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ESPNHS Baseball Players of the Week

(After games of Tuesday, May 8)

One player is chosen from each region of the country. The only other criteria is that no player will be chosen more than once during a season.

EAST

Rob Kaminsky, St. Joseph (Montvale, N.J.)

The junior left-handed pitcher recorded his third no-hitter of the season in a 5-0 shutout of Paramus (N.J.). Kaminsky fanned 16 batters and walked three in his gem and has 67 strikeouts in 34 innings for the regionally ranked Green Knights. Kaminsky, who is being recruited by several Division I programs, is on fire with three no-hitters and a one-hitter in his last four starts. He's 6-0 on the season.

SOUTHEAST

Toby Thomas, Fairhope (Ala.)

The senior standout led Fairhope to a sweep of Baker (Mobile, Ala.) in last week’s Class 6A state playoffs. In the first game, he pitched a four-hitter with 10 strikeouts and went 1-for-3 as the Pirates won 2-0. In the second game, he went 2-for-3 with a double in a 3-0 shutout. Earlier in the season, Thomas won the Jake Peavy MVP award at the BayBears High School Classic. He also went 2-for-3 with three RBIs in his team’s previous playoff game. For the season, Thomas began this week hitting .366 with 36 runs scored and 36 RBIs. On the mound, he was 10-0 with a 0.22 ERA.

MIDWEST

Josh Baker, University School (Milwaukee)

The senior left-handed pitcher/first baseman helped the unbeaten, regionally ranked Wildcats to four wins last week with his arm and bat. He hurled a no-hitter and one-hitter while allowing only one run with 23 strikeouts in 10 innings. The no-hitter was an 18-0, five-inning gem versus St. John's Northwest Military Academy (Delafield, Wis.). At the plate during the week, he went 9-for-12 with three homers and 13 runs batted in. He’s also an all-state infielder and was the Midwest Classic Conference Co-Player of the Year as a junior.

MIDLANDS

J.P. Seifried, Claremore (Claremore, Okla.)

In last week’s Class 5A regional tournament, Seifried led the Zebras to the title by going 9-for-14 with four doubles and six RBIs in three games. The three wins improved Claremore’s record to 30-4 and put the team on the bubble in this week’s Midlands Region rankings. According to the Tulsa World, Seifried dedicates every game to the memory of his mother, Brenda, who died four years ago from cancer.

WEST

Alex Jackson, Rancho Bernardo (San Diego)

Not happy with just a regular hitting streak, this talented sophomore catcher has now homered in three straight games. Jackson started the streak last week in a win against Westview of San Diego and then homered again later in the week against the same team. He hit another home run earlier this week as the Broncos beat Poway. Jackson, who has 11 homers for the season and is hitting .378, was the ESPNHS Cal-Hi Sports State Freshman of the Year last season. He is the latest in a long line of top prospects to play for Rancho Bernardo coach Sam Blalock, who recently won his 800th game.