Archived 'Clearing the bases' posts

Clearing the Bases

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

Already nearly two weeks in to the season. There are game every weekend and on most days in the southern conferences. The ODAC, USA South and SCAC all have started with the non conference schedule with the SCIAC and ASC joining in. There are a few teams like Millsaps and Texas-Tyler who are undefeated and Hendrix, who has played the most games this season has started in a big hole 0-7.

Huntingdon turns in the first no-hitter of the season and it is hard to believe that Seth Kivett of Methodist has already hit five homeruns, especially on a team that hit only 7 last year and have already matched that to date.

D3baseball.com is one today. I have to thank everyone for checking in. This has been D3sports most successful launch yet and I hope more sports sites to come. I know this site will just get better. A season behind me has me already in mid season form as the D3baseball.com staff gets new content every day. Game reports will appear in between our regional previews that with today’s New York Preview gets us half way. One more on Friday and then finishing up the following week. This will be just in time for the weekly poll by the NCBWA and D3baseball.com to start for the first time.

I hope everyone a great 2008. I am looking forward to the Championships in May and I hope to see everyone there

Wisconsin Ho’

Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007

We are down to just eight teams to concentrate on and with the All-American team is out, it is time for a little break. My break means spending many hours in an airplane and car as I wind my way to the 2007 Division III Baseball championship.

I will be getting to the diamond when the gates open and leaving when they turn off the lights. If you get to be at the Championship and see me walking the concourse, stop me and say hello. I’ll be the guy in the hawai’ian shirt with my yellow Salem Buccaneers cap.

I wish I had some insight how the games will go but we have some pretty good match-ups to watch on the first day. Will we see anyone duplicate the feat of Eastern Connecticut’s Chris D’Amato who could not be gotten out (batting average of .786). Or will it be someone trying to beat Corey Hamman, Montclair State’s ERA record (0.34). No matter the individual stats, the focus is on that team prize of a national championship. The more each team wins, the more pressure there is to keep the advantage and keep winning. That pressure will be compare to those teams with a loss knowing that this could be the last game of the season.

See you in Appleton.

Clearing the bases - Playoff edition

Monday, May 21st, 2007

With the playoffs behind us. it is time to see how I did in my predictions. Those who are regulars at the discussion board know my preseason predictions was only third best. The preseason poll had all eight teams ranked from the start with 5 in the top 10. The surprising thing is that the last poll was a worse predictor of success since in the May 8 poll there was only 4 teams in the top 10 and Carthage was missing from the Top 30 (I expect them to shoot up in the poll released this week). So by region:

Mideast Regional

Marietta was a surprise winner of the regional. So much of a surprise that many Marietta fans were reluctant to pick them. Thats in the past and the Marietta bandwagon is headed to Wisconsin. This is the second year Wooster has rolled into the regional looking for a ticket to the Championship and come up empty. The Scots did extract a bit or revenge when they eliminated Otterbein. If you remember last year, it was the Cardinal’s who gave Wooster their second loss. Our cinderella team, Ohio Wesleyan, was able to force Marietta to play a second regional championship game so give me two out of three .

New England Regional

Once again our cinderella team made it to the championship game but Eastern Connecticut did not disappoint anyone other than the teams they faced. Wheaton never got the chance to play Eastern Connecticut as they were 0-2 against the Owls of Keene State. Our predictions were a little off imagine if Keene state did not have Wheaton’s number we would be sitting pretty. Okay only one of three taking us even so far.

South

Are you seeing a trend? Our cinderella team loses to the team we picked to “most likely to disappoint”. Ferrum comes within one inning of making their first Championship but lose to Emory in an extra innings game. Where was Salisbury? They only got to play on the third day only because rain delayed the tournament. Otherwise The Eagle are flying high and should represent the south well. This brings me to down one

New York

Now I am starting to feel like the seer I am. Trinity (Conn.) nearly made it to the Championship game but found out just like Ithaca that beating Cortland twice in the same tournament is pretty tough. Our champion pick had to win twice on the final day but did so to advance. Ithaca once again is staying home. I dont think it is me but I started covering Division III baseball the same year Cortland State made beating Ithaca in the New York regional a yearly thing. Coincidence? Either way, I had this regional pegged - three for three gets me two above .500

Mid-Atlantic

I have been high on Kean all season and they were my pick to make the tournament for the first time and there they are. I expected New Jersey in the Championship game but “cha-ching” score me another point as they fail to advance after winning the NJAC. I will not claim to predict Johns Hopkins as my cinderella but all the non NJAC teams did remarkably well. Kean was on a roll for the tournament and nobody was going to stop them. Give me two points and a push.

Central

Is anyone hotter than Carthage? I think not. Luther did well ending their season on the next to last game. Give me a push here also since Augustana had a better series from the #6 spot in the regional. Washington was 0-2 again. They bring a quality team and had the unfortunate luck in playing Carthage (did I mention the 18,19 games in a row they won) and Luther. Illinois Wesleyan had the tournament to forget as they were out 0-2 on their home field. Give me two for two here

Midwest

St. Olaf had a good run, not to mention the misfortune to run into the pitching performance of the playoffs in Baitinger’s no-hitter - minus one. Plus one for getting UW-Oshkosh in the Championship game but losing a point for picking the Tommies to advance. There will be good crowds for UW-Stevens Point at the Championship as they ride the arm and bat of Jordon Zimmerman. This nets me just one point for this regional.

West

Chapman was a safe pick and squeaked out another trip to Wisconsin. The Pacific Lutheran boys gave them all they had and like Ferrum - fell a little short. Pomona-Pitzer, 1-2 in the tournament, beat the only sub .500 team and lost twice to Texas Lutheran netting me a point. Speaking of Texas Lutheran, the bull dogs were a force in the ninth inning. In the game they were eliminated, I don’t think anyone thought they were really out until the last out was made. They are the comeback kids of the playoffs. Lets see, three more points giving me a 15-7-2 record. Not bad.

Any comments on the playoffs?

Bracket likes and dislikes

Monday, May 14th, 2007

Here’s the official NCAA release. Now is your chance to sound off.

The NCAA Division III Baseball Committee has announced the 53 teams that will compete in the 2007 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.
Six teams will compete at three first-round sites; seven teams will compete at five first-round sites. All first rounds will use a double-elimination format. Thirty-three conference champions qualified automatically.
Winners of the eight first-round tournaments will qualify for the double-elimination championship at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wisconsin, May 25-29.
DATES/SITES/SEEDINGS:

May 16-20
Hosted by Eastern College Athletic Conference, Harwich, Massachusetts
1. Wheaton (Massachusetts) (31-11)
2. Eastern Connecticut State (34-10)
3. Williams (25-8)
4. Curry (27-7)
5. Keene State (29-13)
6. Western New England (27-10)
7. St. Joseph’s (Maine) (30-10)

Hosted by Ferrum College, Ferrum, Virginia
1. Emory (35-7)
2. Salisbury (32-8)
3. York (Pennsylvania) (29-12)
4. Methodist (29-13)
5. Bridgewater (Virginia) (21-21)
6. Ferrum (22-16)
7. Villa Julie (24-20)

Hosted by College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio
1. Wooster (40-5)
2. Otterbein (31-11)
3. Hope (28-11)
4. Marietta (28-14)
5. Ohio Wesleyan (24-13)
6. Mount St. Joseph (33-9)

Hosted by Alvernia College, Boyertown, Pennsylvania
1. Kean (35-8)
2. The College of New Jersey (32-9)
3. Johns Hopkins (35-9)
4. Gwynedd-Mercy (30-10)
5. Frostburg State (31-13)
6. Elizabethtown (22-16)
7. Wilkes (24-10)

Hosted by Ithaca College, Auburn, New York
1. Cortland State (35-4)
2. Ithaca (24-13)
3. St. John Fisher (26-11)
4. Manhattanville (23-17)
5. Trinity (Connecticut) (28-6)
6. Skidmore (20-18)
7. Westfield State (20-15)

Hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Illinois
1. Luther (29-9)
2. Illinois Wesleyan (32-11)
3. Carthage (32-11)
4. Washington U. in St. Louis (30-9)
5. Webster (30-12)
6. Augustana (Illinois) (32-12)
Hosted by Chapman University, Orange, California
1. Chapman (35-5)
2. Pacific Lutheran (32-7)
3. Texas Lutheran (35-8)
4. Texas-Dallas (32-11)
5. George Fox (30-9)
6. Pomona-Pitzer (29-11)
7. Austin (22-23)

Hosted by University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point
1. Wisconsin-Stevens Point (28-14)
2. St. Thomas (Minnesota) (32-10)
3. Ripon (21-13)
4. St. Olaf (31-8)
5. Wisconsin-Oshkosh (32-10)
6. St. Scholastica (36-6)

Clearing the bases

Friday, May 4th, 2007

Here we are at one week closer to the playoffs and twelve conferences’ champions will be chosen this week. First a reminder of those team already holding a ticket to the regionals are:

USA South: Ferrum
SCIAC: Pomona-Pitzer
NWC: Pacific Lutheran
GNAC: Western New England
NEWMAC: Wheaton
ODAC: Bridgewater
SCAC: Austin

Also last weekend Maryville finished their 2007 season with a Great South Athletic Conference championship after defeating LaGrange College in the final elimination game of the series by the score of 13-6. The teams from the GSAC will have to wait for to see if they will get a Pool B or C bid since the conference does not have an automatic bid.

In the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association two teams are battling down to the Wire. Hope (19-5) has the edge on Adrain (19-7) and playes two doubleheaders today and tomorrow against Olivet. Adrian has two game remaining at home against Albion. Adrian hold the series edge defeating Hope in three of four games.

The Commonwealth Coast Conference started on Tuesday with two elimination game today. Top seeded Curry and Salve Regina are the remaining 2-0 teams and are waiting to see who they will play on Saturday.

No. 1 seeded Westfield State and No. 2 Fitchburg State earned first round victories on Thursday afternoon to advance into the winners bracket of this weekend’s Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament.

Manhattanville and Stevens won their first game of the Skyline tournament that started yesterday. and play will resume on Saturday in the four team double elimination tournament.

The North Atlantic Conference also plays their tournament. With a 10-2 conference mark, Castleton enters the upcoming North Atlantic Conference baseball tournament as the top seed. The Championship, hosted by St. Joseph’s College of Maine is a three day, double-elimination tournament beginning today. Castleton (10-2l) will take on fourth seed Maine-Farmington (5-7 ) and second seed and two time defending champion St. Joseph’s (9-3l) and third seed Husson (7-5) will meet in game 2 . St. Joseph’s is on the bubble for a Pool C bid if they don’t win the conference tournament.

In the North Eastern Athletic Conference Keystone (18-0 in conference) hosts the four team tournament. Keystone is a provisional team and cannot advance so if they win the championship, expect the second place team to advance with the Pool A bid.

In the Middle Atlantic Conferences, in the Middle Atlantic Commonwealth Conference, Lebanon Valley (14-7) is the top seed in the Commonwealth and King’s (13-5) and DeSales (13-5) are the top teams in the Freedom.

There is a slim chance for any team in these conference above to get an at large bid so they will have to battle it out to see who gets to represent their conference in the regional playoffs. In the four conferences listed below, it is probably to see each get two teams into the playoffs barring upsets in the tournaments being played this and next weekend.

The Pennsylvania Athletic Conference starts today with #2 Alvernia taking on #3 Gwynedd-Mercy and #1 Arcadia playing #4 Wesley College. Both Arcadia and Alvernia are in the NCAA regional rankings so if one wins the conference title, the other could get a Pool C bid.

The Centennial Conference starts today with Gettysburg at Franklin & Marshall and Ursinus at Johns Hopkins. Gettysburg, Franklin & Marshall and Johns Hopkins are all in the regional rankings. It would not surprise anyone to see two teams from the Centennial get two teams into the playoffs. Three is possible but not likely.

Like the Centennial, the SUNY Athletic Conference has three of the four teams in the conference tournament in the regional rankings. No 1 seed Cortland should make the playoffs no matter what they do. Brockport and Oneonta need to win to avoid next weeks waiting game. No 3 seeded Plattsburg has to win the tournament to get to the playoffs. Two teams from this conference should appear in the playoffs and the tournament could be what moves one team over another.

The New Jersey Athletic Conference has the potential to send three teams. By consensus, Kean and The College of New Jersey are in wheteher or not they win the tournament with a 1,2 ranking on the NCAA regional rankings. There is a third hungry team out there that is looking to capture the NJAC Championship. On Thursday, the number 1,2,3 seeded teams were victorious so Kean, TCNJ and Montclair State has the upper hand so far.

The lone west region conference tournament is the American Southwest Conference and features Ozarks vs. Texas Lutheran and Texas-Dallas vs. McMurry. Texas Dallas and Texas Lutheran are ranked in the NCAA regional rankings and if there is any conference playing this weekend who has a chance to get three teams in the playoff, it is the ASC.

Good luck to all this weekend.

Clearing the Bases

Friday, April 27th, 2007

It is playoff time. This weekend there are six automatic bids (Pool A) up for grabs as teams look to join Ferrum in the 2007 Regional Playoffs. I have looked at the conferences with no tournament and those tournaments that are ongoing and ending this weekend.

The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Northwest Conference, and Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference are the only conferences with an automatic bid with no end of the season tournament and the regular season champion gets the automatic bid.

This is the final weekend for the SCIAC where Pomona-Pitzer is tied with La Verne at 13-5. Pomona-Pitzer plays Cal Tech (0-18) three times and La Verne has three games against Whittier (10-8). If La Verne wins out, they hold the tiebreaker (2-3 against Pomona-Pitzer) and get the automatic bid. Cal Lutheran (12-6 ) has an outside chance if Cal tech and Whittier can kock off the top teams in the conference. Pomona-Pitzer has an outside chance at a pool C bid but it looks like only one team in the SCIAC will get a playoff bid.

The MIAA has games as late as May 8th but the conference champions should be determined before that. Conference leaders Adrian (15-5) and Hope (15-5) have a three game advantage over the third place teams with four games left to play.

In the NWC, Pacific Lutheran (18-3) is in control and with one win at Puget Sound this weekend will get the automatic bid over George Fox who finished the season with a 19-5 conference record. Both Pacific Lutheran and George Fox are ranked near the top in the west region and it is expected that whoever finishes in second place to recieve a pool C bid.

Two conferences Championships have been held. Ferrum won the USA South Athletic Conference and Salisbury won the Capital Athletic Conference. Only the USA South has an automatic bid so Salisbury has to wait for the selection committee. It is expected that Salisbury will get a Pool B bid with the regular season conference champion York (Pa.) in the running for a pool C bid.

This weekend will see five conference tournaments. The Great Northeast Athletic Conference, New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference, Old Dominion Athletic Conference, Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, and Great South Athletic Conference

The GNAC tournament has started with Western New England posting a win againd Rivier and Johnson & Wales upsetting Suffolk in the double elimination tournament. The double elimination NEWMAC championship begins on Saturday morning with top-seeded Wheaton squaring off with Babson in the first game and MIT and Coast Guard meeting in the second game. The ODAC tournament features the top six teams in the conference. Virginia Wesleyan, Hampden-Sydney and Bridgewater both started the tournament off with wins. The SCAC tournament started last weekend with Rhodes, Millsaps, Austin and Southwestern (Texas) all advancing to the second round. The GSAC tournament does not get an automatic bid but the four team conference starts today at Maryville College.

Of all the teams playing only Wheaton and maybe Rhodes is expected to get a Pool C bid if they do not win their conference tournament. I wish all teams luck as it is essential if one wants to move on to win this weekend.

The rest of the tournament to be played (grouped by ending date) are:

May 5, 2007: CCC, NEAC, MACC, ASC.

May 6, 2007: NAC, MASCAC, SUNTAC, SKY, MAFC, CC, PnAC.

May 7, 2007: NJAC.

May 11, 2007: NCAC.

May 12, 2007: LEC, CUNYAC, OAC, HCAC, PrAC, IIAC, CCIW, WIAC, SLIAC, MWC, UMAC.

May 13, 2007: AMCC, NorAC, MIAC, NESCAC.

Clearing the Bases part two (6 April)

Friday, April 6th, 2007

Mideast:

Presidents AC Hitter and Pitcher of the week were Mike Busin, Westminster and Kyle Wewe, Thomas More. Sophomore Kyle Wewe, also named National Pitcher of the Week, hurled his first career no-hitter as Thomas More earned a split in Saturday’s Presidents’ Athletic Conference doubleheader with Thiel. The right-hander went the distance in striking out seven and walking five as the Saints won the nightcap, 6-0. Thiel got a two-out single in the seventh inning to win the opener, 3-2. Busin batted .600 (6 for 10) with four RBI and helped Westminster (8-8, 2-4 PAC) win two out of three games in a weekend series against Waynesburg. Five of his six hits went for extra bases, including four doubles and a home run. Busin’s home run tied Friday’s game at 2-2 in the fourth inning before the Titans went on to win 10-2.

OAC Hitter of the Week, John Carroll freshman short stop Mike Carbo went 5-for-11 (.455) with six runs, two doubles and six RBI to lead the Blue Streaks to a 3-1 record last week. Pitcher, Otterbein’s Dan Remenowsky pitched seven scoreless innings with four strikeouts, two walks and scattered six hits last week to go 1-0 last week.

Heartland Baseball Hitter was Jim Swienconek, Franklin College. Franklin ’s Jim Swienconek had an impressive week at the plate for the Grizzlies and has been named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week. The sophomore first baseman was 9-of-14 (.643) at the plate, scoring six runs, hitting a double, and adding a home run during the week. Swienconek also collected three RBI, 13 total bases, and four stolen bases during four games last week. The sophomore was 4 of 5, including a two-run homer, with three runs scored in a 10-9 loss to Rose-Hulman. Baseball Pitcher honors went to Kyle Barnett, Hanover College. Barnett earned two victories last week and has been named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week. The sophomore went 2-0, including a nine inning complete game victory against 24 th ranked Transylvania. Barnett did not give up an earned run in eleven innings pitched for the week, while only surrendering eight hits and striking out six batters. He earned his second victory of the week on Sunday, when he pitched two scoreless innings in an exciting 9-8 last at bat victory over Spalding.

Central:

John Wagle of Augustana and Jeff Livek of Carthage were named College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin baseball players of the week Tuesday after their performances during the previous week of competition. Wagle, a sophomore second baseman from Rock Island, Ill., and Rock Island High School, batted .625 in three games as the Vikings, ranked sixth in NCAA Division III, went 2-1. He had five hits in eight at-bats with seven runs scored, three doubles, one home run, six RBI, four base-on-balls and two steals. He also had a 1.375 slugging percentage with 11 total bases in eight at-bats and his on-base percentage was .750. In a 10-0 win over Loras, Wagle was one-for-two with three runs scored and two walks. He went three-for-four with one run scored, four RBI, two doubles and a home run in a 6-5 loss to Elmhurst on April 1 in game one. In game two against the Bluejays, he was one-for-two with three runs scored, two RBI, one double and two base-on-balls. The Vikings won the second game 12-2. Livek, a senior pitcher from Schaumburg, Ill., and Schaumburg High School, was the winning pitcher, as the Red Men defeated North Central, 6-1, on March 31 in the second game of a doubleheader in Naperville, Ill. Livek stopped North Central on four hits and two walks over nine innings, while striking out a career-high 12 batters. Livek improved his record to 3-1 with a 1.00 earned run average, including 38 strikeouts in 27.0 innings pitched with a .160 opponent batting average.

Webster University junior Dave Umfleet and Fontbonne University senior Dustin Baumann share the SLIAC Baseball Hitter of the Week award for March 26-April 1. Umfleet, a junior outfielder from O’Fallon, Missouri, went 6-for-7 in a doubleheader sweep of MacMurray College to open conference play. He recorded a home run and a double, scored five runs, added six RBI, and was 1-for-1 in stolen bases as the Gorloks improved to 13-8 overall. Baumann, a senior outfielder from St. Genevieve, Missouri, batted .571 (12-for-21) to lead Fontbonne to a 3-2 week. For the week, Baumann recorded three doubles, scored 10 runs, drove in six runs and stole four bases in five attempts. The Griffins (14-11, 2-2 SLIAC) defeated Millikin University and split conference doubleheaders with Greenville College and Blackburn College.

IIAC Baseball Player of the Week was Ryan Dupic, Buena Vista. Dupic, a senior pitcher/first baseman, pitched eight shutout innings in Buena Vista’s 5-1 win over Simpson, surrendering six hits and striking out five while walking just one. Offensively, Dupic hit .300 including a 2-for-3 performance in a 5-4 loss to Bethany Lutheran and a 1-for-4 performance against Simpson.

Midwest:

MIAC Player of the Week - Hamline University first-year catcher Pat O’Laughlin batted 4-for-7 with two doubles and three RBI in a pair of games against Augsburg on Saturday. In the Pipers’ 4-3 win, O’Laughlin went 2-for-4 at the plate. In the bottom of the seventh inning, O’Laughlin hit a walkoff, two-out RBI single to win the game for the Pipers. He also scored a run in the contest. In Hamline’s 6-5 loss in game one, O’Laughlin was 2-for-3 with a two-run single in the sixth to put the Pipers up 5-4. Stats for the Week: 4-for-7 hitting (.571 average), 2 2Bs, 3 RBI, 1 RS, .857 slug%. Pitcher of the week went to O’Laughlin’s teammate Kyle Foster. Foster pitched a complete game five-hitter to lead Hamline to a 4-3 win over Augsburg. Foster allowed three runs - two earned. He struck out seven and walked three. Stats for the Week: 1-0 record, 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 2.57 ERA, 7 K, 3 BB

In the Midwest Conference, Jeremy Kafka , Monmouth was named Player of the Week. Kafka continued his strong season at the plate last week, banging out three hits in both of Monmouth’s contests during the week. The senior rightfielder finished the week 6-for-9 with two RBI as the Scots picked up non-conference victories over Eureka (8-6) and Iowa Wesleyan (10-6). Two of his Kafka’s hits were doubles, giving him an .889 slugging percentage for the week.

As UW-Stout went 2-2 on the week, Seth Maier hit .692, going 9-for-13 at the plate, with eight runs scored and six RBIs. He had three home runs, two doubles and a triple in the four games. His slugging percentage was 1.692 and – along with two walks and one hit by pitch – had an on-base percentage of .706. Maier had three multi-hit games and had two three-hit performances. No Pitcher of the Week was selected.

Zach Harry of Presentation College has been selected as this week’s Upper Midwest Athletic Conference player of the week. Harry was 6 for 12 (.500) last week for the Saints. In the first game of the three game weekend series with Martin Luther College in Aberdeen, Harry had a two out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game and force extra innings. Then in the bottom of the ninth, he had a two out, game winning RBI single. Presentation College sophomore Andy Bauer has been named the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference pitcher of the week. Bauer picked up a complete game win over Martin Luther College last weekend by working seven innings and allowing just two earned runs with five strikeouts.

West:

Congratulations to Pomona-Pitzer’s Drew Hedman for being named the SCIAC Male Athlete of the Week! In four games, Hedman, a sophomore from Redding, California helped the Sagehens go undefeated (4-0) in the California Classic. Hedman was 9 for 14 with 4 home runs and 12 runs batted in. He scored seven runs and walked 5 times, while batting .643 with a 1.643 slugging percentage and a .714 on base percentage.

NWC Player of the Week was Cory Ellis, Linfield. He led the Wildcats to a 4-1 week by hitting .400 (6 for 15) with six runs batted in a and seven runs scored. He had the game winning grand slam on Sunday. NWC Pitcher of the Week - Joe DiPietro, Pacific Lutheran beat George Fox 9-1, allowing one run on only three hits in a complete game effort. He struck out five and walked three

ASC East Hitter of the week was Aaron Dalton and Pitcher of the Week was Damion Chelakis. East Texas Baptist freshman shortstop Aaron Dalton batted. 667 with six doubles over four games, including an ASC series sweep of LeTourneau. Five of Dalton’s doubles came in one game against LeTourneau, setting a new national and conference record. He walked four times and scored eight runs. Texas-Dallas junior left-hander Damion Chelakis held host Mississippi College to three hits and struck out eight batters to claim a seven-inning, complete-game victory. In the west, weekly honors went to Patrick Court, Concordia-Austin and Adam Enloe Texas Lutheran. Concordia-Austin senior third baseman Patrick Court powered an ASC sweep of Sul Ross State with three home runs and eight RBI. Court batted .583 and accounted for 16 total bases. He also stole a base. Texas Lutheran senior right-hander Adam Enloe tossed seven innings of four-hit ball with no earned runs and a season-high seven strikeouts to pick up a win over Howard Payne. Enloe walked just one batter.

The Cal State East Bay Pioneer pitching staff had a strong showing in a three-game series against Chapman on March 30-April 1. On March 30, the Pioneers lost to Chapman 4-2 in 11 innings. Pioneer hurler Sean O’Dowd scattered nine hits, allowed two earned runs, and recorded five strikeouts in 10.1 innings. The Pioneers lost to Chapman by the identical score of 4-2 on March 31. Pioneer pitcher Kyle Dunn hurled a complete game allowing three earned runs and seven hits. On April 1 the Pioneers overcame a 3-0 deficit to defeat Chapman 4-3 in 10 innings. Pioneer hurler Craig Eagle had one of his best outings in 2007 allowing Chapman three runs, seven hits and recording six strikeouts in a complete performance.

Clearing the Bases (6 April)

Friday, April 6th, 2007

New England:

NEWMAC Player of the Week Travis Anthoine, Wheaton, hit .478 (11-23) from his leadoff position during Wheaton’s 6-0 week. Posting a .565 slugging percentage and .520 on-base percentage with no strikeouts in 28 plate appearances, he scored five times, drove in three runs and stole three bases. Anthoine went a combined 4-for-7 with three runs in Saturday’s sweep over Springfield, was 3-for-4 against Brandeis, had two hits with two steals at Endicott, and recorded a hit and run in each the Southern Maine and UMass-Dartmouth games. NEWMAC Pitcher of the Week Sam Whelan, Babson, did not allow a run in two appearances this week, going 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA. He went the first four innings of a 7-1 win over Suffolk on Tuesday, giving up just one hit and walking one while striking out five. He then fired a complete-game one-hitter in a 5-0 victory over Coast Guard on Saturday, giving up just one infield single and striking out eight in seven innings. For the week, Whelan went 11 innings, giving up two singles, walking one and fanning 13. He is now 3-0 on the season.

Co-Player of the Week for the Little East were Matt Gardiner Western Connecticut and Shawn Gilblair, Eastern Connecticut. In four games, Gardiner paced the Western Connecticut attack with a .571 batting average on 7-for-14 from the plate, while driving in seven runs. He registered 19 total bases, including three triples and a home run, while recording a 1.357 slugging percentage. In the Little East Conference circuit, Gardiner hit safely in all three contests to post a .545 batting average on 6-for-11 from the dish. He went 4-for-8 with a run scored and a RBI against Southern Maine, while collecting two hits in three at bats and three RBIs at Eastern Connecticut. Gilblair led Eastern Connecticut to a 5-1 record, including a 3-0 mark in the Little East Conference. He was red-hot from the plate, registering a .625 batting average, collecting 10 hits, knocking in 12 runs, while drawing nine walks. Gilblair was even more impressive in the conference circuit, recording a torrid .857 batting average, 1.571 slugging percentage, and a .917 on-base percentage. Three of his six hits were for extra bases, including a home run, while driving in 10 RBIs and scoring six runs. Gilblair also gave up three earned runs on six hits, while fanning seven in six innings of work to pick up a victory over Western Connecticut on April 1. Co-Pitcher of the Week were Jamie Morin and Adam Gustafson. In his only appearance this week, Morin tossed a complete game nine-inning four-hitter in Keene State’s 2-0 victory over Babson College. The junior struck out five and walked just one batter in his outings to improve his record to 2-1. In his only appearance this week, Gustafson was impressive in his Little East Conference debut against intra-state rival UMass Boston hurling a complete game shutout on March 31. The Dighton, Mass. native did not surrender a run and struck out three, while allowing six hits and three walks. Gustafson retired seven of the first nine batters he faced, giving up a pair of singles and stranding the runners at first. He closed out the contest with his third 1-2-3 inning. Rookie of the Week Melvin Castillo posted a .389 batting average on 7-for-18 from the plate as Eastern Connecticut posted an overall record of 5-1, including 3-0 in the Little East. In the conference circuit, Castillo collected six hits, six runs scored, and four RBIs in three games.

Jamie Dahill, Roger Williams and Chris Scarola, Curry netted CCC honors this week. Dahill batted .526 with seven doubles . Scarola hit .356 while driving in nine runs for the week. Co Pitchers of the week were Sean Gildea, Colby Sawyer and Ian Parkinson, Endicott. Gildea hurled a three hit shutout over Wentworth. Parkinson, posted 1 1-0 record in two appearances with an ERA of 0.79. Rookie of the Week was Rick Vail, Curry with a .550 batting average and eight RBI.

North Atlantic Players of the week for the last two weeks in March were Andrew Wood, St. Joseph’s (Maine) and Wade Oliver, St. Joseph’s (ME). Andrew Keirstead, St. Joseph’s (Maine) and Travis Bass, Castleton took rookie of the week honors for the same period.

MASCAC Baseball Player of the Week was Kelly LaDow, Bridgewater State. He batted .522 (12-for-23) with 10 RBI during a 5-1 week for the Bears. He was a perfect 7-for-7 with two doubles and six RBI in the Bears’ doubleheader split with MASCAC rival Worcester State. LaDow went 3-for-3 with a double and a walk in game one of the twinbill, and capped off the day by going 4-for-4 with a double and six RBI in game two. MASCAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week was Spenser Hatstat, Bridgewater State. Hatstat went 2-0 with seven strikeouts and a 0.90 earned run average in two appearances last week. He hurled three scoreless innings of relief to earn the victory in Bridgewater State’s 15-13 win at UMass-Dartmouth. Hatstat then tossed a complete-game in a 15-2 win over Becker College, as he struck out four and allowed just one earned run. On the season, Hatstat is sporting a 0.63 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 14.1 innings of work.

GNAC Baseball Player of Week was Travis Schwamb ,Western New England with a .538 average and a .769 Slugging percentage. Rookie of Week honors went to Matt Rondinone, Albertus Magnus with a .417 avearge in three games. Isaac Burkett, Rivier took the Baseball Pitcher of Week with a complete game four-hit victory.

Bowdoin senior 3B Nick Lawler came away with NESCAC Player of the Week honors, while Tufts junior LHP Adam Telian was named NESCAC Pitcher of the Week. Lawler hit .462 from the dish in leading the Polar Bears to two wins in three games against Trinity last week. The senior had four doubles and collected 10 total bases. Telian struck out 11 batters while allowing one unearned run in six innings of work on Friday against Bates in a 4-2 win. He struck out five straight Bobcat batters and six of seven overall in the second and third innings.

New York:

Player of the Week in the Empire was Jeremy Peters, Ithaca College. Peters batted .471 (8-for-17) with a slugging percentage of .588 in a 4-1 week for Ithaca. He went 3-for-4 with a run scored and one run batted in as the Bombers defeated New Paltz 6-1. Peters finished 3-for-3 in the first game of a doubleheader split with St. John Fisher on Saturday and 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBI in the first game of a doubleheader sweep of the Cardinals on Sunday. Co-Pitcher of the Week were Shane Wolf, Ithaca and Chris Miller, Rochester Institute of Technology. Wolf improved to 2-0 with a complete-game two-hitter in a 3-0 win over St. John Fisher on Sunday. He struck out eight hitters and allowed only one runner to reach second base. Wolf started the week with two scoreless innings of one-hit relief in a 6-1 win over New Paltz in which he doubled in the winning run. Miller struck out a career-high nine batters and scattered four hits in a 4-1 RIT win over Utica on Saturday. He did not yield an earned run and did not issue a walk.

Liberty League Co-Performer of the Week were Shane Griffin, Rensselaer and Andrew Engebretson, St. Lawrence. In four games last week, Griffin batted a team-best .667 with eight hits, including a double, in 12 at bats. He also had three runs, three runs batted in and a walk. Shane was also perfect on all 12 fielding chances. Among his best performances was going 3 for 3 in a 2-1 win over St. Lawrence on Friday, going 1 for 2 with two RBI in a 16-9 loss to the Saints in the nightcap, and going 3 for 4 with a double and two runs scored in a 7-6 loss to SLU on Saturday. Engebretson helped St. Lawrence gain a split of its series with 13th-ranked RPI in Troy, hitting .643 with four runs scored and four driven in. He had nine hits in 14 at bats with five doubles and a homer in the four-game series and had a slugging percentage of 1.214 and an on-base percentage of .706. He also had seven putouts in the outfield. Liberty League Pitcher of the Week - John Dreimiller, Rensselaer, pitched a complete game, four hitter with four strikeouts as Rensselaer defeated St. Lawrence, 3-1. He allowed one earned run and three walks in his 7.0 innings of work. Liberty League Co-Rookie of the Week were Ralph Rizzo, Clarkson and Spencer Marcus, Skidmore. Rizzo played in just one game this weekend against Rochester due to rain, but went 4-for-4 with an RBI. He is leading the team in hitting at .360. Marcus improved to 3-1 on the mound with a complete game 6-1 win over Vassar. He allowed just one run on four hits, one walk, and six strikeouts. At the plate, he went 4-12 (.333) with two runs and two stolen bases.

Pat Cassidy, Centenary, Wilson Rosa, Mount Saint Mary and Anthony Atanasio, St Joseph’s took the weekly honors in the Skyline. Centenary College senior first baseman Pat Cassidy batted .500 (10-for-20) last week with a double, home run, eight runs scored and 11 runs batted in as the Cyclones went 5-1 (3-1 Skyline). Cassidy, who also stole two bases and did not strike out in 23 plate appearances, went 7-for-13 as Centenary won three of its first four Skyline games. He went 3-for-7 with a home run and four runs batted in in a split with Manhattanville and then went 4-for-6 with two runs batted in in a sweep of Maritime. St. Joseph’s College junior Anthony Atanasio earns Skyline Pitcher of the Week honors for the second straight week after tossing his second straight complete game shutout. Atanasio, who has given up just two runs in 28.2 innings this season, scattered six hits in earning a nine-inning shutout in the first game against Old Westbury. He struck out three and walked just two in extending his scoreless innings streak to 20. Mount Saint Mary College freshman shortstop Wilson Rosa batted .478 (11-for-23) in a 4-2 week for the Blue Knights last week. Rosa, who had three runs batted in and four runs scored, was also 4-for-5 in stolen bases. He hit safely in five of Mount Saint Mary’s six games last week while striking out just once in 25 plate appearances. He he went 4-for-5 in the first game of a Skyline doubleheader against Manhattanville.

Sebastian Fratto was selected as the NEAC Baseball Student-Athlete of the Week for the Cazenovia College Wildcats. Fratto, a junior outfielder, played a very large role in leading the Wildcats to a 2-0 record on the week. At bat, he finished the week with a .556 batting average, 5 hits for 9 at-bats, 5 run, 1 double, 1 triple, 7 RBIs, 1 walk, a .889 slugging percentage, and a .60 on-base percentage. He had 2 putouts and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.

SUNYAC Pitcher of the Week, Matt Kelley - Plattsburgh, tossed a complete game two-hitter in a 5-1 victory over Oneonta State on Sunday to pick up the win and move to 2-1 on the mound. He held the Red Dragons scoreless for the final six innings while striking out five and only walking one batter. Player of the Week was Mike Zaccardo , Cortland. Zaccardo hit .538 for the week while going 7-13 at the plate. In a 17-6 victory over Fredonia, Zaccardo was 3-5 with three Home Runs and seven RBI’s. His three home runs in the game tied the Cortland State school record for home runs in a game.

In the CUNYAC, Kenny Sepulveda, John Jay enjoyed a sensational week and helped lead John Jay to a 5-0 mark. The outfielder hit .545 (12-for-22), drove in 15 runs, and swiped eight bases for the first-place Bloodhounds. The Valley Stream, New York native went 5-for-12, stole six bases, and drove in eight runs in the three-game CUNYAC sweep of Lehman. Earlier in the week, the Valley Stream graduate went 3-for-5 (4 RBI) versus Manhattanville (3/27) and was 4-for-5 (3 RBI) against USMMA (3/29). He’s already driven in 22 runs on the season and is batting .355. Adam Deltgen, Mitchell fashioned a masterful performance against CCNY in the rubber game on Sunday. The Norwich, Connecticut native tossed a complete-game shutout against the Beavers to improve to 2-1 on the season. The St. Bernard graduate scattered seven hits over his nine frames. The sophomore, who lowered his ERA to 3.32, walked four batters and fanned three in the contest. Andrew Baio, Staten Island was a key cog in both of the Dolphins conference victories against Baruch last weekend. The first baseman went 3-for-5 (double, triple, RBI) and scored two runs in the game two win on March 31st. The St. Joseph by the Sea product followed that up by going 3-for-5 with 2 RBI’s in the thrilling 12-11victory on April 1st. The freshman is batting .300 on the season.

Midatlantic

In the MA Commonwealth Conference, Brian Campbell, Widener and Jeremy Stolzfus, Messiah took the weekly honors. Widener senior Brian Campbell has enjoyed a solid campaign and today was rewarded by being named Commonwealth Conference Player of the Week. Campbell earned the award after a solid performance on the mound and at the plate. He notched his first victory of the season (1-0) after firing seven strong innings Saturday in Widener’s 2-1 victory against Susquehanna. Campbell struck out five, surrendered one run and six hits and faced just six batters above the minimum for his first complete game of the year. Campbell, the Pride’s starting shortstop, also made his mark by hitting .467 (7-for-15) with two doubles, one RBI and three stolen bases. He opened batting 4-for-4 Wednesday with a double in Widener’s 5-4 victory over Marywood. Campbell had three hits and a double over the weekend as the Pride swept a three-game series from Susquehanna.

In the MA Freedom, Andrew Heard, DeSales and Caleb Calarco, King’s netted the weekly honors. Junior Andrew Heard was honored by the Freedom Conference on Monday afternoon being named the Freedom Conference Hitter of the Week. Heard was sensational at the plate this week batting .600 with a team-high 12 hits and 10 runs scored in leading the Bulldogs to a 4-1 record including four Freedom Conference wins. He started the week by stealing five bases to set the single-game record at DeSales for SB’s in a game and finished the week batting 10-for-13 (.769) with seven runs scored and four RBI’s in the three-game sweep of Delaware Valley College.
A senior, Calarco posted a pair of complete-game Freedom Conference victories over FDU-Florham and Wilkes as King’s completed an 8-1 week, including a 7-1 week in the Freedom Conference. In a 1-0 road win over FDU, Calarco tossed a five-hit 1-0 shutout win, striking out seven batters and walking three. In a 6-1 win over Wilkes, he pitched a six-hitter, striking out seven and walking just one batter.

Player of the Week for the Centennial Conference was Rob Sanzillo, Johns Hopkins. Sanzillo hit .444 in five games with seven runs scored, two homeruns, eight RBI and a slugging percentage of .778 for this week. He is also on a 12-game hit streak after connecting for at least one hit in all five games this week. Pitcher of the Week was Dan Tischler, Franklin & Marshall. Tischler recorded a win and a save in three appearances totaling eight and one-third scoreless innings of work. He allowed five hits, struck out five, and did not issue a walk. Four of the hits came in the seven-inning shutout of Muhlenberg.

Player and Pitcher of the Week in the AMCC both came from Frostburg State. Bryan Burke was a force at the plate and on the bases for the Bobcats, helping them to a 3-1 start in AMCC competition. He hit .357 for the week, going 5 for 14 at the plate, and was also highly productive once he got on base, with a perfect 6 of 6 stolen base attempts. Burke’s highlight was an RBI double which scored the game-winning run in a 2-1 decision over Penn St. Behrend. Aaron Main improved his season record to 4-2 with a pair of conference wins. He went the distance against Penn St. Behrend, striking out 11, then threw another complete game to defeat Lake Erie, fanning 4 and allowing just 5 hits and 1 earned run.

Alvernia College’s Steve Burdan was named the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) Baseball Player of the Week for the week ending April 2nd. Burdan batted .600 (12 for 20) with ten runs, eight RBIs, seven doubles, and three home runs for the Crusaders in a 5-1 (4-1 PAC) week. Pitcher of the Week was Gwynedd-Mercy College’s Kyle Reynolds was named the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) Baseball Pitcher of the Week for the week ending April 2nd. Reynolds pitched in three games for the Griifins notching victories against Eastern University and Marywood University and a save against Alvernia College. For the week, Reynolds recorded seven strikeouts while allowing three runs with zero walks in just over six innings.

In the NJAC, congrats to the following players of the week: Don Reinertsen, William Paterson, Joe Augustine, Kean,Joe Cacchiola, Ramapo, and Jesus Castano, Montclair State. Reinertsen earns NJAC Player of the Week honors after hitting .667 (16-for-24) with three doubles, two triples, nine RBI and eight runs scored in five games for the Pioneers. He hit safely in all five contests and produced four multiple-hit games including a 4-for-4 performance with a double, triple, and five RBI in Paterson’s 15-1 non-conference win over Old Westbury. In the Pioneers’ 13-7 NJAC road win at NJCU, he was 6-for-6 with two doubles, a triple, a stole base, four RBI and three runs scored. Reinertsen currently leads the NJAC in hitting with a .565 batting average. Augustine earns NJAC Pitcher of the Week honors for the second time this season after earning a pair of victories on the mound for the Cougars. He opened the week by surrendering just three hits and one run while striking out nine and walking none in Kean’s 11-2 non-conference road win at Drew. He wrapped up the week by tossing a three-hit complete-game shutout while striking out seven and walking just two in the Cougars’ 7-0 NJAC road win at TCNJ. Augustine, who did not surrender an extra-base hit in 15.0 innings, currently ranks second in the NJAC in strikeouts with 40 on the season. Cacchiola earns NJAC Rookie of the Week honors after hitting .529 (9-for-17) with seven doubles, five RBI, and seven runs scored in a 5-0 week of play for the Roadrunners. He produced multiple-hit games in 4-of-the-5 contests and delivered a pair of doubles in three different games including a 3-for-5 performance with an RBI and three runs scored in Ramapo’s 17-12 NJAC win over Rutgers-Newark. He wrapped up the week by going a combined 4-for-7 with four doubles, three RBI and three runs scored in the Roadrunners’ 12-2 and 11-3 NJAC doubleheader road sweep at Rutgers-Camden. Cacchiola currently ranks third in the NJAC in on-base percentage with a mark of .545. Castano earns NJAC Rookie Pitcher honors for the second time this season after earning a pair of victories for the Red Hawks to improve his record to 4-1 overall on the season. He first came out of the bullpen to retire the final batter in the ninth inning before pitching a scoreless 10th in Montclair’s 2-1 extra-inning NJAC win over Kean. Two days later, he surrendered just four hits and one unearned run while striking out five for a complete-game 9-1 NJAC road win at Rowan. Castano currently is tied for the conference lead in victories with four on the season.

South:

The Great South Athletic Conference has released the baseball player and pitcher of the week for the week ending March 25. Maryville swept the awards as Adam Rosen was Player of the Week and Zach Smigiel was the Pitcher of the Week. Rosen batted .538, going 7-for-13 in the Scots’ three-game sweep of LaGrange. He scored four runs, had two RBIs and did not commit an error in eight chances. Rosen also added to his school record by recording his seventh save of the season. The senior leads the team and the GSAC with a .489 batting average. Smigiel pitched a complete-game 2-1 win over LaGrange. He scattered 10 hits, did not walk a batter and struck out 11 in the game. For the season, Smigiel is 6-0 with a 1.94 ERA.

York’s Santoro was named CAC Baseball Athlete of the Week. York College junior catcher Mike Santoro began his week with an 0-for-3 in the win over Johns Hopkins. He then went on a tear as he was 5-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored in the win over Montclair. He finished the week hitting .632 with 12 hits in 19 at-bats. He drove in eight and scored eight with two doubles and a home run. He committed just one error in 22 attempts defensively while he allowed just two stolen bases in six games.

Andrew Pittman, Eastern Mennonite was the ODAC Player of the Week. Pittman, a sophomore from Culpepper, Va., hit a robust .917 over three games for the Royals, going 11-for-12 against conference opponents including a team high 14 total bases. Pittman was 1-for-2 with a double against Randolph-Macon, but followed that up with a 10-for-10 showing in a split with Emory & Henry. He went 5-for-5 in both contests, collecting a triple and two RBI in the second affair. The Royals’ leftfielder is now hitting .330 on the season with 12 runs batted in. Pitcher of the week was
Dave Whigham, Virginia Wesleyan. Whigham, a senior from Ocean City, Md., led VWC to an 8-1 victory over Bridgewater by tossing a complete game, allowing only two hits, one walk, one earned run and striking out a career-high 11 batters. Whigham leads the VWC pitching staff with 49 strikeouts in 40.2 innings of work. He owns a 1.33 earned run average and a 3-2 overall record.

USA South Baseball Player of the Week - Pierce Steinruck, Averett - The senior designated hitter from Barrington, Rhode Island helped the Cougars to a 2-2 record last week by batting .563 (9-for-16) with four runs scored, five RBI, five doubles and one walk. In a 7-2 loss to regionally-ranked Virginia Wesleyan, Steinruck was a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI and two doubles. In an 8-0 win over Bridgewater, Steinruck was 2-for-5 with a run scored. In a doubleheader spit with nationally-ranked, USA South rival, Methodist, Steinruck was 4-for-8 with three runs scored, three RBI, three doubles and one walk. Baseball Pitcher of the Week - Kenny Moreland, Christopher Newport tossed his third complete game of the season, picking up a win in the Captains’, 3-1, victory over USA South foe Ferrum. Moreland went all nine innings, giving up just one run on eight hits with one walk and nine strikeouts. The victory is Moreland’s seventh on the season.

Ricahrd Hurd, Rhodes and Hunter Owen, Millsaps have been named the SCAC Offensive Baseball Co-Players-of-the-Week for games played Monday, March 26 through Sunday, April 1. Hurd went 13-for-24 (.542) on the week with five home runs, a double, three walks, 10 runs scored and 16 RBI, leading the Lynx offense as they went 5-0 on the week, including a four-game sweep of Eastern Division foe Centre College. His slugging percentage was 1.208 on the week and he had a .593 on-base percentage. Hurd had two multi home run games on the week, driving in six in each of those contests. Owen batted an even .400 (10-for-25) in a 4-2 week for the 11th-ranked Majors, grabbing 24 total bases, 10 hits and nine RBIs off four home runs and two doubles. Owen carried a 1.294 slugging percentage and a .529 average in the huge series against SCAC Western Division foe Trinity University - a series that Millsaps gained took three of four games. He blasted all four of his home runs on the week against Trinity.

Clearing the Bases 23 March (2 of 2)

Friday, March 23rd, 2007

Trying a different format this week. There is a lot going on in D3baseball this week with many conferences gearing up for conference play. I’ve listed the top two teams in each conference with notable performance in many. There were some cancellations and reschduled games as the weekend storm in the northeastern part of the US played havoc with the baseball schedules. There are a lot of games on campus so go out and see a baseball game this weekend.

Game of the Week: Cortland at Montclair State, March 24.

Mideast Region:

HCAC: Transylvania (10-3, 1-0), Franklin (8-3, 0-0)
Bluffton will start their season next weekend. Mt. St. Joseph’s Michael Mayer guided the Lions to a 5-0 record on the week and has been named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week. The senior outfielder was 7-of-15 (.467) at the plate, scoring five runs, hitting two doubles, and adding a home run during the week. Mayer also collected five RBI, 12 total bases, two walks, and two stolen bases on the week. Mayer leads the Mount in average (.500), doubles (7), and RBI (10) as the Lions stand 9-1 on the season. Defiance ’s Brad Timofeev earned two wins last week during the Yellow Jacket’s eight-game swing down in Florida and has been named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week. The sophomore went 2-0 and posted a 0.64 ERA and a 0.50 WHIP, while leading Defiance to wins over Fontbonne and Stevens Tech. In DC’s 5-0 win over Fontbonne, Timofeev threw only 77 pitches and faced just 24 batters in a complete game one hitter. He added another great start in the Jackets 12-9 win over Stevens Tech, scattering six hits in seven innings. Timofeev left with a 12-2 lead allowing just one earned run. For the week, Timofeev was 2-0 in 14 innings of work, while striking out five and allowing just one run on seven hits.

MIAA: Olivet (6-2), Hope (3-3)

NCAC: Wooster (5-0, Kenyon (11-5)
Wooster junior outfielder Jake Sankal homered three times in his first 10 at-bats of the spring, while also singling twice and doubling once for a .600 average (6-for-10) thus far. He has also produced seven RBI and helped the Fighting Scots to an 8-0 record last week.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Wooster sophomore righthander Anthony Trapuzzano threw five shutout innings and struck out nine without a walk in leading the Scots to a 10-0 victory over Anderson in his first start.

OAC: Muskingum (10-1), Wilmington (8-1)
Wilmington senior centerfielder Taylor Clark (McCallie, TN/Marrow) batted .462 in 39 at bats with eight runs, 4 RBI, three doubles and one triple to help the Quakers post a 8-1 record last. Wilmington freshman pitcher Bryce DeWeese (Jeffersonville/Miami Trace) threw a complete six-hit shutout against Albion and gave up only four hits in seven innings in the Quakers victory over Illinois College. On the week, DeWeese went 2-0, giving up only 10 hits, no earned runs and totaling 15 strikeouts.

Presidents AC: Washington and Jefferson (5-1), Thomas More (5-1)
Hitter of the week was Chris Fishburn, Thomas More and Pither of the Week was Sam Mann,

Central:

CCIW: Augustana (11-1), Carthage (6-4)
Marc Blakeley of Augustana and Andy Sherwood of North Park were named baseball players of the week in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Blakeley, a junior outfielder from Richland Center, Wis., and Adams-Friendship High School, was instrumental during a four game swing in Arizona last week. Blakeley hit .579 with 11 hits in 19 at-bats while scoring seven runs. He had one double, one triple, two home runs and five RBI from his leadoff spot in the batting order. His slugging percentage was 1.053 with 20 total bases in 19 at-bats. He walked twice and stole one base and had one sacrifice fly. In addition, he led off the first two games in Arizona with home runs and in the final two games he collected eight hits in 11 at-bats. Sherwood, a right-handed pitcher from Crystal Lake, Ill., and Crystal Lake Central High School, carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning in a 14-0 win over Monmouth (Ill.) on Tuesday, March 13. He ended up going the distance, giving up only four hits while striking out four and walking two.

IIAC: Buena Vista (3-1), Central (6-3)
IIAC Player of the Week was Tad Barry, Cornell College. Barry, a junior outfielder/pitcher, threw a complete game, three-hit shutout, striking out four in a 6-0 win over Eureka in the opener of a doubleheader. Offensively for the week, he hit .462 (6-for-13) with two doubles, two RBI and four runs scored in four games. He had matching 1-for-3 performances in the sweep of Eureka (6-0/7-0), scoring a run in both contests and driving in one in the first game. He followed that up with a pair of two hit games in a split with Bethany Lutheran (8-2/3-10), with a double and a run scored in each contest. He had a stolen base in the opener and an RBI in the nightcap.

Northern AC: Edgewood (7-4), Concordia Chicaho (7-5)
Griswold hit .500 (10-for-20) on the week in Arizona to help the Sabres go 3-3. He recorded seven RBI, six runs, two doubles, a triple, and a home run. Griswold also walked three times and was 1-for-1 in stolen bases. His slugging pct was .850 and his on-base percentage was .565.

SLIAC: MacMurray (1-0), Fontbonne( 10-8)
Michael Haynes of Greenville College is the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week. The Panthers won four of nine games on their trip to Port Charlotte, FL, winning the last four after dropping the first five, and Haynes led the way, both at the plate and in the field. The junior second baseman batted .481 (13-27) with 6 runs scored and 2 RBI. He was 4-4 in a 4-1 win over Ohio Wesleyan that got Greenville’s four game winning streak started. He handled 40 chances in the field with just one error for a .975 fielding percentage.

Midwest Region:

Midwest: Ginnell (3-2), Knox (5-5)
Adam Neylon, Carroll College recently achieved a streak if 15 consecutive times on base. Playing at the Gene Cusic collegiate classic against Illinois and Know Colleges, he had six hits, seven walks, 2 HBP and a sac bunt over a four game period.

MIAC: St Olaf (5-1), St Thomas (9-4)
Carleton senior second baseman Eric Greenlee was 7-for-15 (.467) with two doubles, three RBI and four runs scored as Carleton won four of its first six games on its spring break trip in Fort Pierce, Fla. The start was Carleton’s best in 75 seasons, as the Knights are now 6-2 overall. In a doubleheader sweep of Swarthmore on Friday, Greenlee was a combined 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs scored and a double. Macalester senior pitcher Ted Kimble (Pine Island, Minn.) went 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA in a couple of appearances over Spring Break week in Phoenix. In 14 innings of work, he gave up six runs, six earned runs and held opponents to a .255 batting average.

UMAC: St Scholastica (2-2), Bethany Lutheran (2-4)
The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference baseball pitcher of the week is Alex Smith of Bethany Lutheran College. Smith earned a complete game 10-3 victory for the Vikings against Cornell College. He worked seven innings giving up eight hits and three earned runs, with two strike outs and no walks. Minnesota-Morris senior Joe Fayden is this week’s Upper Midwest Athletic Conference player of the week. Fayden was 9 for 23 (.391) in six games in Ft. Myers, Florida last week for the Cougars. He had six runs batted in with one double.

WIAC: UW-Oshkosh (5-1), UW-Whitewater (3-1)
Andy Podmolik hit .537 (22-for-41) to help UW-La Crosse to a 7-3 record at the Greater Phoenix Invitational. He led the team in hits (22), at-bats (41), doubles (6), triples (2), total bases (32), walks (12) and steals (6). Podmolik had seven multi-hit games and finished with at least one hit in nine of 10 games. He also had five multi-run games and was six-for-six in stolen base attempts. Podmolik was five-for-six in UW-La Crosse’s 12-9 victory over Marian College (Wis.) on March 12. The five hits are tied for second in single-game school history. In 10.2 innings pitched, Adam Bretl, UW-Oshkosh earned one victory and one save as he allowed four hits, one unearned run and had nine strikeouts with one walk. He earned the save in a 5-1 triumph over North Central College (Ill.) on March 17 after working 4.0 innings and allowing two hits, one walk, one unearned run and striking out four. In a 5-3 win over St. Norbert College on March 18, Bretl pitched 6.2 innings of relief, allowing two hits and recording five strikeouts to earn his first victory of the season.

West Region:

ASC: Texas-Dallas (16-5, 6-0), McMurry (15-7, 6-0), (Texas-Tyler (20-0, 3-0)
Ozarks sophomore outfielder John Glenn helped pace a 5-0 week by recording five extra-base hits – including a game-tying triple against East Texas Baptist – and six RBI. Glenn batted .454 with three doubles and a home run. He walked two times and stole two bases. Texas-Dallas junior right-hander Drew Waggoner tossed a complete game, one-hit shutout against Louisiana College. Waggoner struck out six batters and did not issue a walk over the nine-inning, 1-0 win. He has now pitched 16 consecutive scoreless innings. Ozarks junior right-hander Robby Finnell picked up a win and two saves in a three-game ASC series against Texas Texas Baptist. Finnell did not all a run over 6 2/3 innings of relief work and struck out three batters. He also homered and drove in six runs. McMurry junior second baseman Weston Franco went 13-for-26 with four home runs and 12 RBI to pace a 5-1 week that included an ASC series sweep over Hardin-Simmons. Franco had eight hits and three of those long balls against HSU. He scored 15 runs and walked five times over the six games. Mary Hardin-Baylor sophomore right-hander R.B. Garza struck out 14 batters – an ASC high this season – in a seven-inning win over Sul Ross State. Garza didn’t allow an earned run and surrendered only four hits. The strikeout total was the highest for UMHB since it moved to NCAA Division III. Garza becomes the first player this season to win any top weekly divisional award twice.

NWC: Geroge Fox (15-1, 8-1), Puget Sound (8-1, 9-7-1)
NWC Player of the Week was Dan Wentzell, George Fox led the Bruins to a 4-1 week with three home runs (two game-winners), two doubles, 11 runs batted in and 9 runs scored. He batted .438 (7 for 16) while getting walked eight times. He also stole three bases in three attempts. NWC Pitcher of the Week Joe DiPietro, PLU went 8 innings in a 4-2 win over Pacific, allowing only one run on three hits while striking out 8 batters and walking only one. He improved to 5-1 this year.

SCIAC: Redlands (17-4, 3-0), La Verne (5-1, 11-9)
Pomona-Pitzer’s Drew Hedman was named the SCIAC Male Athlete of the Week. In four games, Hedman, a sophomore from Redding, California helped the Sagehens go undefeated (4-0) in the California Classic. Hedman was 9 for 14 with 4 home runs and 12 runs batted in. He scored seven runs and walked 5 times, while batting .643 with a 1.643 slugging percentage and a .714 on base percentage.

Chapman (18-3) made it though a stretch of play where they played five consecutive games against ranked opponents, going 4-1. If they can keep up their stellar play, expect them to be the new number one team when the new poll comes out this week.

Clearing the Bases 23 March (1 of 2)

Friday, March 23rd, 2007

Trying a different format this week. There is a lot going on in D3baseball this week with many conferences gearing up for conference play. I’ve listed the top two teams in each conference with notable performance in many. There were some cancellations and reschduled games as the weekend storm in the northeastern part of the US played havoc with the baseball schedules. There are a lot of games on campus so go out and see a baseball game this weekend.

Game of the Week: Cortland at Montclair State, March 24.

New England Region:

CCC: Endicott (1-0), Salve Regina (7-3)
Co-Players of the Week were Brad Mounatin, Eastern Nazarene and Davin Sirpenski, Salve Regina. Co-Pitchers of the Week were Aaron Laplante, Wentworth and Matt Palmisano, Salve Regina. Riley Diaz, Salve Regina was Rookie of the Week in the CCC. Mountain helped the Crusaders to a 5-3 start by posting a 2-0 record with one save, 17 strikeouts and a 0.52 ERA. Sirpenski batted ,421 with a pait of doubles, a triple, eight runs scored and ten RBI. On the mound he was 1-0 with a pair of saves. LaPlante earned two of Wentworth’s three wins as he was 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA. Palmisano pitched consecutive four-hit shutouts with nine strikeouts in the game against Muhlenberg. Diaz started his career with a 7-17 week (.412) that saw him hit a pair of doubles, a homerun and drive in six.

GNAC: Suffolk (7-3), Albertus Magnus (3-2)

LEC: UMass-Dartmouth (3-2), Keene State (7-5)

MASCAC: Salem State (6-5), Fitchburg State (4-4)

NESCAC: Bowdoin (3-1), Trinity (3-2)
Top performances in the NESCAC include Amherst senior outfielder Tom Scott who went a combined 3- for-7 in the Jeffs’ opening weekend, picking up a pair of singles, a sacrifice bunt and adding a stolen base in his only attempt. Wesleyan senior John DelGiudice went 7-for-8 with four runs and five RBIs during a double-header with Emmanuel.

NEWMAC: Babson (4-1), Wheaton (5-4)
NEWMAC Player of the Week was Ryan Rainone, WPI who batted .500 by collecting 19 hits in 38 at-bats during WPI’s spring break trip to Fort Myers last week. He paced the Engineers with nine runs scored and nine runs batted in while adding a double and a triple. Rainone, who collected a hit in WPI’s last ten games, notched three hits, drove in a pair and scored two runs as the Crimson and Gray closed its trip with an 18-5 win over Carroll on Sunday. NEWMAC Pitcher of the Week was Brendan Devereaux, also of WPI. Devereaux picked up a win and a save during WPI’s spring break trip to Fort Myers. He began his week by striking out the side in the ninth inning of a 10-9 victory over Hiram on Tuesday. Devereaux returned to the mound on Saturday when he yielded just one run while striking out seven in a 9-1 win against Illinois College. For the week, he fanned 10 in just seven innings of work while compiling a 2.57 ERA.

North Atlantic Conference: St Joesph (Me) (7-0), Castleton (4-4)

New York Region:

E8: RIT (5-2), St John Fisher (4-2)
The Empire 8 Player of the Week was Jeremy Peters, Ithaca who recorded a .567 batting average (17-for-3), .611 on-base percentage, and .667 slugging percentage in a 4-3 week for 16th-ranked Ithaca. He went 4-for-4 both in a loss to 20th-ranked Kean and in a win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Peters finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored and three runs batted in as the Bombers topped LaVerne 14-4. He went 3-for-5 with one run scored and one RBI, and threw a scoreless inning in his first appearance of the spring, in a victory over Whittier.

LL: RPI (8-0), Rocherster (5-4)
Liberty League Performer of the Week was Skidmore’s Adam Brown. Brown hit .421, going 16-38 during spring trip with eight RBI, a double and a triple. He was 3-3 in stolen bases. In a 5-4 loss to Gettysburg, he went 3-4 with a double and three RBI. Liberty League Pitcher of the Week was John Fishback of Rochester. Fishback excelled in relief, figuring in two of Rochester’s three wins in Florida. He pitched 3.1 innings of relief to gain a 6-5 win over Brandeis, then came back the next day to throw one inning of relief to get a save in an 8-7 win over 19th-ranked Emory. For the week, he pitched in five games (5.1 innings), allowed five hits, one unearned run, walked one, and struck out three. Liberty League Co-Rookies of the Week were Matt Curry, Clarkson and Kike Jaffe, Skidmore. Curry started his collegiate career with a six-game hitting streak, going 8-for-17, scoring five runs and stealing a pair of bases. Through the first six contests, he is the Knights leading hitter at .471. Jaffe hit .382, going 13-34 during spring break with 7 RBI, 2 doubles and a home run. In a 13-5 win over Colby-Sawyer, he went 3-4 with a HR, 2 runs, and 3 RBI.

NEAC: Pen State-Berks (2-3, 2-0), Baptist Bible (1-0)

Skyline: Centenary (4-1), Farmingdale State (5-3)
J.B. Zorn, Merchant Marine earned Player of the Week honors after sparking the Mariners to the 9-8 victory. At the plate, he went 3-for-4 with three runs batted in and one run scored. Defensively, Zorn threw out one runner and picked off the potential tying run at second base in the top of the ninth inning. Pitcher of the week Mark McCaffrey, Manhattanville picked up his first career victory by tossing three scoreless innings in relief in a 7-6 victory over Northwestern (Minn.). McCaffrey entered the game in the top of the seventh with the bases loaded and no outs. After allowing a single, he retired the next three batters to end the inning. He then faced the minimum of six batters over the next two innings to earn the victory. On the Valiants’ spring trip to Florida, Rookie of teh week Paul Blejec, went 12-for-18 (.667) in six games. He also had a double, home run and six runs batted in as Manhattanville went 4-4.

SUNYAC: Cortland State (9-0), Oswego (2-0), Oneonta (9-1)
Pitcher of the week was Jake Dennstedt, Brockport and Player of the week was Todd Hughe, Plattsburgh. Both players led their respective teams to winning records to start the season on opposite coasts. Hughes led Plattsburgh at the plate while Dennstedt was solid in his two starts on the mound. Plattsburgh put together a 10-2 record on its opening trip to Cocoa Beach, Fla., which Hughes hit .432. Hughes collected 19 hits and 31 total bases and led the team with 17 RBIs, 16 runs and seven extra-base hits. Dennstedt went 2-0 last week with a 0.00 ERA. In his two starts, one which was a complete-game, shutout against Kean, he threw 13 scoreless innings and struck out five.

Mid Atlantic Region:

AMCC: Penn State Behrend (9-1), Pitt-Bradford (7-3), Frostburg State (10-7),
Player of the Week was Dan Clark of Mount Aloysius and Pitcher of the Week was Ryan Smith, Penn State Behrend. Clark started all 10 games for the Mounties, hitting .469 (15-32) with 4 doubles and a home run. He scored 11 runs, drove in 9 and was a perfect 8-8 on stolen base attempts. He also struck out just 3 times and took a free pass 6 times. Highlight performances included a 5-6 (1 HR) effort in a DH versus Gettysburg and a 3-4 (2 doubles) showing against Utica. Smith who anchored the Behrend Lions’ bullpen with 2 saves and a win to help his team out to an 8-1 start. In 7.1 innings Smith allowed 4 hits, no runs, 3 walks and struck out 4.

Centennial Conference: Gettysburg (10-2) Johns Hopkins (8-2), Haverford (8-2)
Centennial Player of the Week was David Randolph, Ursinus. Randolph batted .515 for the week on 17 hits, adding 13 RBI and 11 runs in a 6-3 week for the Bears in Fort Pierce, Florida. On the final day, Randolph went 8-for-11 with six RBI and four runs in commanding wins over Bethany and Susquehanna. Pitcher of the Week was Mike Ciancio, Gettysburg. Ciancio threw a complete-game two hit shutout at Mary Washington in the season opener. He walked two and struck out one. In his follow-up performance, he threw 6 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits, three runs, only one of which was earned, and struck out three without walking a batter. He allowed only two base runners through five innings.

Commonwealth Conference: Albright (1-0), Widener (9-3)
Player of the week in the Commonwealth was Kevin Fisher, Widener. Teammate Anthony Carter was the Pitcher of the Week

Freedom Conference: King’s (7-2), Wilkes (6-2)
Player of the week in the Freedon was Kevin Johnson, Scranton

NJAC: Ramapo (11-3), Kean (6-2)
NJAC Player of the Week was outfielder Rob Sumner, New Jersey City. Amit Shaa, Richard Stockton was the Pitcher of the Week. Rookies of the week were outfielder Mike Guadango, William Paterson and pitcher John O’Hara, Richard Stockton. Sumner becomes the second consecutive Gothic Knight to earn NJAC Player of the Week honors after hitting .560 with four doubles, five home runs, three stolen bases, 14 RBI and 10 runs scored in six contests during NJCU’s trip to Ft. Myers, FL. He hit safely in all six games and produced multiple-hit performances in 4-of-the-6 contests including going 4-for-4 with a double, home run, two RBI and three runs scored in a loss to Illinois College. He homered in each of the final three games of the trip, including a 4-for-5 performance with three home runs, seven RBI, and four runs scored in NJCU’s 14-7 win over Finlandia. For the week in Florida, Sumner produced a .621 on-base percentage and 1.320 slugging percentage. Shah earns NJAC Pitcher of the Week honors after earning the victory on the mound in Stockton’s 2-0 shutout of Washington College in Cocoa, FL. In the victory, he scattered three hits in eight innings of work while walking one and striking out four. Shah surrendered just one extra-base hit in the victory and improved to 3-0 overall on the season with the win. Guadango earns NJAC Rookie of the Week honors after hitting .500 with a double, triple, home run, eight RBI and six runs scored in six contests during the Pioneers’ trip to Phoenix, AZ. He drove in at least one run in all six games and produced multiple-hit performances in 5-of-the-6 contests including a 3-for-5 effort with a double and two RBI in Paterson’s 15-4 win over Wheaton (MA). Guadango wrapped up the trip by going 2-for-4 with his first career home run, two RBI and two runs scored in the Pioneers’ 11-10 come-from-behind win over Luther. O’Hara becomes the second different Osprey to earn NJAC Rookie Pitcher of the Week honors after earning a win and a save in pair of relief appearances during Stockton’s trip to Cocoa, FL. He first logged two innings of hitless relief while striking out three to earn the victory in the Ospreys’ 6-4 win over Bridgewater (MA). One day later, O’Hara recorded a scoreless ninth inning to nail down his first career save in Stockton’s 2-0 win over Washington College.

Penn AC: Gwynedd-Mercy (6-1), Wesley (11-4)
Alvernia’s Zach Lutz was named the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) Baseball Player of the Week for the week ending March 18th. Lutz batted .536 (15-28) with 15 RBIs, three doubles, two triples, four walks and was successful on both stolen base attempts. Tim McMenamin, Gwynedd-Mercy College was on the honor role as he hit .500 (9-18) with two home runs, six runs and 14 RBIs for the Griffins in a 5-1 week. Alvernia’s Pete Fernandez was named the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) Baseball Pitcher of the Week for the week ending March 18th. Fernandez pitched six innings with five hits, one walk and three strikeouts in the 6-3 victory over #9 Wheaton.

South region:

Capital: Mary Washington (7-5-1, 2-0), Salisbury (17-3, 1-1)
Mary Washington senior pitcher Brett Diamond was named as the Capital Athletic Conference Baseball Player of the Week. Diamond pitched a complete game in earning the win over York on Wednesday. Diamond allowed nine hits in nine innings, walking two and striking out eight, including seven of the last nine outs of the game. He gave up three runs, two of which were earned. Mary Washington won its CAC opener with a 5-3 win over York this past Wednesday afternoon to move to 6-4-1 overall and 1-0 in league play.

GSAC: Maryville (16-7), Huntingdon (14-7)
Junior infielder Andy House of Piedmont is the GSAC Player of the Week. In four games, House was 13-for-22 for a .590 batting average. He had five doubles, a home run and five RBIs for the week. House is second on the team with a .342 batting average. The Pitcher of the Week is Maryville’s Pete Herbert. Herbert had two wins as the Scots went 5-1 for the week. Herbert allowed three earned runs in 12 innings and had 13 strikeouts. He struck out eight and allowed a run against Oberlin.

Lynchburg (12-6, 5-1), Virginia Wesleyan (11-7, 5-1), Bridgewater (5-10, 5-1)
ODAC Baseball Player and Pitcher of the of the Week are Andrew Chrismer and Matt Nolen, both with Bridgewater College. Chrismer, a sophomore from Gettysburg, Pa., hit .636 in a 2-1 week for the Eagles with seven hits in 11 at bats including two homes and a double. In a 14-2 win over Guilford, Chrismer hammered both his dingers while driving in four runs. He also singled in the contest and scored three runs. He followed that performance with another 3-for-4 showing in the nightcap against the Quakers, scoring two more times in a 13-1 win. Nolen, a senior from Lynchburg, Va., went eight strong innings in the second game against Guilford, surrendering only four hits and one earned run. He fanned five batters without allowing a free pass.

SCAC: Rhodes (22-2, 8-0), Trinity (Texas) (12-10, 4-0)
SCAC Player of the Week was Nick Vera, Trinity (Texas). Vera hit .412 (7-17) with four extra-base hits over the past week, which included a four-game SCAC sweep of Hendrix College, and the Tigers won all five of their contests. Vera had four runs and three RBI to go with three doubles and a triple, giving him 12 total bases and a .706 slugging percentage. He also drew four walks and was hit by pitch three times to bring his on-base percentage to .583 for the week. Once on the bases, Vera was a threat to steal, swiping five bases in seven attempts. Pitcher of the Week is Justin Frost, Austin. Frost pitched a gem against 13th-ranked Millsaps College, defeating the Majors 5-0 in Jackson in SCAC West Division action on Saturday. Frost tossed a complete game, surrendering just three hits and striking out one to pick up the victory. Saturday’s shutout was the first time Millsaps has been blanked since April 26, 2002 - when Southwestern defeated the Majors, 1-0, in the SCAC Tournament - snapping a 201 game streak in which Jim Page’s squad had scored at least one run.

USA South: Christopher Newport (17-5, 5-1), Averett (27-5, 4-2)
Baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week goes to Averett. Joey Garry, Averett led the Cougars to a 3-0 record last week by batting .615 (8-for-13) with three runs scored and an on-base percentage of .643. In a 7-6 win over Lynchburg, Garry was 2-for-4 with one run scored. In a doubleheader sweep of USA South rival N.C. Wesleyan, Garry was a combined 6-for-9 with two runs scored in the two wins. Also nominated: Ben Walton, Ferrum; Adam Kessel, Shenandoah; Mike Ellsworth, Methodist. Ahmed Shelton, Averett collected his second honor in as many weeks as he helped the Cougars to a conference victory over N.C. Wesleyan in his only appearance last week. Shelton tossed all 11 innings of a 4-3, extra-inning, win for the Cougars over the Battling Bishops. In those 11 frames, Shelton gave up just three runs on 14 hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. Also nominated: Kenny Moreland, Christopher Newport; Elliott Bisplinghoff, Methodist; Ryan Cooper, Ferrum; Taylor DuFrene, Shenandoah.

South independent Emory (16-3) defeated Washington University (Mo.) on Saturday to take home the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship for the second-consecutive year. The win brings Emory to 4-2 in association play and to 15-3 during its 2007 campaign.