Eastern Division
Player of the Week: Mel Rojas Jr. (Wabash Valley C.C.), Amsterdam
The 2010 third-round selection of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Major League Baseball entry draft is this week’s Eastern Division Player of the Week. Second-year NYCBL player Mel Rojas Jr. is the first member of the Mohawks to win the Eastern Division’s top weekly offensive honor. The Amsterdam center fielder batted .450 (9-for-20) over six games, scored six runs, drove in four and stole six bases. He had at least one hit and one stolen base in every contest and tallied one run in five of the six games. Rojas went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI in a 17-run explosion against Mohawk Valley on June 24. The Santo Domingo, P.R., native scored twice in a comeback win over Cooperstown on June 27. He bunted for a base hit to start an eventual game-winning rally in the top of the ninth. Heading into Monday night’s games, Rojas had a 13-game hitting streak.
Co-Pitcher of the Week: Sean Bouthilette (Kentucky), Amsterdam
Co-Pitcher of the Week: Kyle Sumple (Siena), Glens Falls
The Eastern Division Pitcher of the Week award is split for the first time this season between two pitchers from the co-division leading Mohawks and Golden Eagles. Sean Bouthilette threw a no-hitter over five innings on June 22 in a rain-shortened win over the Watertown Wizards. Bouthilette, who tossed five no-hit innings in a previous appearance against the Wizards, walked three, hit two and struck out four in the compact no-hitter. Bouthilette’s no-hit effort was the third in the last five years for the Mohawks and first of the 2010 NYCBL season. Kyle Sumple tossed a three-hitter over eight innings and struck out five in a home victory over Amsterdam on June 23. Sumple forced Amsterdam to leave the bases loaded in the second inning and then did not allow another Mohawks runner until a lead-off single in the top of the eighth. He retired 16-straight Amsterdam batters and yielded a single unearned run during the top of the first inning.
Western Division
Player of the Week: Adam McFarland (Gardner-Webb), Hornell
Gardner-Webb University rising junior Adam McFarland is this week’s Western Division Player of the Week. He is the second Hornell player to win the award this season. McFarland helped the Dodgers to a 4-2 mark over six completed games this past week. He batted .370 (10-for-27) with four runs scored and three runs batted in. The Hornell outfielder collected at least one hit in all six games and posted three multi-hit nights. McFarland’s best performance came in a doubleheader at home against Geneva on June 26. He went 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored in the opener and then came back to pound out two hits in the night cap. The Boiling Springs, N.C., native leads the 14-team NYCBL with 29 hits in 17 games played and stands second on the Dodgers with a .377 batting average.
Pitcher of the Week: Brent Kirkley (Clearwater Christian), Niagara
Niagara Power starting pitcher Brent Kirkley is the very first Niagara player to win a weekly Western Division award this season. The Hamlet, N.C., native pitched a complete game three-hitter as the Power defeated the Alfred Thunder, 2-1, on June 26 at Alfred State College. Kirkley gave up a lead-off triple in the bottom of the first inning and then did not allow another hit until the seventh. The Power pitcher allowed six base runners during the nine-inning contest, two of which came on errors. He walked one and struck out a season-high 10. Kirkley retired 18 of the first 21 batters he faced and 27 of 33 overall. The Clearwater Christian product is among the league leaders with 26 strikeouts in four appearances.