Top Performers: Week 13

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Trevor Belicek threw nine shutout innings, allowing just two hits against Lamar in game two of a doubleheader on Saturday. Belicek baffled the opposing lineup, as he set down a career high 12 batters via the strikeout. He had perfect innings in five of the nine he pitched, while not allowing any runners to get past first base during that stretch. Belicek was unable to record the win, as the game went to extra innings, with the Islanders eventually able to muster a comeback win in the 10th inning. He has settled into a groove in league play, going at least six innings and allowing four runs or less in his last five outings.

 

Louisville closer Nick Burdi made three scoreless appearances on the mound last week contributing in each of the Cardinals' three wins. Burdi had 13 strikeouts with no walks and allowed only one hit in six innings of shutout relief in the trio of outings on the mound. The Cardinals' career saves leader with 29, Burdi had a win at Temple on Sunday, a save against the Owls on Friday and two innings of scoreless relief to close Louisville's road win at Vanderbilt last Tuesday. Overall, he has 13 saves this season to go with a 0.59 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 24 relief appearances and 30.2 innings of work in 2014.

Gardner-Webb's Matt Fraudin fired a complete-game, one-hit shutout against one of the nation’s premier offensive teams Thursday night, blanking Colonial Athletic Association leader William & Mary in a 2-0 win for Gardner-Webb. He fanned 11 and walked just one batter in the game. Fraudin retired the first 19 batters he faced in order – including 10 by strikeout – and saw his perfect game bid broken up by a Nick Thompson single with one out in the seventh. Fraudin recovered to get out of that frame unscathed and allowed just one more base runner the rest of the way – via a walk in the eighth inning. He retired the Tribe in order in the ninth, striking out Thompson to end the game. William & Mary entered Thursday’s contests ranked No. 2 nationally in batting (.327 BA) and No. 1 in runs per game (9.0). Fraudin struck out the side in the first and fanned two batters in the third and fifth and sixth innings. It was the sixth time this season that the big righty has lasted at least 8.0 innings and the third time he has gone 9.0 innings or more.

Creighton's Mike Gerber's had an epic performance on Sunday at St. John's when he went 3-for-6 with two home runs and six RBI. Gerber powered the Bluejays to the series win at St. John’s last weekend, which lifted them into first place in the Big East by one game over the Red Storm. He went 6-for-14 (.429) at the plate in the series, driving in eight runs and scoring six times. Gerber erupted in Sunday’s series finale, drilling a pair of two-run homers in his first two at-bats and adding a double later to finish 3-for-6 with three runs scored and six RBI. He slugged 1.000 in the series and added three walks for a .529 on-base percentage.

High Point freshman Cas Silber set a High Point Division I single-game record with 13 strikeouts in a win against Longwood on Friday night. HPU clinched its fifth conference series of the season with the win against the Lancers. Silber pitched a career-high six shutout innings, allowing three hits and two walks to improve to 4-0 on the season. The freshman's 13 strikeouts best the previous HPU record of 12, which was accomplished five times, last by Bubba O'Donnell in 2008. As a team, High Point struck out 17 batters, tying the program's Division I record which was set against Radford in 2012.