Mohawks Duo, West Pitching Shine in Week 7 PGCBL Awards

NEW HARTFORD, N.Y – A tandem of players from the Amsterdam Mohawks and a pair of pitchers out of the West Division headlined the selections as the PGCBL announced the Pitcher and Player of the Week Awards for Week 7 of the 2025 season. The following five players are being recognized for their performances from July 14th through July 20.

East Division
Pitcher of the Week: James Redick, Amsterdam (Fordham)
Player of the Week: Bray Touchstone, Amsterdam (Gulf Coast State)

The league leading Mohawks (27-8-2) earned both awards from the league this week after the team went 2-1-1 in their four games. Redick shined in his outing on Saturday, July 19th, a 7-2 Amsterdam win over Glens Falls. Redick took the ball and delivered six innings of work, allowing just one run on three hits. He struck out 9 batters and did not give up an extra base hit while improving his season record to 4-0. The righty has an ERA of 2.35 and a WHIP of .65 while striking out 33 batters over 30.2 innings pitched this summer.

Touchstone is the third Mohawk to earn Player of the Week honors this year. He led the East Division with 9 hits, 8 RBIs and 15 total bases while hitting .500. He opened the week with three hits and four RBIs in a 5-5 tie against Saugerties, a performance that included a double and a home run. Touchstone followed that with three hits and two RBI in a win over Glens Falls. He had hits in all four games, including three multi-hit games, and doubled in three of his outings as well. Touchstone is batting .359 with 34 RBI and 29 runs scored through 35 games this season.

West Division
Co-Pitchers of the Week: Luc Rising, Batavia (RIT); Owen Birchard, Auburn (Bryant)
Player of the Week: Ben Slanker, Jamestown (Ohio)

Rising earns his second Pitcher of the Week Award of the summer after a week of shutout baseball over 8.1 innings. He was pristine in relief on July 15th against Niagara Falls, throwing 2.1 innings out of the bullpen and striking out five of the eight batters he faced while allowing just one hit and no walks. In another relief role on July 18th, Rising went six innings and did not give up a hit while striking out eight batters. He earned the victory, improving to 3-1 on the year, and lowered his ERA to 1.04 in 34.2 innings pitched.

Birchard was nearly spotless in six and a third innings in Auburn's July 19th 2-0 win over Newark. He gave up just a single hit and struck out ten batters without issuing a walk. Though he didn't get credited with the win, Birchard, who is 2-1 on the year, dropped his ERA to 2.82. He has 52 strikeouts in seven games (38.1 innings pitched).

Slanker has helped the Tarp Skunks win three of their last four games while extending his hitting streak to eleven straight. He scored six runs and drove in seven while batting .474 with two doubles and a home run. Slanker has six multi-hit games this season and has driven in runs in eight contests, including all five games during the past week. 

In 12 games with Jamestown, Slanker has collected 19 hits and 11 RBIs with a .528 batting average, four doubles, a triple and a home run.

Previous Players and Pitchers of the Week

Week 1:

East:
Pitcher of the Week: Luc Rising, Batavia (Rochester Institute of Technology)
Player: Grant Moore, Niagara Falls (Mount Vernon Nazarene University)

West:
Pitcher of the Week: Derek Duval, Amsterdam (College of Charleston)
Player of the Week: Brandon McCraine, Amsterdam (Auburn University)

Week 2:

East:
Pitcher of the Week: Christian Pencek, Jamestown (Lincoln Memorial University)
Player: Justin Bremner, Jamestown (Canisius University)

West:
Pitcher of the Week: Houston Tomlinson, Boonville (Texas A&M)
Player of the Week: Jayden Harriel, Amsterdam (Florida Atlantic University)

Week 3:

East:
Pitcher of the Week: Dillon Harding, Glens Falls (UMass Dartmouth)
Player of the Week: Lewis Rodriguez, Saugerties (Marist University)

West:
Pitcher of the Week: Matt McGeorge, Auburn (Mercyhurst University)
Player of the Week: Aidan Grabowski, Elmira (Tiffin University)

Week 4:

East:
Pitcher of the Week: Drew Turner, Boonville (University of Pittsburgh)
Co-Players of the Week: Tyler Jones, Mohawk Valley (George Washington University) & Jamie Zee, Saugerties (Notre Dame)

West:
Pitcher of the Week: Christian Pencek, Jamestown (Lincoln Memorial University)
Player of the Week: Noah Brooks, Newark (Sienna College)

Week 5:

East
Pitcher of the Week: Payton Hochhalter, Boonville (University of Jamestown)
Player of the Week: Justin Ford, Saugerties (Seton Hall University)

West
Pitcher of the Week: Aidan Klimtzak, Niagara Falls (Carson-Newman University)
Player of the Week: Carter Shin, Niagara (University of Mary)

Week 6:

East:
Co-Pitchers of the Week: Greg Nascimento, Utica (New Jersey Institute of Technology) & Luke Baker, Utica (Spring Hill College)
Player of the Week: Chris Hoalcraft, Amsterdam (St. Bonaventure)

West:
Pitcher of the Week: Pablo Sainz, Batavia (Columbia State Community College)
Player of the Week: Gavyn Boyle, Niagara Falls (Niagara County Community College)