KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Biola University pitcher Brian Albert has been named the NAIA National Pitcher of the Week for the week of March 10-16 as announced by the national office on Thursday.

Albert, a 5-10 junior pitcher from Whittier, allowed just one run on four hits while striking out nine in the home win over No. 2 Azusa Pacific (Calif.) last week. He went 7.0 innings in Biola's 8-1 victory. Albert did not allow a hit through the first 5.2 innings against the Cougars. APU entered the weekend with a .345 team batting average.

Albert joins Southern Nazarene (Okla.) centerfielder Steve Lewis in receiving national recognition. Lewis, a 6-1 senior from Ontario, Canada, hit .667 going 10-for-15 with 13 RBI and 11 runs scored in five games last week.

Biola returns to action on Friday (Mar. 21) for the first of two non-conference games against Patten University. First pitch is slated for 2:30 p.m. with a noon start on the docket for Saturday's finale.