NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Atlantic 10 Conference has named Dayton senior Riley Tirotta as A-10 Baseball Player of the Week, while Fordham senior Matt Mikulski earned Pitcher of the Week honors. Davidson freshman Ryan Wilson was chosen as the Rookie of the Week. The awards, presented by BioSteel, were announced Monday and are for games played March 29 – April 4.
In five games this week, Tirotta went 11-of-18 for a .611 average with two home runs, nine RBI and 10 runs scored. He posted an on base percentage of .696 and slugged 1.167. The South Bend, Ind., third baseman hit for the cycle on Saturday against Xavier as part of a week with two doubles and a triple. He hit .500 in four of the five games while also drawing four walks and a hit by pitch.
Mikulski spun a masterpiece Saturday against Seton Hall. He threw the first complete game shutout of his career, allowing just two hits, while striking out 12 batters. It marked the third straight game the southpaw has reached double-digit strikeouts. He registered no walks, allowing just the two baserunners across nine innings. The Mohegan Lake, N.Y., native hit a career milestone with the final strikeout, as he became just the ninth Ram to reach 200 career strikeouts.
Wilson hit a team-best .500 (6-of-12) for the week as the Wildcats went 4-0. Drove in a team-best seven runs and hit a 3-run homer in the third inning to break a scoreless tie in the 7-6 win over Wofford on Tuesday. The first baseman from Durham, N.C., who slashed .500 / .625 / .833, also drove in 3 runs against North Alabama on Thursday and went 3-for-4 on Friday.