D3baseball.com Daily Dose

In the HCAC Mt St Joseph (9-1) leads all conference members. Baseball hitter of the week was Gabe Focke, Rose-Hulman. The junior outfielder was 7-of-8 (.875) at the plate and collected seven singles, three RBI, and scored once in the two wins. Focke’s on base and slugging percentage for the week was also .875. Mt. St. Joseph’s John Strittholt was named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference pitcher of the week. The junior right-hander threw a two-hit shutout against RIC, allowing only one walk and one unearned run. Strittholt struck out one batter and allowed only singles in the fifth and seventh innings to claim his first win of the young season. Defending North Coast Athletic Conference champion Wooster (5-0) has once again emerged as the preseason favorite in balloting by baseball coaches in their annual preseason poll. OIn the OAC, Muskingum (10-1), Wilmington (5-1) have the best records. OAC hitter of the week was Muskingum freshman Brock Whiteman as he helped lead the Muskies to a 9-1 record at the Gene Cusic Classic in Fort Myers, Florida. Whiteman batted .476 with 21 RBI, four triples, three doubles and one home run. The pitcher of the week was Mount Union senior pitcher Shawn Kerek who pitched two complete games in as many starts last week. He gave up only six hits, one run, and one earned run and tallied 13 strikeouts to hold the Raiders opponents to a .122 batting average. Presidents AC favotite Washington and Jefferson started 3-0.

Only Augustana (7-1) in the CCIW had a good start. Carthage (4-4) has the second best record of the conference teams. Brian Kolb of Wheaton and Jacob Husing of Carthage were named baseball players of the week in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin after their performances during the previous week of competition. Kolb, a freshman infielder, had a strong week for the Thunder baseball team last week with a .542 (13-24) batting average. Kolb had a .621 on-base percentage and a .833 slugging percentage, driving in nine runs on the week and scoring five times. Kolb hit two home runs last Wednesday against DeSales University, including a grand slam. Husing defeated Coe College, 3-1, on March 10 in the Red Men’s season opener in Port Charlotte. Fla. Husing allowed one unearned run on seven hits and two walks, while striking out six batters. Once again the IIAC has a national player of the week IIAC male athlete of the week and NCBWA pitcher of the week was Lee Boyse, Coe. Boyse, a junior pitcher, went 2-0 with a 0.69 earned run average and 11 strikeouts in two games during the week. He pitched six innings in Coe’s 13-1 win over Clark (Mass.), striking out four and allowing one run and four hits. Boyse threw a complete game shutout in a 2-0 win over #8-ranked Carthage. He struck out seven batters in seven innings and did not walk a batter. In the Northern AC, Concordia-Chicago (6-3) is on top of preseason favorite Aurora (6-4). Webster (8-5 is the only team above .500 in the SLIAC. Erich Schwartz of Maryville University has been selected as the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference baseball hitter of the week. The Saints won six of nine games during the week and Schwartz led the way with a .290 (9-31) batting average. The junior DH from Parkway North High School in St. Louis had 7 RBI, scored 7 runs and had 3 doubles and a home run.

In the Midwest Conference only two teams are at .55 or above, Carrol (3-3) and Grinnell (2-2). Ripon (2-7) is the favorite for its sixth MWC North Division title in seven years according to the 2007 MWC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll. Carleton (3-0) leads the MIAC and St Scholastica (2-2) leads the Upper Midwest Conference. Baseball pitcher of the week in the Upper Midwest Conference was Brady Grohs of Bethany Lutheran. Grohs pitched 2 games in Port Charlotte getting Bethany’s only two wins. For the week Brady ended up 2-0 while pitching 7 innings giving up 4 runs, striking out 2 and ended the week with a 5.14 era. Baseball player of the week was Bethany Lutheran College junior infielder Travis Fluck. In six games in Port Charlotte, FL, Fluck hit .381 (8/21) with 3 runs, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI’s, 5 BB and 2 SB’s. He also played very well defensively starting every game at short and ended the week with a 1.000 fielding percentage. UW-Stevens Point (2-0) head baseball coach Pat Bloom earned his 100th career win in the Pointers’ 7-6 victory over College of St. Scholastica on March 5 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn. Four-time defending champion, UW-Whitewater (3-1) is the preseason favorite to win the 2007 WIAC baseball championship, according to the league’s sports information directors. UW-Whitewater trails UW-Stevens Point and UW-La Crosse (6-1) in the early part of the season.

Texas Tyler (17-0, 3-0) is tied with Texas_Dallas (12-3, 3-0) in the East division of the ASC. In West, McMurry (11-7, 3-0) leads. East ASC hitter was Ed Hurta, LeTourneau. Hurta hit a walk-off grand slam against Louisiana College. Hurta, who also doubled in that game against LC, hit a home run and a double earlier in the week against Austin College. East pitcher was Nate Jennings, Texas-Tyler. Jennings tossed three perfect innings with six strikeouts to pick up a save and a win. Jennings, who struck out two against Northwood to preserve a 6-4 victory, entered in the ninth with a 4-4 tie against Mississippi College and went two innings to help the Patriots lock up an ASC win. West ASC hitter was Michael Simpson and West ASC pitcher was Robert Conley, Texas Lutheran. Simpson went 6-for-10 with four walks over three games. He drove in seven runs and hit a double as the Cowboys went 2-1. Conley picked up his first two saves on the season by closing out games against Texas A&M-International and Hardin-Simmons. The right-hander entered with the bases loaded in the fifth inning against HSU with an 8-6 lead. He needed just one pitch to escape the jam and went the rest of the way, allowing not hits. In the Northwest there is a tie at the top of the standings. George Fox (13-0, 6-0) shares the top spot is a surprising Puget Sound (7-5-1, 6-0). NWC baseball players of the Week were Sean Anderson, Willamette and Ryan Snell, Whitworth. Anderson batted .636 (7 for 11) in three games (all wins) last week with five RBIs and three runs scored. He had two home runs, a double and a stolen base. Snell threw a complete game in a 4-1 win at L&C, allowing six hits while striking out eight and walking three. Redlands (12-4-1, 5-0) and La Verne (7-9, 5-1) stayed on top of the SCIAC standings. Congratulations to La Verne’s Brad Licher for being named the SCIAC Male Athlete of the Week. Licher collected six hits including a walk-off double in La Verne’s 2-1 series win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Licher began the series with a 2-for-5 performance at the plate in La Verne’s 6-3 triumph over the Stags on March 2. The following day he was a single short of the cycle going 4-for-4 with a two-run homer, two triples and 4 RBI (and two sacrifices) in the series finale, concluding his effort with the game-winning double in the bottom of the ninth to propel the Leopards to an 11-10 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to claim the series. Licher is the team-leader in batting average (.483) and homers (3). Independent Chapman (17-2) is 3-1 in their last four games, all against against ranked opponent.

Game of the week: #3 Montclair state (6-3) at #2 Chapman (17-2)