LAKELAND, FLA. – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association has announced Marcello Cortale as the South Region Player of the Week. After being the second Panther baseball player to earn a Sunshine State Conference weekly award, Cortale also becomes the second Panther this season to be honored by the NCBWA (Jacob Pino).

In three games this past weekend against Palm Beach Atlantic, Marcello hit .500 (7-14) with nine RBI's, four home runs, a double, a walk, and a stolen base. He helped power the Panthers as they outscored the Sailfish 34-9 and earned a sweep.

Cortale opened the series by going 3-6 with three home runs and six runs batted in as the Panthers routed PBA 18-6. He hit all three home runs in just a four-inning span to help Tech set the tone for the weekend series. In the Saturday doubleheader, Marcelle went 4-9, launching his fourth home run of the weekend and adding three more RBI's to his weekend. Behind Cortale's exceptional performance at the plate, the Panthers took both games in the doubleheader to open SSC play 3-0.

After being named NBCWA South Region Player of the Week, Marcello is now in contention for National Player of the Week. This award is voted on by the NCBWA national committee and is announced on Thursday. Fans can catch Cortale and the Panthers this weekend as they head on the road for a three-game set with Florida Southern, but will return home March 6-8 for a four-game series with the University of Sioux Falls.

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