FIU Shortstop Garrett Wittels, Miami LHP Brian Radziewski Top Honorees On CB360 Week-13 Primetime Performers

May 17, 2011
By

A pair of players from colleges in the Miami area – Florida International junior shortstop Garrett Wittels (Bay Harbors, Fla.) and Miami freshman lefthander Brian Radziewski (Miami, Fla.) – are the top honorees on the CB360 week-13 Primetime Performers Honor Roll (for May 9-15, 2011), as selected by CollegeBaseball360.com.   front-page photo courtesy of Florida International

Garrett Wittels (FIU, SS, Jr.)

Brian Radziewski (Miami, LHP, Fr.)

Wittels is the CB360 Primetime Player of the Week and Radziewski the Primetime Pitcher, with nine other players (listed below) joining them on the week-13 Primetime Performers Weekly Honor Roll.

WITTELS – who ended the 2010 season riding a 56-game hitting streak – had a huge game in FIU’s 10-9, 11-inning victory at Stetson (#15 in the CB360 Composite National Rankings), as the Golden Panthers boosted their NCAA Tournament resume with a high-quality RPI victory. When the dust had settled in that battle with the Hatters, the 6-2/205-pound Wittels had reached base on all six of his plate appearances – after batting 5-for-5 out of the 2-hole, plus a hit-by-pitch, 2 RBI, 3 runs scored, a double and the winning home run. He then helped surging FIU push its unbeaten streak to 16 games, with a 2-0-1 series vs. Arkansas State, leaving the Panthers in a near-tie with Troy atop the Sun Belt Conference standings.

Garrett Wittels delivered a huge game at #15 Stetson (5-for-5, 2RBI-3R-HR-2B-HBP-SB), with an RBI and run scored in FIU's 5-run, 9th-inning rally – plus the 11th-inning home run in that 10-9 thriller.

After stroking 1-out single and swiping a base in the 1st inning, Wittels added another 1-out single in the 3rd inning at Steton but again was stranded, as the Hatters maintained an early 3-0 cushion. Wittels came to the plate once more with 1-out (in the 5th) and was hit by a pitch, sparking a 2-run rally that cut Stetson’s lead to 7-4. The FIU 2-hole hitter added a leadoff double in the 7th but was stranded at third base, as the winning streak looked to be in danger.

FIU needed a rally in the 9th and Wittels played a central role, with an RBI single and run scored as the visitors pushed across five runs for a 9-7 reversal (Stetson answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the 9th). Wittels had one final salvo, jumping on an 0-2 pitch from RHP Jake Boyd and sending it over the right-field fence for an opposite-field home run leading off the 11th. FIU went on to close out the game, extending its win streak to 13 games.

Wittels went on to help FIU extend its unbeaten streak to 16 games, in a 2-0-1 series vs. Arkansas State (2H-2BB-2R).

RADZIEWSKI – who has emerged as one of the top young pitchers in the talent-rich ACC – outdueled Virginia ace Danny Hultzen (1.42 season ERA; 29-4 career record) in the 6-2 series opener at #1 UVa’s Davenport Field. The 6-1/185-pounder bested his fellow lefty, allowing one earned run in 7.0 innings while totaling 18 of his 21 outs via strikeouts (7),  groundouts (9) and pickoff plays (originated by the pitcher), with four hits allowed and only one walk. Radziewski faced only 25 batters (four over the minimum) in the 100-pitch outing.

After retiring the first nine batters he faced, Radziewski allowed a pair of runs (one unearned) in the 4th, followed by three more shutout innings vs. one of the nation’s top offensive teams (.309 team batting avg.; 7.5 runs/gm).

Miami freshman Brian Radziewski outdueled Virginia ace Danny Hultzen in a 6-2 series-opening road victory.

Stephen Proscio was the only Virginia batter to reach base in the 5th-7th innings, with a leadoff walk in the 7th – but Radziewski quickly erased the runner on his second pickoff throw of the game.

Radziewski’s impressive rookie season now includes a 3.10 ERA and 8-2 record, plus 72 strikeouts, only 25 walks and 68 hits allowed in 72.2 innings.


Primetime Performer Award Criteria (not based solely on raw stats, but rather …)

• Must have been playing for or against a CB360 top-50 team (in the Composite National Rankings) or performed a high level in games that could be key to a team’s conference/NCAA postseason qualification; made significant contribution to team’s postseason positioning (single-game wins, “quality” wins, series wins, road wins, etc.).
• Involved in clutch performances, such as late game-winning hits, noteworthy comebacks, game-changing plays, team leadership, key defensive efforts, etc.
• Performed at a top level against a team rated highly nationally (or within its conference), with bonus consideration given for key performances away from home field and vs. traditional rivals.
• Overcame adversity or extreme circumstances (for the team and/or individual).
• Any accomplishment that is rare, historic, record-setting, etc., on a national level.

The week-13 CB360 Primetime Performer Weekly Honor recipients are pictured above (Wittels and Radziewski) and below:

Ryan Ebner (Bucknell, LHP, Jr.)

 

Alex Cillo (Bucknell, RHP, Jr.)

Chris Elder (Oral Roberts, LF, Sr.)

__________________________________________________________________________

Buck Farmer (Georgia Tech, RHP, So.)

Nolan Fontana (Florida, SS, Fr.)

Maxx Tissenbaum (Stony Brook, SS, So.)

__________________________________________________________________________

Andrew Triggs (USC, RHP, Jr.)

Josh Turley (Baylor, LHP, So.)

Mo Wiley (Houston, RHP, Jr.)

__________________________________________________________________________

CB360 PRIMETIME PERFORMERS WEEKLY HONOR ROLL #13
(week of May 9-15, 2011 … presented by CollegeBaseball360.com)

“It’s not so much what you do, as it is when you do it.”

Ryan Ebner (Bucknell … LHP … Jr. … Sinking Springs, PA … 6-7/230 … #35) and Alex Cillo (Bucknell … RHP … Jr. … Williamsburg, PA … 6-0/185 … #13)
… Combined for 16 shutout innings (Ebner 8+IP-5H-BB-5K; Cillo 8IP-6H-2BB-3K), as Bison upset top seed Navy (6.4 runs/gm) in a 1-0 Patriot League semifinal series opener … Ebner was league pitcher of the year while Cillo allowed only twoearned runs in his final 43.1 IP this season
Chris Elder (Oral Roberts … LF … Sr. … Suisin City, CA … 5-11/205 … Bats: L … cleanup … 12)
… Reached base seven times (4H-2BB-HBP) and factored into six runs (4RBI-4R-2HR), as ORU won 3-of-4 vs. South Dakota State to take over lead in Summit League
Buck Farmer (Georgia Tech … RHP … So. … Conyers, GA … 6-3/220 … #30)
… Logged eight shutout innings (3H-3BB-7K) in 3-0, series-clinching win over #9 North Carolina to keep Georgia Tech (cb360 #10) in the ACC Coastal Division title race
Nolan Fontana (Florida … SS … So. … Winter Garden, FL … 5-11/190 … Bats: L … leaoff … 4)
… Helped lead #4 Gators to 2-1 series win at #2 Vanderbilt, forging 3-team tie atop SEC East standings; reached base 10 times (7-for-15, 3BB) during 4-gm week (also win over UNF), with 2RBI-3R-HR-SB on no errors in 16 fielding chances
Brian Radziewski (Miami … LHP … Fr. … Miami, FL … 6-1/185 … #28)
… Outdueled Virginia ace top-5 draft prospect Danny Hultzen in 6-2 road series-opening win over the #1 Cavaliers, allowing one earned run in 7IP (UER-4H-BB-7K-9GO-2 pickoffs-25BF) for the #20 ‘Canes
Maxx Tissenbaum (Stony Brook … 2B… So. … Toronto, ONT … 5-11/190 … Bats: L … Cleanup … #8)
… Hit 7-for-13 and factored into eight runs (3RBI-7R-2HR-2B-BB) in sweep of league contender Binghamton to solidify 1st-place in America East Conf., for Seawolves team that has won 18-of-19 for school-record 37 wins
Andrew Triggs (USC … RHP … Jr. … Nashville, TN … 6-3/210 … #31)
… Did not allow an earned run while going the distance in 5-1, series-opening win vs. #5 Arizona State (UER-7H-2BB-6K-13GO), as Trojans went on to take the series
Josh Turley (Baylor … LHP … So. … Texarkana, TX … 5-11/185 … #32)
… Delivered clutch gm-2 win (8-1) vs. #22 Oklahoma State (7.2IP-R-7H-K-11GO), sparking NCAA-hopeful Bears (cb360 #46) on to key series win
Mo Wiley (Houston … RHP … Jr. … Katy, TX … 6-4/250 … #33)
… Turned in complete-game victory in 6-1 series finale vs. #11 Southern Mississippi (8H-4BB-2K), as Cougars won series and moved into 3rd-place tie in the C-USA
Garrett Wittels (Florida International … SS … Jr. … Bay Harbor Islands, FL … 6-2/205 … Bats: R … 2-hole … #10)
… Led surging #32 FIU to RPI-boosting win at #15 Stetson (10-9; 11 inn.), w/ his huge game including 5-for-5/2RBI-3R-HR-2B-HBP-SB (RBI/R in 5-run 9th; winning HR led off the 11th); helped push team unbeaten streak to 16 games in series vs. Arkansas St. (2H-2R-2BB) for near-tie w/ Troy atop Sun Belt standings; ended 2010 season on 56-gm hit streak

* Wittels is the CB360 Primtime Player of the Week and Radziewski the Primetime Pitcher … rankings above refer to the CB360 Composite National Rankings top-50.

__________________________________________________________________________

Action photos of the honorees follow below (Wittels and Radziewski above):

 

 

Bucknell’s Ryan Ebner

 

Bucknell's Alex Cillo

Chris Elder (Oral Roberts)

Georgia Tech's Buck Farmer

Florida's Nolan Fontana

Stony Brook's Maxx Tissenbaum

USC's Andrew Triggs

Baylor's Josh Turley

Houston's Mo Wiley

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *