Behrend and left-hander
Max Henry of Saint Vincent respectively earned the awards for the
week of April 25-May 1, 2011, as voted on by a panel of D-III
members of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers
Association.
Bittner, a sophomore from Lancaster, N.Y., crushed three
much-needed home runs for the Lions, who rode a four-game winning
streak into the No. 3 seed for the upcoming conference
tournament. He batted .625 (10-14) for the week, including a
pair of doubles and a triple that contributed to a 1.643 slugging
percentage. He also drove in 15 runs and scored eight in the
undefeated week. In a 12-3, 10-6 sweep of Medaille, he went
5-for-8 with three runs scored and five RBIs. As the Lions
swept Pitt-Bradford 20-16 and 10-0, he went 3-for-4 with a double,
a home run, and two runs scored in each game, while driving in six
runs in the opener and four in the nightcap. Bittner was
named the AMCC Player of the Week.
Henry, a freshman from Latrobe, Pa., was 2-0 on the week for the
Bearcats, allowing just one run on four hits in 11 2/3 innings for
an 0.77 ERA while recording 18 strikeouts. He fired a
two-hitter in a 4-1 conference win over Bethany Monday, taking a
no-hitter into the sixth and setting a new Saint Vincent
seven-inning record with 13 strikeouts. On Friday, he earned
a relief victory with 4 2/3 scoreless innings and five strikeouts
in a 7-5 win over Franciscan. Henry was named the
Presidents’ Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week.
Honorable Mention Hitters: Andrew Thole
(Thomas More) - .700 (7-10), 4 home runs, 8 RBI, 6 runs, 1.900
slugging pct.; Chris Sweeney (King’s PA) - .579 (11-19), 5
doubles, 3 home runs, 8 RBI, 12 runs, 1.316 slugging pct.; Ethan
Rieker (Susquehanna) - .667 (14-21), 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 7 RBI,
7 runs, 1.048 slugging pct.; Ben Kuebbing (Transylvania) - .556
(10-18), 1 double, 3 home runs, 10 RBI, 7 runs, 1.111 slugging
pct.; Andrew Fatse (Western New England) - .571 (8-14), 2 doubles,
1 home run, 6 RBI, 2 runs, .929 slugging pct.; Nick Skala
(Concordia-Chicago) - .607 (17-28), 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 11 RBI,
.893 slugging pct.; Jeff Lynch (Johns Hopkins) - .480 (12-25), 2
doubles, 3 home runs, 12 RBI, 10 runs, .980 slugging pct.
Honorable Mention Pitchers: Reggie Kock (Buena
Vista) - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 ip, 1 cg, 1 hit, 11 strikeouts; Andrew
Sinon (Gwynedd-Mercy) - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 ip, 1 cg, 1 hits, 12
strikeouts; Chris Phelan (Farmingdale State) - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0
ip, 1 cg, 3 hits, 11 strikeouts); Zack Hurley (Daniel Webster) -
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 8.0, 1 CG, 3 hits, 2 strikeouts; Tom Schaberl (John
Carroll) - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 ip, 1 cg, 2 hits, 7 strikeouts); Kyle
Smith (SUNY-Brockport) - 1-0, 2.57 ERA, 7.0 ip, 6 hits, 7
strikeouts; Steve Sitterly (Aurora) - 2-0, 2.45 ERA, 14.2 ip, 1 cg,
13 strikeouts.
Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of
college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and
publicists of the sport. Members receive a membership card,
directory, newsletter updates and official votes in the Howser
Award Player of the Year, Regional Player of the Year and NCBWA
All-America voting. The NCBWA also sponsors preseason All-America
awards, publication and writing contests.
2011 Winners:
Hitter of the Week
Feb. 28-Mar. 6: Kevin Brashears (Shenandoah)
Mar. 7-13 : Michael Pascarella (Pittsburgh-Bradford)
Mar. 14-20: Jonathan Mason (Bridgewater)
Mar. 21-27: Dan Haugh (Wheaton MA)
Mar. 28-Apr. 3: Trent Svehla (Simpson IA)
Apr. 4-10: Ryan Darner (Thomas More)
Apr. 11-17k: Brandon O’Connell (Wisconsin-Stout)
Apr. 18-24: John Snyder (Marietta)
Apr. 25-May 1: Matt Bittner (Penn State-Behrend)
Pitcher of the Week
Feb. 28-Mar. 6: Matt McAllister (Penn State-Abington)
Mar. 7-13: Lee Schurlknight (Sewanee)
Mar. 14-20: Josh Scott (Baldwin-Wallace)
Mar. 21-27: Mike McManus (Mount Saint Vincent)
Mar. 28-Apr. 3: Mark DiTommaso (Western New England)
Apr. 4-10 Pitcher of the Week: Travis Ratliff (SUNY-Cortland)
Apr. 11-17: Sean White (Dickinson)
Apr. 18-24: Mike Russo (Kean)
Apr. 25-May 1: Max Henry (Saint Vincent)
