Sophomore Matthew D'Ambrosia of the Muhlenberg baseball team was named Division III pitcher of the week by the National College Baseball Writers Association for his masterful performance against Dickinson.

D'Ambrosia pitched a three-hit shutout and struck out 15 Red Devil batters in the Mules' 1-0 win in their Centennial Conference opener. He allowed only five runners to reach base, with just one of them advancing past first base.

The 15 whiffs were the most by a Muhlenberg hurler in 31 years and helped earn D'Ambrosia CC pitcher-of-the-week honors for the second time.

For the season, D'Ambrosia is 3-2 with two saves and a 2.60 ERA. He leads the CC and ranks 29th in Division III in strikeouts per nine innings (12.46) while holding opponents to a .179 batting average.

Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. In addition to the Division III player, pitcher and rookie of the week, the NCBWA also sponsors preseason All-America awards, publication and writing contests.

D'Ambrosia is the first Muhlenberg player ever to receive an NCBWA weekly award and the fourth Muhlenberg athlete in the last four years to be named national player of the week in their sport. The others were:

Tyler Bauer (track and field) - March 31, 2015
Rachel Strow (field hockey) - Sept. 21, 2016
Jordy Bonvini (lacrosse) - April 6, 2017