Koch/Kerr Named as HCBL Weekly Award Winners for Week 5
As the 2026 HCBL regular season nears its end, two student-athletes were recognized for their outstanding play in the next-to-last week of the regular season.
Nick Koch (Merrimack) of the Westhampton Aviators was named the Week 5 Pepsi Player of the Week, while Danny Kerr of the Shelter Island Bucks was selected as the Week 5 ACE Hardware Pitcher of the Week.
Koch was named the Pepsi Player of the Week for the second time this season, having won it back in Week 3. The Native of Milford, MA hit .600 in Week 5 with a home run and five RBI.
On July 12th against Southampton, Koch went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and had the game-winning sacrifice fly in the Aviators’ 3-2 walk-off win over the Breakers. Koch would follow that up by going 3-for-4 against Sag Harbor with a home run.
Kerr made two appearances on the mound in Week 5. Kerr pitched a scoreless inning in relief against Riverhead on July 12th before getting the start against Southampton on July 15th.
Kerr would pitch a complete-game win and, in the process, set a new HCBL single-game record for strikeouts with 15, passing the old record of 14 held by four different players from 2009-2021. Kerr finished Week 5 with an overall total of 16 strikeouts for the week with an ERA of 2.25.
The HCBL weekly awards are voted on by the league’s six head coaches each weekend.
Pepsi Player of the Week
Opening Weekend (6/12 to 6/14): David Swift, INF, Bates/Shelter Island
Week 1 (6/12 to 6/18): Nick Slogik, INF, Rowan College at Gloucester/Southampton
Week 2 (6/19 to 6/25): Manny Carreras, INF, Pace/North Fork
Week 3 (6/26 to 7/2): Nick Koch, OF, Merrimiack/Westhampton
Week 4 (7/3 to 7/9): Brett Connolly, OF, High Point/Westhampton; Aaron Vetter, INF, Palm Beach Atlantic/Sag Harbor
ACE Hardware Pitcher of the Week
Opening Weekend (6/12 to 6/14): Evan Kay, RHP, Stony Brook/Southampton
Week 1 (6/12 to 6/18): Eric Ressegger, LHP, Adelphi/Riverhead
Week 2 (6/19 to 6/25): Joseph Hiller, RHP, Quinnipiac/Westhampton
Week 3 (6/26 to 7/2): Joe Gaspari, RHP, Hartford/Shelter Island
Week 4 (7/3 to 7/9): Derek Desmarais, RHP, Tufts/Sag Harbor; Evan Kay, RHP, Stony Brook/Southampton