ON THIS DAY --- April 13, 2011
Waubonsee's Cory Walden and Dan Okapal are named the NJCAA's Division III Player of the Week and Pitcher of the Week, the first and so far only time two Chiefs' baseball players have ever been honored nationally in the same week. The dynamic duo helps the Chiefs go 7-2 on the week to improve to 23-8 overall on the season.
Walden, a 6'0" 205-lb. sophomore from Aurora West High School, has a monster week. The right-handed hitter blasts seven home runs and drives in an astounding 24 runs over eight games he plays in. The Chiefs' designated hitter goes 13 for 24 at the plate for a .542 batting average, ending the week on a 10-game hitting streak. Walden smacks a pair of 2-run homers, a trio of 3-run homers, and two grand slams, while also drawing three walks on the way to scoring 11 times. At the time Walden is tied for first nationally among NJCAA Division III players with 11 home runs, is second in runs batted in with 48, is 16th nationally with a .446 batting average (33 for 74), and has a phenomenal .986 slugging percentage. Walden's 11 round-trippers equals the Chiefs' single-season record at that time set by Ben Schmoker in 1996, while he is just four shy of Schmoker's mark for runs batted in also set in 1996. By the end of the season the slugger sets new Waubonsee records for home runs in a season with 12 and runs batted in with 67. Walden is named an NJCAA Division III First Team All-American.
Okapal, a 6'4" 200-lb. sophomore from Aurora East High School, tosses two complete-game victories during the week without allowing an earned run. The right-hander strikes out 16 and walks no one in 14 innings of work. On Tuesday, April 5, Okapal dispatches the College of Lake County on just 69 pitches, allowing only one hit and striking out nine with no walks in a complete game shutout. On Saturday, April 9, Okapal strikes out seven, walks none and scatters seven hits while yielding two unearned runs in a 5-2 win over McHenry County College. At this point Okapal is 4-0 with a 1.25 earned-run-average (ERA), ranking him sixth nationally among NJCAA Division III pitchers, to go along with 39 strikeouts and only four walks in 36 innings of work. The big hurler finishes the season tied for 10th nationally with six wins and ends up 15th nationally in ERA. Okapal is named an NJCAA Division III Third Team All-American.
