Belton, TX – University of Mary Hardin-Baylor baseball player Joseph Villegas has been named Division III National Player of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association for the week ending March 7^th.

 

Villegas, a senior outfielder from Hays High School, batted a blistering .800 over four games last week, going 12-15 at the plate. He also walked a couple of times to post an on-base percentage of .824 and slugged 1.333 for the week. Villegas drove in nine runs and scored six more with a double, two triples and a home run among his 12 hits. He had a five-hit game and a four-hit game. Villegas also broke the ASC career triples record when he hit the 17^th triple of his career on Saturday. Villegas broke the previous mark of 16 set by McMurry’s Albert Carrizales. Villegas also tied the UMHB career doubles mark of 42 held by Matt Pullen.

 

Villegas was also named to the College Baseball Foundation’s “National All-Star Lineup” for the week ending March 7^th. The weekly award recognizes outstanding performances from players in NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III and NAIA each week.

 

The Cru is currently 8-8 on the season. UMHB will open ASC West Division play with a three-game series at Hardin-Simmons University on Friday and Saturday.

 

3/11 – D-III NATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:

Record-Setting Villegas, Near-Perfect McDonough Earn First National Honors of 2010 Season

A record-setting achievement by outfielder Joseph Villegas of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and a near-perfect game by right-hander Ryan McDonough of Lynchburg College have earned them the first NCAA Division III National Hitter of the Week and Pitcher of the Week honors respectively for 2010, covering the week of March 1-7.

Villegas, a senior from Manchaca, Texas, went 12-for-15 (.800) with a 1.250 slugging percentage, collecting two triples, a home run, a double and nine RBIs over four games.  Villegas set the American Southwest Conference all-time record for career triples in the process, breaking the mark of 16 set by McMurry’s Albert Carrizales from 2003-06. On the week, Villegas also scored six runs, walked twice, and stole a base. Included in his week were a four-hit game and a five-hit game.  He was named the American Southwest Conference West Division Hitter of the Week.

McDonough, a a senior from Centereach, N.Y., pitched a historic game for Lynchburg Thursday as he became the first pitcher in over 28 years to throw a no-hitter in a 2-0 victory over Immaculata. McDonough came within one error of a perfect game, as he retired the first 10 Mighty Mac hitters before setting down the next 11 he faced. McDonough struck out three along the way, throwing only 89 pitches on the afternoon while inducing 14 groundball outs.  He was named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week.

Honorable Mention Hitters:  Joe Harten (St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn) - .857 (6-7), 1 double, 3  home runs, 2 steals, 10 RBI, 4 runs, 2.268 slugging pct.; Mark Rockey (Puget Sound) - .333 (3-9), 3 home runs, 8 RBI, 3 runs, 2 steals, 7 walks, 1.333 slugging pct.; Sam Hill (Birmingham-Southern) - .727 (8-11), 4 doubles, 1 home run, 6 RBI, 8 runs, 1.364 slugging pct.; Donny Coolidge (SUNY-Plattsburgh) - .429 (9-21), 1 double, 2 home runs, 4 RBI, 6 runs, .719 slugging pct.; Ryan Javech (North Park) - 1.000 (7-7), 4 runs, 2 steals, 1.000 slugging pct.; Jeff Bihy (Stevenson) - .706 (12-17), 7 doubles, 6 RBI, 4 runs, 1.118 slugging pct.; Matt Butorac (St. John’s MN) - .577 (15-26), 7 doubles, 1 triple, 9 RBI, 8 runs, .923 slugging pct.; Jason Nikolaisen (Fontbonne) - .750 (6-8), 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 6 TBI, 4 runs, 1.625 slugging pct.; Chris Stemple (Rose-Hulman) - .571 (16-28), 6 doubles, 1 home run, 10 RBI, 12 runs, .893 slugging pct.  

Honorable Mention Pitchers: Sean White (Dickinson) - 1-0, 1.25 ERA, 8.0 ip, 1 cg, 0 hits, 17 strikeouts; Deker Eitel (Rose-Hulman) - 2-0, 1.69 ERA, 16.0 ip, 1 cg, 9 hits, 19 strikeouts; Ryan Peterson (Rowan) - 2-0, 2.57 ERA, 7.0 ip, 3 hits, 2 strikeouts; Ryan Larson (Linfield) - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9.0 ip, 3 hits, 11 strikeouts; Boomer Hudson (Millsaps) - 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 saves, 5.1 ip, 1 hit, 6 strikeouts; Greg Bartleski (Sewanee) - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 8.0 ip, 1 cg, 3 hits, 9 strikeouts; Lee Krammes (Lebanon Valley) - 2-0, 1.50 ERA, 12.0 ip, 6 hits, 15 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.

 

2010 Winners:

Mar. 1-7                 Hitter of the Week: Joseph Villegas (Mary Hardin-Baylor)

                              Pitcher of the Week: Ryan McDonough (Lynchburg)