LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Ashley Croft and Marin Musicant gave top-ranked East Texas Baptist a sweep of the first Division III Wilson/NFCA Pitcher and Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week honors of the 2021 season on Wednesday.

Croft, a freshman right-hander from Cypress, Texas, earned Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week recognition after going 2-0 with two shutouts, 13 strikeouts and three hits allowed over 9.2 innings. The Cypress High graduate followed up a two-hit, 10-strikeout performance against Centenary (La.) with a five-inning, one-hitter against Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Designated player Musicant, meanwhile, batted .800 (8-for-10) with a double, four homers, eight walks, eight runs scored and 10 runs batted in across four games to claim Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week. The junior from San Diego, Calif., had all four homers against Mary Hardin-Baylor, hitting .778 (7-of-9) with nine RBI in East Texas Baptist’s three-game sweep of the Cru.

Other Top Performances

Franklin sophomore utility player Sydney Bostic hit .667 (4-for-6) with five RBI over two games. … Emory & Henry senior pitcher/designated player Alex Braun picked up two wins and allowed three runs on nine hits over 12 innings while fanning 20 and walking none. … St. Catherine sophomore outfielder Taylor Brunn hit .667 in a season-opening sweep of then-No. 21 Wisconsin-La Crosse. … Berry senior pitcher Meredith Holland struck out nine over four innings, without allowing a run and just one hit. … St. Catherine junior first baseman Angela Huepfel hit .571 with four RBI, a 1.143 slugging percentage and her first career home run. … Rhodes senior pitcher/utility player Lauren King started at three different positions over four games and batted .571 (8-for-14) with two doubles, two homers, five steals, five runs, and four RBI, while also posting a win in the circle and collecting six strikeouts in two starts. … Salisbury sophomore center fielder Abby Mace hit home runs in her team’s first three contests, and batted .556 for the week, with 10 hits overall, including a double, plus eight walks and five steals.

Winners are selected by the NFCA Division III Top 25 Committee, which has a representative for each of the eight NCAA regions.

2021 Wilson/NFCA Division III National Pitcher of the Week

March 10 — Ashley Croft, East Texas Baptist University, Fr., RHP, Cypress, Texas

2021 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III National Player of the Week

March 10 — Marin Musicant, East Texas Baptist University, Jr., DP, San Diego, Calif.