NJCAA Region 8 Baseball/Softball Notebook: January 31

Brooks Buckler
Photo courtesy of Tallahassee Community College Athletics/Greg Rowland
Posted: Jan 31, 2017

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (January 31, 2017) – The Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) has released its NJCAA Region 8 Baseball and Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week selections for all games played through January 29. 

The first regular season coaches’ polls and next Player and Pitcher of the week selections will be released February 7. 

Follow the FCSAA and NJCAA Region VIII sports online throughout the season at www.theFCSAAsports.com. The FCSAA is also on Facebook and Twitter @theFCSAA.

NJCAA Region 8 Baseball Player of the Week
Chris Busch, St. Petersburg
Sophomore – OF
West Palm Beach, Fla. 

  • Batted .538 (7-for-13) with six runs scored, two doubles, six RBIs and three stolen bases in four games played during the voting period
  • Led St. Petersburg to a 4-0 record over the opening weekend with two wins against both Broward and Miami Dade
  • Hit safely and scored in all four games, including a 3-for-5 effort in the first game with Broward
  • Had three RBIs in a 14-13 win over Miami Dade on January 28 and finished the weekend with a 2-for-3, two runs scored, two-RBI outing vs. Miami Dade

Other nominees: Ryan Karstetter, State College of Florida; Aaron Simple, Lake-Sumter State; Zach Diewert, Polk State; Justin Smith, St. Johns River State

NJCAA Region 8 Baseball Pitcher of the Week
 Brooks Buckler, Tallahassee
 Sophomore - RHP
 Norcross, Ga. 

  • 1-0, 0.00 ERA in one appearance during the voting period
  • Was the Eagles’ opening day starter vs. Pasco-Hernando State and pitched five shutout innings, allowing no hits and no walks while striking out four to earn the victory

Other nominees: Jack Riley, St. Petersburg; Jordan Spicer, Polk State

NJCAA Region 8 Softball Player of the Week
 Alexis Grampp, Chipola
 Freshman – DP
 Chattanooga, Tenn. 

  • Batted .467 (7-for-15) with eight runs scored, one double, three home runs, six RBIs and four stolen bases in five games during the voting period
  • Helped lead Chipola to a 5-0 record in Texas, including wins over NJCAA No. 9 San Jacinto, No. 12 Galveston and Blinn, who received votes in the preseason poll
  • Hit safely and scored in four of the five games, most notably 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs vs. Galveston and 2-for-2 with three runs scored and a pair of solo home runs vs. Blinn

Other nominees: Claudia Jones, Central Florida; Bri Bennett, Lake-Sumter State; Elisa Cecchetti, Tallahassee; Marta Fuentes, Florida SouthWestern

NJCAA Region 8 Softball Pitcher of the Week
 Carlee Lucas, State College of Florida
 Freshman – RHP
 St. Petersburg, Fla. 

  • 3-0, 0.00 ERA in three appearances during the voting period
  • In 17 innings of work, she allowed seven hits, one run (unearned) and only four walks while striking out 16
  • Recorded complete-game victories over Florida State College at Jacksonville (shutout) and Richard Bland and pitched five innings to notch the win over Palm Beach State
Other nominees: Shayne O’Connell, Central Florida; Morgan Goree, Chipola