VALDOSTA, Ga. (March 27) – For his efforts at the plate last week, California (PA) senior first baseman Payton Conte was announced as the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) National Hitter of the Week on Thursday evening.

Conte is the first hitter from the Atlantic Region to garner the national award this spring. He is program's first hitter to receive the honor in at least 15 years, as former pitcher Dylan Brosky is the only player to receive national weekly recognition from the organization during span following a no-hitter in April 2022.

A native of California, Conte earned Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West Athlete of the Week laurels for the second time this year on Monday before being voted the NCBWA Atlantic Region Hitter of the Week the following day. Conte registered 16 RBI and a 1.650 OPS over four games last week to help the Vulcans stretch their winning streak to 10 games. The 6-foot-4 senior collected multiple hits and multiple RBI in all four games while scoring a combined seven runs from the No. 2 spot in the lineup.

Conte starts the weekend ranked second in the league and among the top 20 in the country with a .464 average (32-for-69) while his 1.78 hits per game pace the conference. He sits second in the PSAC with 32 total RBI and ranks among the top five in the nation with a league-best 1.78 RBI per game. Conte also is among the league leaders with a .500 on-base percentage and a .652 slugging percentage, while ranking as the third-most difficult batter to strikeout with just four strikeouts in 18 games.

The Vulcans begin a four-game series against Gannon in PSAC West play tomorrow, Friday, March 28, with a doubleheader in Erie, Pennsylvania, at 1 p.m.