Pitman, NJ- Announced on Monday afternoon by the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) office, Montclair State University baseball seniors ZACH STEARNS and COLIN DOWLEN both earned NJAC weekly awards for their performances on their opening weekend.
 
Stearns was named the Player of the Week, while Dowlen earned Pitcher of the Week.
 
Stearns was sensational for Montclair during a 3-0 opening weekend against UMass Dartmouth. The senior catcher finished the week with three hits, five RBI, five runs scored, two doubles, a home run, and stole two bases. Defensively, he was also responsible for 15 putouts, two assists, and caught two runners stealing.
 
Dowlen opened up the season with a tremendous outing for Montclair to help give them a 5-4 win on Friday against UMass Dartmouth. In six innings pitched, he allowed just one hit and walked only one batter, while punching out nine, tying a career high.
 
Both student-athletes earned their first weekly awards from the conference office in their careers.
 
After a 3-0 start to the season on opening weekend, baseball will seek to keep the momentum going into another three-game weekend series against #10 Salve Regina starting on Saturday, February 27. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.