CollegeBaseballInsider.com National Players of the Week

National Player

William Arnold (Mount Pleasant, Mich.)

Central Michigan senior catcher

Arnold went 6 for 12 (.500) with four home runs and eight RBI in a three-game series at Sun Belt-favorite Troy. Arnold had three homers a season ago and four in his career. He had eight runs and a slugging percentage of 1.500. Dating back to 2011, Arnold extended his hit streak to 11.

National Pitcher

David Starn (Hudson, Ohio)

Kent State senior left-hander

Starn was dominant in his Opening Day start against ninth-ranked Georgia Tech in the Rock Hill Coca-Cola Classic. He pitched eight shutout innings against the Yellow Jackets with four hits, two walks and nine strikeouts as the Golden Flashes posted a 5-0 victory. Starn threw 104 pitches in his outing.

Regional Players of the Week

Northeast Player

Joe Hudson (Odessa, Fla.)

Notre Dame junior catcher

Hudson went 7 for 10 (.700) in three games at the Big 10/Big East Challenge in his home state. Hudson had three doubles, two homers, three runs and seven RBI. He was walked three times and was hit by three pitches, reaching base in 13 of his 16 plate appearances for an on-base percentage of .813.

Northeast Pitcher

Mat Batts (Winston-Salem, N.C.)

UNC Wilmington sophomore left-hander

Batts did not allow a hit in seven innings in an Opening Day start at home against Ohio. He walked one and plunked two while recording a career-high eight strikeouts. Batts did not figure in the decision in a game in which the Seahawks rallied to score two in the bottom of the 10th to win 6-5.

Southeast Player

Saxon Butler (Oxford, Ala.)

Samford senior first baseman

Butler was nearly impossible to retire over the weekend, going 9 for 10 (.900) in taking two of three from Radford. Butler had two doubles, two home runs and four RBI. He drew two walks and was hit by a pitch for an on-base percentage of .923. Butler posted a slugging percentage of 1.700.

Southeast Pitcher

Robert Huber (Plano, Texas)

Duke sophomore right-hander

Huber returned to his home state to shut down No. 8 Texas, pitching six scoreless innings in a 5-2 victory over the Longhorns. Huber allowed two hits and three walks while matching his career high with six strikeouts. He retired 10 straight at one point and had a stretch of setting down 14 of 17 hitters.

Central Player

Kevin Bower (Indianapolis, Ind.)

Miami (Ohio) junior first baseman

Bower went 7 for 11 (.636) with a home run and six RBI as the RedHawks took two of three at Furman. Bower had two doubles, two walks, a sacrifice fly and four runs. He posted an on-base percentage of .643 and slugging percentage of 1.091. Bower had a career-best four RBI in the series finale.

Central Pitcher

John Kravetz (Lansing, Ill.)

Illinios freshman right-hander

Kravetz allowed two hits and one walk in 6.2 scoreless innings of relief in his collegiate debut Sunday in a 9-4 victory over St. John’s in the Big 10/Big East Challenge. Kravetz entered in the first with the Illini trailing 3-1 and the bases loaded with one away. He got an inning-ending double play on his first pitch to end the rally.

West Player

Abe Ruiz (Pacific Grove, Calif.)

Arizona State senior first baseman

Ruiz was 6 for 10 (.600) in a three-game sweep of Western Michigan. Ruiz had two doubles, two homers, seven runs and six RBI. He walked once and was hit by a pitch for an on-base percentage of .667. Ruiz posted a slugging percentage of 1.400. He had two homers and drove in six in the series opener.

West Pitcher

Jimmie Sherfy (Camarillo, Calif.)

Oregon sophomore right-hander

Sherfy pitched 5.2 innings of scoreless relief on Saturday at Hawaii with a career-high 13 strikeouts. He fanned six straight from the 10th through the first out of the 12th. With the Ducks leading 3-2, the Rainbows loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the 12th before Sherfy struck out Kaeo Aliviado to end the contest.

Note - regional players of the week are chosen based on their conference affiliation. To see our list of regions, click here.

(photos courtesy of Media Relations Offices)