Martini at his best this season for K-State

When Nick Martini talked about his expectations before the college baseball season with Kansas State head coach Brad Hill, Martini had a specific goal in mind.

Martini, a Prairie Ridge graduate, told Hill he'd like to lead the Big 12 Conference in hitting.

"I thought it was within my capabilities," said Martini, the Wildcats' sophomore center fielder.

This spring, Martini doesn't just have the Big 12's best batting average. His .441 average leads the league batting race by 20 points. 

Thanks to a league-best .532 on-base percentage as well, Martini is expected to get consideration for Big 12 Player of the Year honors.

"It's been a really fun season for me," said Martini, who has helped the Wildcats to a 29-10 record and No. 20 ranking the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll. 

Martini, who has 42 RBIs, 13 doubles, three triples and two homers, is on pace to break K-State's single-season batting average record of .429. He credits the improvement in his average, which is 105 points higher than last season, with a better understanding of his abilities.

"I know my strengths and weaknesses, and I've learned what I can hit and what I can't hit," Martini said. "Last year, I chased some pitches. I wanted to cut down on my strikeouts and take more walks."

While seeing a steady diet of off-speed pitches this season, Martini has a team-high 26 walks in 39 games. A season ago, he walked 27 times in 62 games.

Martini has drastically cut down his strikeouts as well with only 12 this season. A year ago, he fanned 41 times.

In the midst of his impressive season, Martini put together a school-record 26-game hitting streak - the fifth-longest in Big 12 history - and has only been held hitless twice in 39 games.

K-State can strengthen its hold on second place in the Big 12 this weekend during a key series at No. 16 Oklahoma. The Wildcats are 9-5 in league play while OU is in fourth place at 8-8.

"Some people didn't think we'd be this good," Martini said.

Dayton's budding ace: Johnsburg grad Amanda Daly pitched her first collegiate softball shutout April 24 when she tossed a one-hitter to lead D-I Dayton (16-32-1) to a 7-0 win against St. Bonaventure.

Daly (5-9), a freshman who has a team-high three saves, has made 31 appearances on the mound, including 12 starts. Daly has a team-low 4.20 ERA this season. 

In last weekend's doubleheader against St. Bonaventure, Daly pitched 11 shutout innings, allowing three hits while striking out seven.

Top Warhawk: Wisconsin-Whitewater sophomore Tim Prelletz was named one of the school's Men's Track and Field Athlete of the Week on Monday.

Prelletz, a Prairie Ridge grad, placed second in the 400-meter dash in 49.19 seconds at Whitewater's Drake Alternative Meet.

Concordia's best: Woodstock grad Zach Tropp, a senior second basemen at D-III Concordia Chicago, was named the school's Athlete of the Week on April 20 after batting .500 in the previous week.

While helping Concordia to a 3-1 week, Tropp scored six runs and had eight RBIs.

Tropp is batting .379 this season for the Cougars (25-8) while leading the team with 17 doubles and 14 stolen bases. Tropp also has 27 RBIs.

Barry Bottino writes a weekly column and a blog about local college athletes for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at BarryOnCampus@hotmail.com and check out his On Campus column every Saturday in the Northwest Herald sports section.