Author: Kaitlin McCabe

Fight to the Finish: Power Rankings 4/28

It's hard to believe, but with the West still up in the air, Williams, ranked seventh this week, can still make the playoffs with a sweep of the Continentals. (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)
It’s hard to believe, but with the West still up in the air (like this fastball), Williams, ranked eighth this week, can still make the playoffs with a sweep of the Continentals. (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

It’s been about two weeks since we last released our NESCAC Baseball Power Rankings, and lots of epic wins, losses and upsets have happened since then. As teams make their final push for the playoffs, let’s take another look at how the they stack up against one another.

  1. Tufts (23-5, 8-0), Last Rankings: #3
    The Jumbos have proven that you don’t need to be the best in each area of the game to be a winning team—talent and skill can be two different things. Whereas plenty of teams in the NESCAC have talented players, Tufts has players able to utilize their talent in a way that yields success. Their team batting average isn’t great at .296, but their OBP of .427, the third best number in the league, is promising. Even their .405 slugging percentage is admirable. On the mound, Andrew David ’16 (2.22) and Speros Varinos ’18 (2.29) have tortured batters. The East may not be as competitive as the West this season, but let’s not disregard the significance of Tufts’ 8-0 conference record. No other NESCAC team comes close to that. Of course, we haven’t really seen Tufts face the scrappy West teams yet, so we will have to wait until the playoffs to see how these teams really compare.
  2. Wesleyan (18-9, 5-4), Last Rankings: #1
    I’m sure the Cardinals will be furious when they see this drop in the rankings, but you can’t drop two games to Williams (#8)—by at least three runs—and still hold the number one slot. According to statistics and overall performance, Wesleyan would actually place several spots lower in the rankings were it not for their incredible roster of batters, especially Marco Baratta ’16, Guy Davidson ’16 and Will O’Sullivan ’16. These guys bang it out when up at bat, bringing real firepower every time they’re at the plate, and hitting for power is what a team needs to get ahead in the NESCAC. On the mound, ace Nick Miceli ’17 is a phenomenal and crafty pitcher with a solid 2.63 ERA and 45 strikeouts on his resume, while the team’s most successful pitcher after him, Peter Rantz ’16, has just a slightly above-average 4.59 ERA. Having watched Wesleyan’s series against Hamilton, I can say that the Cardinals won the series because the Continentals made ghastly errors in Game 3, not necessarily because the Wesleyan team is far superior, which speaks to the NESCAC’s parity this year. Wesleyan’s deadliest weapon is unquestionably its offense, and they beat their closest competition in that category, Hamilton, last weekend. Their ability to pick up runs will allow them to get ahead, or stay relevant, in each game and compensate for other facets of the game, where they are still good, just not great. However, despite the #2 ranking here, the Cards are playing for their playoff lives this weekend. A sweep of Amherst gets them in for sure, while a 2-1 mark will have them watching the Williams series to see if the Ephs can pull off a sweep. Good for Wesleyan is that a scenario where the Cards, Ephs and the Middlebury Panthers all end 6-6 will put Wesleyan into the postseason because of overall winning percentage.
  3. Amherst (20-8, 6-3), Last Rankings: #2
    Wesleyan and Amherst are pretty interchangeable right now, but the Cardinals’ production at the plate gives them the boost. That being said, the Jeffs are by no means a team to take lightly, and they have a superior rotation to the Cardinals: their record currently leads the West, and their ace Jackson Volle ’17 (1.10 ERA) earned not one but two conference nods for the Pitcher of the Week position. Dave Cunningham ’16 also received attention this week from the conference for his batting and fielding, boasting a .500 average and an error-free performance in the field. Perhaps Amherst’s one weakness is that the team is good in all areas but not exceptionally great in any one of them. Regardless, Wesleyan and Amherst face each other this weekend, and the series will undoubtedly be neck-and-neck in each game. 
  4. Trinity (14-14, 7-5), Last Rankings: #6
    The Bantams have had killer series since we last looked at the team rankings. They have gotten back-to-back series wins over Bowdoin (#7) and Colby (#9)—which at the end of the day wasn’t a real struggle—and swept Bates (#10) last weekend, ensuring their spot in the playoffs. Trinity was swept by Tufts, but at the rate the Jumbos have picked themselves up this season, that’s not surprising. The pitching rotation also lacks depth, relying mainly on Anthony Egeln, Jr. (2.44 ERA) for high performance on the mound, but right now that hasn’t been a cause for too much concern. Trinity falls dead center in every area of the game, according to NESCAC standings, so I’m happy with Trinity’s ability to shut down every team in the East except Tufts. Right now Trinity is 7-5 in the conference, and Bowdoin and Colby are next at 3-6. That says a lot about the landscape in the East. The Bantams are also back in the playoffs for the first time since 2013, displacing Bates, who has gone the last two seasons.
  5. Hamilton (14-12, 3-6), Last Rankings: #4
    The Continentals currently have the worst record in the West, so why are they still stacked relatively high up in the rankings? I swear I’m not being biased in saying that Hamilton possesses extremely talented players with lots of potential, especially when it comes to performance at the plate. Their slash line of .343/.432/.481 put them second in the conference for hitting, and juniors Ryan Wolfsberg ’17, Kenny Collins ’17 and Brett Mele ’17 would be hitting on any team in the league. Yet, dropping two games a piece to Middlebury and Wesleyan proves a fact that cannot be ignored: Hamilton is consistently unreliable in the field, dropping balls and making terrible throws that add up to inexcusable big innings. Accordingly, they have the worst FPCT in the league at .926 with 588 putouts and a whopping 68 errors. Against the Panthers, Hamilton had eight errors in Game 1, three in Game 2, and two in Game 3. Thankfully, the Continentals improved throughout the weekend, but that’s 13 errors in one weekend—Middlebury had only two. Then last weekend against the Cardinals, Hamilton had 10 errors in total, seven of which contributed (or directly led to) their 15-6 loss in Game 3. Wesleyan, in comparison, had three errors.Compounding the problem is a shallow bullpen that doesn’t rack up a lot of strikeouts. Balls in play plus shaky defense equals unearned runs. The Continentals have a ton to offer, but they’ll never be truly great unless they clean up on defense.
  6. Middlebury (9-16, 6-6), Last Rankings: #7
    Week after week, the Panthers are improving rather than shrinking back into the losing team the West has grown accustomed to. They stand right in the middle of all NESCAC team stats when they used to come dead last, or close to it, in previous seasons. We’ve already said that the older players, especially seniors John Luke ’16 and Joe MacDonald ’16, have clearly developed during the off-season and that fresh rookies like Colby Morris ’19 have added more depth to the team, but it’s likely that watching their program progress into a winning program has motivated the players to put in that extra push of effort, producing even more wins. Should Wesleyan fail to win their series against Amherst, the Panthers could potentially knock them out of that second-place slot guaranteeing a run in the NESCAC playoffs. As an eternal lover of the underdog, I’m honestly excited just thinking about it.
  7. Bowdoin (19-10, 3-6), Last Rankings: #8 
    Honestly, Bowdoin has moved up in rankings because other teams needed to go down in them. That’s probably something to be thankful for, based on the number of rookies the Polar Bears have on the roster. Bowdoin has already been eliminated from the playoffs, but their matchup with Tufts this weekend provides an opportunity to make a statement. It sounds cliche to say Bowdoin is a young team right now and coming out low in rankings is just a part of their growing phase, but, to an extent, it’s sort of the only way you can look at the team right now. No Bowdoin player has made it into the top-50 in batting average, and the team’s batting average of .265 is scary. However, I really like Bowdoin’s ERA of 3.80. That shows some potential, or at least a good starting point, for next season. At this point, Bowdoin needs to think about the future rather than salvaging the rest of their now stagnant season. 
  8. Williams (10-17, 4-5), Last Rankings: #9
    The Ephs managed to win two games in their series against Wesleyan, which definitely must be acknowledged in some way. I’m pretty dumbfounded by the stats of the games, but nevertheless, those two pretty wins pushed the Ephs ahead of Hamilton in the West’s standings, making this certainly an odd year for the division. Still, statistically Williams hasn’t stacked up well this year. The Ephs have an ERA of 6.94 and have allowed 120 walks, both league worsts. They have a FPCT of .945, which ranks seventh in the league. They swing it at a solid .299/.391/.376 clip, but overall, the team is not up to the caliber of the rest of the division. But, baseball is a crazy game, and a sweep for the Ephs this weekend puts them in the mix for the playoffs.
  9. Colby (10-18, 2-6), Last Rankings: #10
    At least the Mules are consistent, right? Colby has a handful of extremely talented players like Soren Hanson ’16 and Tommy Forese ’16, but there’s only so much you can expect them to do for a continually struggling team. Bates’ miserable losses to Trinity pushed Colby ahead of the Bobcats in the East, but the Mules have zero chances of getting to the playoffs anytime in the near future. They remain too far down the standings in all categories to show tremendous growth—they are seventh in average and ninth in ERA and FPCT—and with their two most talented players graduating, it’s likely next year will be a struggle for the Mules. Hopefully Colby really invests in the youth in the offseason in order to get a head start on next year’s season, when there will be really, really big shoes to fill.
  10. Bates (10-16, 2-6), Last Rankings: #5
    In just two weeks, the Bobcats have severely dropped in our power rankings. They started off the season quite well: they won their doubleheader against Bowdoin; Connor Speed ’18 was awarded NESCAC Pitcher of the Week. Everything just fall apart afterwards. Trinity dominated their series, winning all three of the weekend’s games. In all fairness, two games had a one run differential, and one game went into extra innings, so Bates wasn’t entirely out of control there. However, those three losses were the straw that broke the camel’s back, or in this case, the Bobcats’ back. Bates is now last in the East after losing six conference games. The team’s pitching is the best thing it has going right now, as Bates has an ERA of 4.42 thanks to guys like Speed. Thankfully, there’s plenty of time for the youth on the team to develop the program, but this year’s essentially over for the team as a whole.

Conference games this weekend will make or break teams’ chances of playing in the NESCAC playoffs this year. Here are this week’s match ups:

Colby vs. Bates—Friday at 3:00 pm; Saturday at noon, 2:30 pm
Tufts vs Bowdoin—Friday at 3:0o pm; Saturday at noon, 2:30 pm
Tufts vs Bates—Sunday at 1:00 pm
Wesleyan vs Amherst—Friday at 4:00 pm; Saturday at 1:00 pm, 3:30 pm
Hamilton vs Williams—Friday at 4:00 pm; Saturday at noon, 2:30 pm
Trinity vs. Middlebury—Saturday at noon, 2:30 pm (non-divisional)

Push for the Playoffs: Weekend Preview 4/22

Amherst is primed and ready for the weekend. Are you? (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)
Amherst is primed and ready for the weekend. Are you? (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

Now that last weekend was, in a word, surprising, it’s a bit challenging to say how this weekend will turn out. If this pattern of upsets continues across the board, we’re looking at an entirely new—albeit pretty dysfunctional—conference. But that’s NESCAC Baseball for you, always keeping you on your toes.

Poor weather strikes the NESCAC yet again, postponing at least the Wesleyan vs. Hamilton series for a day (i.e. the DH remains on Saturday, but Game 3 will be Sunday, not Friday). I know it’s not worth it to pray to Mother Nature to hold off on the rain, but hopefully the weekend won’t be entirely messed up due to crummy weather and thus crummy fields.

This weekend preview is a bit more concentrated than usual, with players to watch for in each series. The projected pitchers are not listed in order of when they will pitch; they are just the candidates we will most likely see on the bump sometime during the weekend’s games.

NESCAC Games 

Colby vs Tufts—Friday 3:00 pm; Saturday 12:00 pm, 2:30 pm
Amherst vs Middlebury—Friday 4:00 pm; Saturday 12:00 pm, 2:30 pm
Wesleyan vs Hamilton—Saturday 12:00 pm, 2:30 pm; Sunday 12:00 pm
Bates vs Trinity—Friday 3:00 pm; Saturday 12:00 pm, 2:30 pm
Williams vs Bowdoin—Saturday 12:00 pm, 2:30 pm; Sunday 12:00 pm (games don’t count towards conference standings)

The Run-Down

Colby vs Tufts—Friday 3:00 pm; Saturday 12:00 pm, 2:30 pm
Players to Watch:

  1. 3B Zach Ellenthal ’16: Adam Lamont wrote about this senior earlier in the week, but I think mentioning him again only emphasizes how crucial he is to Colby’s series against Tufts. Ellenthal is currently the Mules’ best chance of getting runs this weekend. He holds a team-high slashline of .370/.477/.574 and currently ranks better than all of one Jumbo hitter (Harry Brown). In fact, Colby’s batters are generally hitting better than Tufts right now. If Ellenthal can outsmart Tufts’ unforgiving pitchers, he’ll open the door for the rest of his teammates to wear down and intimidate the bump. (FYI: He was this week’s NESCAC Player of the Week).
  2. P Andrew David ’16: The guy holds a 2.27 ERA in 35.2 innings pitched and manages 10.09 K/G—that’s brutal.. for hitters. Right now he sits in the top five pitchers in the NESCAC, placed right behind this week’s rival pitcher Soren Hanson of Colby (who boasts a 2.23 ERA and strikes out about 10.58 batters per game). David isn’t going to take mercy on the Mules at bat, likely striking out most of Colby’s batting lineup throughout his innings on the mound.

This series is going to be a battle of the pitchers. With both teams hitting slightly below average (Tufts at .294, Colby at .291), the dominant players on the mound (see above) will really be forces to be reckoned with—forces that will probably strike many batters out and lead to a series of low runs and quick innings. Tufts’ is unquestionably the superior team, and a lot of it will be seen this weekend in their defense, which rocks a league-high .965 FPCT. Colby doesn’t have the same consistency in the field at .945, so it’s safe to say the Jumbos will have more luck making it around the bases.

Prediction: Tufts wins 3

Amherst vs Middlebury—Friday 4:00 pm; Saturday 12:00 pm, 2:30 pm

Players to Watch:

  1. C/INF Dave Cunningham ’16: With a .992 FPCT and just one error, Cunningham isn’t going to give Middlebury the errors they enjoyed last week at Hamilton. At bat, he’s also proven himself to be quite reliable, as he holds a .348/.400/.464 slash line. Amherst will need to be consistent on both offense and defense in order to win the series and prevent Middlebury from outsmarting their mistakes, and Cunningham represents the type of player the Jeffs can count on in both areas.
  2. C John Luke ’16: Last week the senior hit a nice .455, going 10-for-22 with five RBIs, four runs scored and a pair of doubles. Against Hamilton alone, he hit .500, going 3-for-5 in game one then 3-for-6 in game three—helping improve his slash line to .380/.415/.493. In his final year, Luke is killing it at the plate, showing serious progress from his previous years with the Panthers. But that’s not all—he’s dominating behind the plate, with 126 putouts and a FPCT of .993. He only has one error. This season Luke is top-notch everywhere he needs to be, and that has prepared him to take on Amherst.

I’m actually thrilled to say that for the first time in a long time, the Panthers have a solid shot of preventing Amherst’s series sweep. They took a game from Wesleyan and capitalized on Hamilton’s errors to take two—what’s Amherst now but another team to be outsmarted by the underdogs?

Don’t get me wrong, Middlebury has talent that should not be confused with just luck. Having worked the scoresheet for all the Hamilton vs. Middlebury games, I can attest to Adam’s claims about P/DH Joe MacDonald ’16 both on the mound and at the plate. Luke, Colin Waters ’19, and Brendan Donohue ’18 also intimidated the Continentals during the series. The Panther rookies really are a great start for the rising program, and the veterans players are showing a lot of growth.

Nevertheless, Amherst has more talent and doesn’t need luck to get wins. They’re going to make the Panthers work a heck of a lot harder than they did last weekend and will show them who’s the real NESCAC powerhouse.

Prediction: Amherst wins 2

Wesleyan vs Hamilton—Friday 4:00 pm; Saturday 12:00 pm, 2:30 pm

Players to Watch:

  1. SS Guy Davidson ’16: Watching Davidson play (albeit via live stream) is pretty incredible. In 105 times at the plate, he’s picked up a .410/.538/.671 slash line with a whopping 15 doubles, three triples, and two home runs. In his four games for Wesleyan last week, he finished 7-for-17 (.417), dominating the Ephs with three doubles, one triple, three RBIs, two runs scored and a walk.
  2. LF Ryan Wolfsberg ’17: Wolfsberg—with a beautiful, conference-topping .461/.538/.671 slash line—is pretty amazing at the plate, and everyone knows it: I the ultra-stats person know it, the Continentals know it, the conference knows it, and he himself knows it. Though Hamilton had a rough weekend, the juniot hit a solid .667 (8-for-12) with a .643 on-base percentage and 1.250 slugging percentage against Middlebury last weekend, adding to his resume a solo home run three hits, two doubles, a triple and more in those three games alone. He has hit safely in seven straight games—which will be an important factor this weekend—and has driven in at least one run in six in a row. He admittedly aims for a home run with every at bat, it’s always intriguing to see just how many times he comes close to that mission.

Wesleyan has been NESCAC Champion for two years; Hamilton is the underdog team evolving into more than just an upstart. In most years, it would be a given that the Cardinals would sweep the series—they are and have been for several seasons the dominant team. But several key factors come into play this year. First, this year’s batch of Continentals shows the tremendous development of the Hamilton program. Second, Wesleyan is developing a tendency to experience upsets, namely losing to Middlebury at the beginning of the season and dropping two games in their series against Williams last weekend.

Let’s look at the stats: Both teams lead the league in hitting, the Cardinals with a .355 batting average followed by the Continental’s .346 (compare: the third highest average is Amherst’s .319). In fact, their entire slash lines are similar: Wesleyan’s .355/.435/.493 is just slightly above Hamilton’s .346/.440/.480. Clearly these two teams are superior at the plate On the mound, Hamilton has actually surpassed Wesleyan, racking up an ERA of 4.30 while the latter only has a 5.21. Then there’s the drastic difference between Hamilton’s 53 walks allowed and Wesleyan’s 100. The Cardinals have only played two more games than the Continentals, so this staggering difference is not relative to games played. I’m expecting we’ll see some big hits from the usual suspects and plenty of outs at the plate.

However, Hamilton’s number of putouts (483) and FPCT (.929) is currently the worst in the league, no doubt as a result of all those ugly, entirely avoidable, kind of just pathetic errors committed in last weekend’s series against Middlebury. If the Continentals don’t keep their heads in the game and play to their potential, they are very much at risk of letting Wesleyan earn excessive runs due to their own deficiencies. Hamilton’s non-conference game against Saint Lawrence University on Tuesday had fewer errors, and I’d like to think that is a reflection of the team’s a) natural talent, b) uncharacteristically bad weekend against the Panthers, and/or c) realization of their ghastly mistakes over the weekend and strong desire to prevent future embarrassments.

Hamilton can prevent a series sweep, perhaps even win two of the three—if they play to their full potential.

Prediction: Wesleyan wins 2

Bates vs Trinity—Friday 3:00 pm; Saturday 12:00 pm, 2:30 pm

Players to Watch:

  1. P Connor Colombo ’16: Colombo just misses the number-one slot in NESCAC with a 1.78 ERA in 30.1 innings on the bump. Against the Bantams, Bates needs to be a stronger force on the mound to compensate for similar batting averages, and Colombo will help Bobcats be that superior team.
  2. Nick Pezzella ’16: Thankfully for the Bantams, Pezzella is full of much-needed firepower at the plate. Last weekend the senior went 6-11 in three games (against Tufts), producing three runs, a double, two homers, five RBIs, a walk, and two stolen paces. In each game, he had two hits on the Jumbo’s pitchers.

As Adam noted earlier this week, Trinity is in quite a sticky situation right now: the Bantams lost all three games against Tufts, placing them in last in the East. This series against Bates is essential if Trinity has any hopes of making the playoffs, or just staying in one piece in the conference. Up at bat, the Bobcats and the Bantams are practically identical, hitting .275 and .279 respectively. While Trinity more frequently hits for power, earning a .394 slugging average compared to Bates’ .352, Bates is slightly luckier when it comes to actually making it on base.

Prediction: Bates wins 2

Williams vs Bowdoin—Saturday 12:00 pm, 2:30 pm; Sunday 12:00 pm

Players to Watch:

  1. 1B/P Nathan Michalski ’17: Michalski trails Bowdoin’s Chad Martin in NESCAC fielding standings with a .989 FPCT and two errors in 23 games. It’ll be interesting to see how strong skills on defense prevent the already struggling Polar Bear offense from racking up runs.
  2. P Harry Ridge ’16: If Bowdoin is going to compensate for deficiencies at the plate, they need to prevent Williams from getting too far ahead in runs. Ridge has a 2.81 ERA and has walked only six players while allowing only one home run. It’s likely the Polar Bears will rely on pitchers to give the Ephs a hard time this weekend, and Ridge has the highest chances of doing so.

After winning their series against Wesleyan, the Ephs are likely riding on a high this week against the Polar Bears.

Bowdoin has the poor batting history (i.e. the team’s in dead last) compared to Williams, hitting .266/.350/.359 compared to the Eph’s .309/.404/.394. Thankfully for the Polar Bears, Williams has the highest ERA in the league at 7.73 and only 4.36 K/G, so there’s a chanced that their subpar performance at the plate won’t actually matter. Bowdoin, meanwhile, does pretty well on the bump with a 4.14 ERA—definitely a sign that there questionable pitching rotation has become more cohesive in the last week or so. We always love to see teams play each other in cross-division matchups even it doesn’t count for the standings, and this will be a fun series regardless.

Prediction: Bowdoin wins 2

Separation Time: Weekend Preview 4/15

Jason Lock '17 and the Middlebury lineup looks to continue their surprise start. (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)
Jason Lock ’17 and the Middlebury lineup looks to continue their surprise start. (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)

After two weeks of Mother Nature really just hating on NESCAC baseball, the forecast for the weekend all over the ‘Cac looks beautiful and is finally doing its part to make baseball fun again. (Knock on wood, please.)

As Adam Lamont’s latest power rankings suggest, the season so far has been filled with people getting hit by pitches (I felt your pain, Panthers—I’m sure pitches from Wesleyan’s Peter Rantz ’16 leave a bruise), some impressive upsets—Hamilton vs Amherst, Middlebury vs Wesleyan—and old powerhouse Trinity potentially crawling their way back into proper form. And then there’s Bowdoin, back near the bottom of the conference. Sorry, Polar Bears, there really is no such thing as luck in the NESCAC.

This weekend, the conference continues on its way with each team having a few more games under their belts:

NESCAC Series:
Trinity vs Tufts—Friday 3 pm; Saturday 12 pm, 2:30 pm
Bowdoin vs Colby—Friday 3 pm; Saturday 12 pm, 2:30 pm
Middlebury vs Hamilton—Friday 4 pm; Saturday 12 pm, 2:30 pm
Williams vs Wesleyan—Friday 4 pm; Saturday 1 pm, 3:30 pm

It’s difficult to pick a specific must-watch game out of this bunch—though the Williams vs Wesleyan face off is certainly the most mismatched of the group in terms of rankings, the remaining trio of games can go either way. The way this season has been going so far, it’s unlikely we will be seeing multiple sweeps this weekend.

Players to Watch

1. P Colby Morris ’19 (Middlebury)
So you know that Middlebury upset of Wesleyan? Colby Morris ’19 was on the mound for that. The rookie earned an incredible—jaw-dropping, actually—win against the reigning NESCAC champs, allowing just three runs over 6.1 innings of work with three strikeouts. Now, Wesleyan has the best team batting average at .370, so the fact that Morris (4.91 ERA) took them down is a serious show of the young arm’s potential for the Panthers. Over the next four years, he’s going to be the threat of the NESCAC.

Morris will start off Middlebury’s series against Hamilton this weekend. Hamilton has the second highest team batting average (.343) and will no doubt go full force against the Panthers to guarantee a first-game victory. If Morris builds off of last weekend’s momentum, he’ll have no problem taking control.

2. C Brett Mele ’17 (Hamilton)
Maybe I’m just standing on a soapbox, but Mele’s stats are absolutely phenomenal this year compared to his first two seasons, and he hasn’t really been given much NESCAC recognition for it. At the plate, the junior holds an awesome .442/.524/.577 slash line that places him in second, fourth, and seventh in the conference, respectively. That power is impressive. Very impressive. Clearly, Mele was playing below expectations in his first two years, but these stats convey some above and beyond effort.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that he was selected for the NESCAC All-Academic team last year. But maybe the conference can somehow highlight something else he does well this year, too.

The Run-Down

I’ll keep it short and sweet this week, as there are a lot of games to tune into in the next few days. Here’s what you need to know:

Trinity vs. Tufts
Starting Pitchers: Jed Robinson ’16, Anthony Egeln ’18, Chris Speer (Trinity); Tim Superko ’17, Speros Varinos ’18, Andrew David ’16 (Tufts)

Tufts may be holding strong, but they know that one game can change everything. That being said, the Jumbos are preparing to face Trinity full force. “Trinity is obviously playing really well. They’re a solid team,” head coach John Casey said. “They play really well defensively. We have to keep them off the bases.”

Tufts’ men on the mound will likely make the difference in the Tufts vs Trinity series—Andrew David ’16, especially, will be a battle for Trinity’s batters. David flaunts a 1.42 ERA, the second in the NESCAC; meanwhile Anthony Egeln, Jr., the Bantam’s highest-ranked pitcher, comes in at 2.93. However, Egeln has not allowed a run in his last 14 innings pitched.

The competition in the other area is evidently much closer: the teams are neck-and-neck, with Tufts and .279 and Trinity and .277 for batting and .964 and .962 for fielding. Tufts’ Harry Brown ’17 has been undeniably the most superior batter in the mix, but afterward the stats pretty much blend together. It’s likely we will be seeing some big hits from both sides this weekend unless one team’s defense really plays way above expectations

Nevertheless, Tufts is fundamentally the stronger team, as they are tried and proven. Trinity has the potential to really move up a notch in the rankings this season, but the Bantams currently lack the cohesive firepower of the Jumbos.

Prediction: Tufts wins 2

Bowdoin vs Colby
Starting Pitchers: Harry Ridge ’16, Brandon Lopez ’19, Ben Osterholtz ’19 (Bowdoin); Soren Hanson ’16, Tommy Forese ’16, Brooks Parker ’19 (Colby)

It’s Maine vs Maine this weekend in the NESCAC, and unfortunately, that means one struggling team vs another struggling team. Bowdoin started off the season strong, but proved unable to hold onto that pride and glory once the regular NESCAC season began. Harry Ridge ’16 and Soren Hanson ’16 will make interesting opponents, with commendable ERAs of 1.69 and 2.49. However, Bowdoin’s depth is much more reliable than Colby’s, and you can’t rely on just one pitcher in a three-game series. Colby’s Andrew Currier has dominated at the plate this season for the Mules, racking up nice stats of .377/.417/.434. Sean Mullaney has also made a difference on the Polar Bears, trailing behind Currier with .324/.400/.368.

At the end of the day, this will probably be the most evenly matched series of the weekend, with neither team able to move up in the rankings and really give a blowout performance.

Prediction: Bowdoin wins 2

Middlebury vs Hamilton
Starting Pitchers: Colby Morris ’19, John Bunting, Joe MacDonald ’16 (Middlebury); Cole Dreyfuss ’16, Spencer Vogelbach ’18, Dan DePaoli ’18 (Hamilton)

Both Middlebury and Hamilton stunned the NESCAC with tremendous upsets in the last two weeks, causing their peer teams to think, “Wow, they really have gotten better!” And, in case you missed all of the season so far, they have. Hamilton’s core squad of juniors (Ryan Wolfsberg ’17, Brett Mele ’17, Kenny Collins ’17 and Andrew Haser ’17) is pretty terrifying for fielders; they all stack up extremely highly in NESCAC standings. It’ll probably get even more intimidating once Chris Collins ’17 is 100 percent recovered from his spring break hamstring injury. Hamilton’s pitching rotation is also quite impressive, with Cole Dreyfuss ’16, Spencer Vogelbach ’18, Dan DePaoli ’18 and Max Jones ’19 finding more consistency as the weeks progress.

The rise of the Panthers, meanwhile, is probably the most shocking story in the NESCAC so far. After failing to really produce wins for the past few years, Middlebury got that huge win over Wesleyan last weekend 7-4. The Panthers are experiencing a youth movement that is unquestionably resulting in the team’s success: pitcher Colby Morris ’19, as already expressed, is pitching well on the bump, while Sam Graf ’19, Spencer Tonies ’19 and Phil Bernstein ’19 have been standouts in the field. And then there is Jake Turtel ’18, who currently holds the starting 2B position after not playing much at all last season as well and is hitting .333/.387/.386 at bat.

Hamilton needs to sweep this series if they want to make a major dent in the standings and increase their chances at making this year’s NESCAC playoffs. To do that, winning Game 1 is key. Vogelbach and Morris will duel it out on the mound with a shared goal of getting that first win. After that, one thing is certain: the Continentals are going to put their blood, sweat and tears into this one.

Prediction: Hamilton wins 2

Williams vs Wesleyan
Starting Pitchers: Luke Rodino ’17, Tyler Duff ’17, TBA (Williams); Peter Rantz ’16, Nick Miceli ’17, Ethan Rode ’17 (Wesleyan)

If there’s a sweep this weekend, you can guarantee it’ll happen here. The Ephs definitely have a young team this year, and that means inexperience. All things considered, Williams isn’t too shabby at the plate, averaging .310. Sure, Wesleyan boasts a .370 average, but still, it’s actually quite impressive. Pitching, however, is a completely different story. While Wesleyan has produced a slightly disappointed 4.77 ERA, Williams falls dead last in the NESCAC with a lousy 8.49. Is this better than the two-digit figures we saw during spring break? Yes. Is this going to win many NESCAC contests? No.

If Williams doesn’t improve on the bump, there is next to no chance they will be a legitimate contender against the Cardinals this weekend. Sorry, Ephs, but this one’s not happening for you yet.

Prediction; Wesleyan wins 3

April Showers Bring…Snow?: Stock Report 4/6

This is not a NESCAC baseball field, but it is what some fields looked like because of the weather.
This is not a NESCAC baseball field, but it is what some fields looked like because of the weather.

Nothing says “baseball” like six inches of snow, right? Believe it or not, it is spring in the NESCAC. Though we may be trudging through snow and having games canceled because of “inclement weather” (i.e. sudden blizzard in April?!?!), we will be able to see the field by this weekend, and there will be games played on them. The weather can only deprive us of NESCAC baseball (and MLB Opening Day games) for so long.

Braving mercurial weather conditions, the teams played their first of many NESCAC Division series Friday and Saturday (The games between Wesleyan and Colby do not count towards their conference record). While most NESCACs were delaying or postponing weekend matchups, Williams and Middlebury continued to soak up the gorgeous Arizona sun in their first NESCAC West series but have returned to NESCAC turf for the remainder of the season.

STOCK UP

Guys making—or remaking—history

Williams’ pitcher Luke Rodino ’17 and Hamilton’s 1B Andrew Haser ’17 did more than make a good first impression in their NESCAC openers.

Rodino threw a complete-game eight-hitter without walking a single batter. Alone, the accomplishment is pretty nice, but if you consider that no other Eph pitcher has done that in 37 games (i.e. 369 days ago), it’s amazing. As a result, Williams defeated rival Middlebury 8-2, improving their record to 5-8 overall and 1-0 in the NESCAC West. And here’s a fun fact for you: the last time Williams did not walk any batters was also thanks to Rodino’s arm.

If neither his NESCAC Player of the Week nod nor his clutch walk-off have sufficiently marked him as a threat at the plate, Andrew Haser’s ’17 school-record three home runs for Hamilton on Friday will certainly do the trick. The hotshot hit his home runs in consecutive innings against the team from Central Massachusetts; he’s racked up five so far this season, just two short of the program’s single-season mark, and 10 in his collegiate career (three away from yet another school record). At this rate, the junior will have no problem shattering those records before he graduates, let alone this year. I guess you could say he’s having a pretty good start to the season.

The underdogs-of-the-underdogs

It’s time to stop thinking about Middlebury as the team that comes in last in NESCAC standings each season and to start applauding their achievements as they come. The Panthers beat Williams in the final two games of a three-game NESCAC West series this weekend, first by virtue of a 2-1 crazy walk-off and then by a 11-4 tally in Saturday’s nightcap. The team has demonstrated noticeable improvement across the board. John Luke ’16 is Middlebury’s comeback kid: he seems to be making up for three years of mediocre hitting, as he now leads the team and most players in the NESCAC with his .432/.462/.595 slashline. Meanwhile, Jake Turtel ’18 has developed his skills all around, earning the starting 2B position after not playing much at all last season and racking up a .325/.372/.375 combination at bat. Former 2B Brendan Donohue ’18 has proven himself to be quite a wild card, moving around the diamond to LF and even to pitcher and maintaining his hitting reliability with a .320/.393/.400 slashline. Middlebury only committed two errors in three games (compared to Williams’ seven), and that solid command of the field is no doubt a result of diligent team growth.

Middlebury should really be excited by their arsenal of talented rookies. With speed and a strong arm, Sam Graf ’19 is an asset to the outfield with  only one error in 12 games, while Spencer Tonies ’19 is making a big impact at shortstop (.441/.474/.559). Behind the plate, Phil Bernstein ’19 has been a great defensive force in the weekend’s games. Their progress may not mean that much right now, but in the long run, investment in the younger players will result in a more competitive team. No, the Panthers aren’t going to take the NESCAC West anytime soon, but if they keep up the good work, they may break free from their cycle of disappointment. Here’s looking at you, kids.

P Cole Dreyfuss ’16 (HAM)

Taking the mound after Hamilton’s 18-8 defeat against Amherst, Cole Dreyfuss ’16 ruled all seven innings of Saturday’s Game One.  His imposing two-hitter force not only surprised Amherst but also made them visibly nervous. The senior captain held Amherst hitless for one stretch of 5.2 innings. With this victory, Dreyfuss earned his team-leading third win of the season, which raises his career record to 12-8 (third place on the team’s career wins list).

Although Amherst came out on top in the weekend’s series, winning two of the three games—albeit that the last one stretched into extra innings—Hamilton definitely showed both the flustered Jeffs and the entire NESCAC that the Continentals won’t be beaten without a hard fight. And most of that tenacity this weekend can be credited to Dreyfuss’s fantastic pitching.

STOCK DOWN

Bowdoin’s pitching

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The Polar Bears’ early success was due to either hidden talent or mediocre competition, and right now, it’s looking like the latter. There’s no denying that Ben Osterholtz ’19 (0.66 ERA), Connor Rooney (1.13 ERA), and Harry Ridge (2.18 ERA) are good pitchers; Michael Staes ’16 (3.71 ERA) isn’t throwing poorly either. But as a team Bowdoin has only managed to secure a 4.28 ERA and a concerning 5.16 K/G, and when it comes to the NESCAC, that’s just ok. The power we saw—or thought we saw—during spring training has simmered out: it was all relative to the competition the Polar Bears’ faced rather than the competition they would ultimately see in conference games. Luckily, the team has a solid group of pitchers to continually develop over the season.

Colby

No one expects a bottom team to suddenly play a super competitive game against reigning champions, but the Mules had nothing in their favor during their brutal 21-1 loss to Wesleyan on Saturday.

The Mules are hardly poor hitters; with a .312 AVG, they are relatively average in the NESCAC and actually have fewer strikeouts than any other team. At the end of the day, the team just had the misfortune of going up against Peter Rantz ’16 and Nick Miceli ’17, so their failings at the plate are understandable. Determining the efficacy of their defense is more nuanced. In the first game of the DH, Colby had three errors compared to Wesleyan’s zero; in the second, the Mules had six errors compared to the Cardinals’ one. Considering that their .956 FPCT is identical to Amherst’s, it’s hard to say that sloppy defense is the sole culprit for the Mules poor start. Regardless, allowing 21 runs in nine innings—11 in one inning alone—isn’t the work of a stable squad.

Why did Colby give up so many hits? Last weeks’ Pitcher of the Week Soren Hanson ’16 put in a solid 6.1 innings in Game One, holding the Cardinals to just three runs. However, Game Two was basically a pitcher party to which seven different guys showed up. Right now, the team has a collective 9.35 ERA, and when you’re going down the roster for teammates to pitch in your game, you’re not looking at a drastic improvement. Put that ERA up against the most dangerous hitters in the team, and you’ve got Game 2. And that’s just ugly. The Mules can unquestionably improve their work both at the plate and in the field, but their efforts won’t make up for poor pitching. Putting together a more reliable rotation behind Hanson—one that will get your through DH weekends—needs to be Colby’s focus right now.

Amherst’s music selection

You know something’s really bad it the NSN announcer is making fun of it. In this case, he was begging Amherst to turn off the music. Sir, I feel your pain.

My tastes may be limited to 90s rock, but I can say without hesitation that whoever made the playlist for the Amherst-Hamilton series was completely out of their mind. Why would you ever switch back and forth between bubble-gum country and EDM? Or better yet, why would you ever—EVER—play “Let It Go” from Frozen during a baseball game? What happened to good old-fashioned Jock Jams?

Amherst DJ, I have quite an expansive knowledge of said Jock Jams and appropriate pump-up music and would be happy to be of assistance to you. But seriously—what were you thinking?

STOCK WAY DOWN

Mother Nature

Amherst-Hamilton’s nightcap was delayed due to torrential rainfall. All of Sunday’s games were postponed due to inclement weather. And the last two days I’ve woken up to snowfall.

Get your act together, Nature. Spring is for baseball, not building snow forts.

It’s No Joke–NESCAC Opening Weekend is Here: Weekend Preview 4/1

Chad Martin and the rest of Bowdoin prepares to take on Trinity this weekend. (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics)
Chad Martin and the rest of Bowdoin prepares to take on Trinity this weekend. (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics)

It’s spring in the NESCAC, and we all know what that means—no sun, rain, and a dreary atmosphere. This weekend, however, we have a reason to get outside—baseball’s opening weekend is finally here. While most NESCACs have returned north for the regular season, Middlebury and Williams are enjoying their last few days in the relative paradise of Arizona (where the temperature is cruising at a lovely 81 degrees).

Two to Watch

1. OF Kenny Collins ’17 (Hamilton): In the Continentals’ last week of spring training, Collins hit .500 and earned an OBP of .600, either hitting safely or walking in all four games of their games. In Hamilton’s 14-8 win against Bowdoin, he went 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Right now, he’s flaunting a .400 AVG, .510 OBP and .575 SLG. His hitting hasn’t yielded much distance yet—he’s only hit two doubles, one triple, and one homerun (yes, that walk-off one)—but Collins’ consistency and reliability will be a godsend against Amherst. Collins also has zero errors so far this year, and the Continentals need to play a clean defense if they want any chance of defeating the Jeffs.

2. SS Matt Moser ’16 (Tufts): Last week Moser had eight RBIs, plus an epic grand slam, in Tufts’ win at Averett and then was 3-6 with two runs and an RBI against Lynchburg. By the end of the week, he had racked up a total of 10 RBIs. Playing in all of Tufts’ six games of the week, he had multiple hits and runs in three of the games. He boasts a .535 slugging percentage and remains one of the Jumbo’s top batters. He will definitely make an appearance at shortstop this weekend, but his presence at the plate will be far more crucial for Tufts’ series against Bates.

The Picks
Opening weekend is jam-packed with NESCAC contests: Bowdoin vs. Trinity; Wesleyan vs. Colby; Williams vs. Middlebury. But when it comes to longevity—how these games and their participating teams will impact the 2016 season—two matchups bear the most intrigue.

Hamilton (0-0, 9-5) vs. Amherst (0-0, 10-2): Friday 3:30 PM, Saturday 12 PM & 2:30 PM
***If Friday’s matchup is rained out, the teams will reschedule the game for Sunday. This will be determined closer to game time.***

Who’s on the mound: Cole Dreyfuss ’16, Spencer Vogelbach ’18 & Dan DePaoli ’18 vs. Jackson Volle ’17, Riley Streit ’16 & Wilson Taylor ’19
(Hamilton head coach Tim Byrnes has yet to announce the order for his pitchers but designated these players as a part of his rotation. Amherst head coach Brian Hamm was unavailable, but it’s likely the Jeffs will rely upon some combination of these players.)

Hamilton is really unlucky at Amherst—the Continentals haven’t won a series there since 2007. This year, Hamilton’s squad looks stronger and more cohesive than in recent years, but history is working against them here.

Amherst has been the best team in terms of record thus far, but if you look at both teams’ overall stats, there isn’t much of a difference. At the plate, Hamilton’s holding a nice .356/.450/.483 line after 14 games compared to Amherst’s .332/.414/.448 after 12. The dangerous pack of Hamilton juniors, led by Brett Mele ’17, Ryan Wolfsberg ’17 and Collins, continues to torment pitchers. That hitting force will only grow stronger this weekend should CF Chris Collins ’17 and 3B Dean Rosenberg ’17 be cleared to return to the lineup in their 5 and 6 slots, respectively. Amherst’s Ariel Kenney ’18, Max Steinhorn ’18 and Yanni Thanopoulus ’17 lead the team with .408, .357 and .357 BA. Amherst has a lot of other guys capable of stepping this weekend too.

Their pitching stats are closer, 3.73 ERA for the Continentals and 3.82 for the Jeffs. Volle kicked off a stellar junior season over spring break with his 0.82 ERA after throwing for 22 innings. In Hamilton’s rotation, Vogelbach has seen about as many innings, and while his 3.00 ERA is mighty nice, it’s not on the same level as Volle’s. Actually, Hamilton’s rookie pitcher Max Jones ’19 holds the team’s lowest ERA, 1.59 in 17 innings pitched. The kid deserves major props—he missed a full season due to shoulder surgery before starting his collegiate career.

It’s only on the defense that Amherst really outplays Hamilton, as their .973 FPCT at 13 errors is far better than the latter’s .941 FPCT and 25 errors. Fielding percentage can be a fickle thing, but the propensity for Hamilton to let down their pitchers and committing a crucial error is there.

The Jeffs have always been main contenders in NESCAC baseball, especially in the last few seasons, giving them an upper hand. They excel in all five phases. Hamilton is the underdog, a big fish in a small pond of even bigger fish that hasn’t quite learned how to not flounder yet. The Continentals are definitely going to come out strong this weekend and give the hosts a tighter game than they’ve played in the past, but we don’t want to overvalue Hamilton’s fresh success over Amherst’s years of experience.

Prediction: Amherst wins two of three.

Tufts (0-0, 7-3) vs. Bates (0-0, 7-8): Saturday 1:00 PM & 3:30 PM, Sunday 1:00 PM

Who’s on the mound: Tim Superko ’17, Speros Varinos ’17, Andrew David ’16 & RJ Hall ’19 vs. Connor Colombo ’16, Connor Speed ’18 & Anthony Telesca ’17 (Both teams’ head coaches have yet to decide who will be the starting pitchers for each game but have designated these players in the rotation).

Isn’t it nice to have so many talented players that you can mix up the lineup without sacrificing skill and success? Tufts sure thinks so. Head coach John Casey emphasized the team’s great depth, saying that having an abundance of talented and experienced players has allowed for the team to experiment with rotations and lineups. The team had somewhat of a slow start to spring training, but now that NESCAC games are here, the Jumbos are ready to go. Superko and David have started a little slow, but they are proven pitchers. In 16 innings, Hall has struck out 17 batters, and his 1.13 ERA is one of the best in the conference.

Unlike Tufts, Bates is still stuck in a surprising rut with a less than favorable win percentage of 0.467. After making it to the NESCAC playoffs last season, the Bobcats are struggling to play competitive ball. Overall, they’ve been relatively successful on the mound, averaging 8.20 K/G and 4.87 ERA. Colombo, Telesca and Speed hold high positions in NESCAC standings with respective 1.74, 2.84 and 3.36 ERAs. The Connors are especially ruthless, striking out a total of 40 batters while allowing only 12 to walk. All three of those starters will be asked to go late into the game, and that will be difficult against the patient approach of Tufts.

Neither team, however, has the hitting power we like to see on both sides, with Tufts only averaging .302 and the plate while Bates trails behind them at an ugly .269. Tufts’ Harry Brown ’17, Moser and Cody McCallum ’16 have come into their own, hitting .615, .366 and .359, but we’re still waiting for Tommy O’Hara ’18 to pick up where he left off last season. Bates’ Brendan Fox ’17 has consistently been hitting dynamite, easily obtaining a nice .453/.500/.623 line, and John Dinucci ’17 also has a commendable baseline of .333/.370 /.392, but the other Bobcats have yet to pull their weight offensively. Either this will be the weekend both teams get their batting acts together or we will be seeing some low-scoring games.

Prediction: Tufts wins three.

Spring is Sort of Here: Power Rankings 3/25

Andrew Vandini '16 has helped Amherst get off to a fast start.
Andrew Vandini ’16 has helped Amherst get off to a fast start.

The NESCAC regular season finally starts next Friday after several weeks of spring training. Being that the majority of teams have yet to face a NESCAC opponent, the only taste we’ve had of the competition this season has been through non-conference face-offs. With opening weekend looming, it’s time for us to publish our current power rankings. Our opinions for each time are determined by statistics from last season and this year’s spring break. Check back early next week to see our predictions for how the teams will perform in the NESCAC standings this season.

  1. Amherst (8-1, 0-0)

Amherst continues to dominate both the diamond and the NESCAC standings. The mound has already received accolades for its strong start, with pitcher Jackson Volle ’17 being named the NESCAC Pitcher of the Week, and the team from Central Mass also has Riley Streit ’16 to thank for their success. Together, with ERAs of 0.64 and 1.69, Volle and Streit have carried a defense that has yet to disappoint. In the field, senior catcher/DH Connor Gunn ’16 and 1B/DH Dave Cunningham ’16 are pure dynamite, producing 56 and 51 putouts and FPCTs of 0.969 and 1.00. On the offense, a core force of Yanni Thanopoulos ’17, Anthony Spina ’17 and Ariel Kenney ’18 continue to put power behind the bat, helping the team hit a .350 AVG in nine games. For now, Amherst looks like a powerhouse without any loose screws, but how much they can sustain this into the season still needs to be determined.

Amherst hosts Hamilton next weekend in their first NESCAC matchup of the season.

  1. Wesleyan (10-3, 0-0)

Placing in second might come as a shock for the Cardinals, who’ve dominated the NESCAC for two years running. Indeed, the Cardinals are using any doubt as personal motivation. Now, Wesleyan isn’t struggling to deliver, per say, but they certainly need to sharpen up on the mound and in the field if they want to begin to resemble the championship-winning team they have been in the last two seasons. After 13 games, the Cardinals hold a relatively horrific ERA of 6.14, compared to last season’s final of 2.70. This places them near the bottom of current NESCAC standings. While Nick Miceli ’17 has held his own on the bump, boasting a 1.71 ERA with 19 strike outs, Peter Rantz ’16 is showing a bit more inconsistency. In yesterday’s game against the Coast Guard, he allowed 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, and three walks in 4.2 innings. Hopefully Rantz isn’t getting anxious with the added responsibility of being the Cardinals ace.  Wesleyan needs to provide their pitchers with confidence and security in the field in order to properly support pitchers’ efforts. Miceli, Matt Jeye ’18 and O’Sullivan are team standouts but cannot raise the entire defense out of its average-ranking playing.

Wesleyan is just a little rough the edges as the team whips pitchers into champion shape, but once they figure that out, they will be even more threatening to the opposition. After all, Wesleyan still stands out as the biggest hitters in the NESCAC. Lead by a dangerous trio of Miceli, Eric Jones ’16, and Guy Davidson ’16, the Cardinals hold a fearsome .373 AVG with 32 doubles, 14 triples, six homeruns, and 109 RBIs.

  1. Bowdoin (8-3, 0-0)

The Polar Bears have definitely surprised us with their success so far—and are obviously playing far more competitively than their opponents in the East Division. Their 14-8 loss to Hamilton revealed that there remains weakness in the pitching rotation. Brandon Lopez ’19 threw the most innings with 2.2, in which he allowed 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, and only struck out two batters.  Meanwhile, Ben Osterholtz ’19 and Michael Staes ’16 have stood out early, with a combined 1.29 ERA (helping the team reach 3.71 ERA), but until we see more of their pitching, it’s difficult to determine if Bowdoin’s success as of late is due to true Polar Bear power or just mediocre competition. The Polar Bears travel to Hartford, Conn. next weekend to face Trinity.

  1. Tufts (5-3, 0-0)

The Jumbos had a frustrating start to the season:  their initial losses happened not because the team isn’t capable but because they just weren’t producing like we know they can.  The team has improved, but they have yet to demonstrate the batting power we saw last season behind stars like Tommy O’Hara ’18. Right now, the team’s fielding and pitching stats are pretty average, consistently placing them right in the middle of NESCAC standings. In eight games, the team has averaged .285 at the plate, mainly due to the tremendous effort of Harry Brown ’17, Matt Moser ’16, and Cody McCallum ’16, who have consistently performed admirably up at bat with averages of .450, .353, and .324. However, the Jumbos future is getting brighter: though O’Hara had a slow start to his sophomore season, he has drastically improved his batting edge in Tufts’ last two games, bringing his batting average up to .303. Clearly, the Jumbos are just taking some time to get back their stride. They have until next Saturday, their first NESCAC competition against Bates, to tighten up their loose ends.

  1. Hamilton (9-5, 0-0)

While Hamilton lost to very beatable squads during its two week stretch in Florida, it’s clear that the Continentals have concrete chemistry, especially amongst the junior class. The team’s 14-8 victory against Bowdoin was a big confidence booster too.  The Continentals definitely can brag about their performance at bat: they have a teamwide .370 AVG. Hamilton has produced 28 doubles, five triples, three homeruns, 78 RBIs and a beautiful  .457 OBP, largely thanks to juniors Ryan Wolfsberg ’17, Brett Mele ’17, Kenny Collins ’17, and Andrew Haser ’17. The mound is also dominated by underclassmen. Max Jones ’19 (1.59 ERA), Dan DePaoli ’18 (2.60 ERA) and Spencer Vogelbach ’18 (3.00 ERA) comprise a growing force on the mound, amassing to a team ERA of 3.71. The trio, in addition to veteran Cole Dreyfuss ’16 (5.50 ERA), creates a dependable rotation, but anything beyond that remains a mystery that Hamilton needs to solve quickly.

Some early experimentation in position assignments (i.e. Haser and Andrew Watson’19 on the mound) suggests that the team has needed to make up for unanticipated empty holes in the roster, but the problem is only temporary. CF Chris Collins ’17, 3B Dean Rosenberg ’18 and Finlay O’Hara ’17 have missed several games due to minor injuries, but they’ll be fresh and prepared for Hamilton’s games against Amherst next weekend. The return of Collins and Rosenberg will especially add more power to Hamilton’s already impressive batting lineup.

  1. Trinity (5-6, 0-0)

Throughout spring training, Trinity has been a team that hasn’t played consistently in games: essentially the Bantams win and lose back and forth, and typically by a substantial number of runs. Overall, the team is equally average in all areas. What’s most surprising, however, is the rough start of Bantam veteran pitcher Jed Robinson ’16. After two starts, Robinson holds a 5.84 ERA, and the other pitchers with the same number of starts – namely Anthony Elgein, Jr. ’18, McLane Hill ’18 and Nicholas Fusco ’18 – aren’t doing much better with ERAs of 3.97, 5.87 and 10.38. The good news is Fusco and Robinson have the track record to think they will rebound. While rookie Erik Mohl ’19 showed promise against Plattsburgh St., pitching six scoreless innings, he also racked up a 2:4 K:BB ratio over 7.1 IP. The Bantams still haven’t gotten things going in the way they are capable of.

  1. Bates (5-7, 0-0)

With their current 0.417 win percentage, the Bobcats are a shadow of the team that made it to the playoffs last season. You’d be hard pressed to find a real strength in the team at this point, but it is clear that Bates desperately needs to improve at bat. Their hitting is weak with a .258 BA, and when you’re losing most of your games to average competition by three or fewer runs, that is a huge problem. Brendan Fox ’17 (.457 BA) is the strongest at the plate with four doubles, one triple, one homerun, 12 RBIs, and five walks. However, against NESCAC opposition, the Bobcats need others to step up.

  1. Middlebury (1-1, 0-0)

The Panthers are at a disadvantage when it comes to accurately ranking teams, as they’ve only played two games so far. After coming in dead last in the conference last year with a 4-24 record, Middlebury needs improvement in a host of areas. Nevertheless, in their first two outings, they demonstrated stability and potential for growth, even defeating Bates in the second game of their doubleheader. The currently success of the pitching rotation comes from freshmen, which is somewhat concerning in a conference with much more experienced pitchers. Colby Morris ’19 holds a 3.00 ERA from his one start. The bullpen, meanwhile, which includes yet another rookie Conor Himstead ’19, has produced five scoreless innings, showing some promise for future matchups. Middlebury gets a nod in our rankings because of room for correction, but realistically, their rank is more due to the current deficiencies of other teams.

  1. Colby (2-8, 0-0)

Right now, Colby’s greatest success has been their average batting average (.317 BA). Seniors Dan Csaplar ’16 and Tyler Starks ’17 lead the pack with averages of .444 and .375, and while they don’t get much distance for their hits, they have been reliable starters. However, the Mules can’t rely on decent batting to make up for sub-par fielding and pitching if they want to win conference games. On the bump, Colby needs to immediately improve its 10.31 ERA if they want to improve in rankings. Dan Schoenfeld ’18 and Robert Donohue ’17 are the steadiest of pitchers, and their ERAs are 4.76 and 9.00. The Mules have had more with Tommy Forese ’16 and Soren Hanson ’16, but they need more than those two. Colby faces Wesleyan next weekend in a non-conference series, and perhaps a week of intense focus and the home field advantage will amount to some good competition.

  1. Williams (1-5, 0-0)

The Ephs have stumbled out of the gates. In their six games, Williams was only able to finish their first of the season with a victory. At the end of the day, the team has everything working against them. On the mound, the Ephs clearly need a lot of work: the team bears a pretty dreadful 12.63 ERA, despite the 1.50 ERA held by Luke Rodino ’17. Yet, the below-average pitchers are assisted by disappointing fielders with a 0.931 FPCT.  Hitting is where the Ephs show the greatest strength right now, with a decent 0.345 AVG. Ironically, Williams possesses of two of the best hitters in the conference right now, Kellen Hatheway ’19 (.520) and Jack Roberts ’17 (.500). While power at the plate is a good start for the Ephs, they’ll be eaten alive by the entire NESCAC unless they pull themselves together defensively. The team has talent, and I don’t think they will stay in the cellar, but they have to find answers on the mound.

 

 

Lions and Tigers and Polar Bears: Stock Report 3/22

Sean Mullaney '17 and the Polar Bears are the big early season surprise. Bowdoin is 7-0. (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics)
Sean Mullaney ’17 and the Polar Bears are the big early season surprise. Bowdoin is 7-0. (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics)

While you’ve been at home crying over your destroyed March Madness brackets, NESCAC baseball teams have swarmed to warmer climates to start their seasons. Players have already been hard at work with practices and games for weeks – and a month, if you’re Bates -, but it’s these crucial games during break in which coaches and teams determine starting lineups for many home openers set for this coming weekend. Teams may just be trying to find the right lineups, but the stats and results can’t hide from the official record.

While the makeup of Wesleyan’s roster may be different than in previous seasons, its potential for success has hardly diminished. Nevertheless, the Cardinals continue to excel thanks to veteran players like OF Jordan Farber ’16, P Peter Rantz ’16, P/C/2B Nick Miceli ’17, and SS Guy Davidson ’16. Davidson’s spring break run has clinched his position as one of the best hitters in the NESCAC: during the two-week period, he hit .444/.500/.685 as he went 24-for-54, driving in 19 runs and scoring 16 times.

Like the Cardinals, Amherst has continued to dominate the diamond, despite also losing the team’s star, current-MLB player Mike Odenwaelder ’16. Yet, Amherst is currently boasting an 8-1 record and shows no signs of slowing down going forward into the season, especially with the starting outfield of Yanni Thanopoulos ’17, Anthony Spina ’17 and Ariel Kenney ’18 hitting an outrageous .371 through nine games. Kenney himself has gone 16-for-35 and currently leads the team in batting average (.457), on-base percentage (.500), and slugging percentage (.657). Pitcher Jackson Volle ’17, who on Monday was named the NESCAC Pitcher of the Week, opened the season strong, claiming two wins in his first two starts to help Amherst secure their exceptional 8-1 overall record. Volle wrapped up spring break with a tidy 0.64 ERA.

Perhaps the greatest surprise in the early going has been Bowdoin’s brilliant winning streak. They’ve opened the season 7-0 on the strength of some great pitching to the tune of a 2.68 team ERA through the first five games (yesterday’s stats vs. Greenville were not available at the time of this posting).

Now for the first stock report of the what is going to be a very interesting season.

Stock Up

  1. P/C Nick Miceli ’17 (Wesleyan)

Throughout the Cardinals’ first 12 games, Miceli has proven that on the field, he’s a man for all seasons: already he’s stood out in the conference for stellar pitching, hitting and fielding. He’s the ultimate NESCAC Triple Threat.

The junior, having already thrown in five games, is ranked in second in the conference with a 16.2 IP, 8.54 K/G and ERA of 2.16. Miceli’s strength on the mound was clear in Wesleyan’s second game against Bethany Lutheran College on March 7. Bethany Lutheran scored six runs in the first two innings, thanks in large part to some shoddy defense, giving them a generous 6-2 lead heading into the third. The two teams were almost even in hits, with Bethany Lutheran only outhitting Wesleyan by one. During innings 3-6 Miceli was nearly untouchable, allowing four hits but no runs with no walks and five strikeouts. He then impressed in relief on March 11 against Marian University, allowing one run on three hits with four strikeouts in five innings. But that’s not all: Miceli boasts a .474/.500/.632 line in 38 at bats while seeing time mostly at second but also catcher and DH.

In short, Miceli is good. Really good.

  1. Fresh Pitching Faces

Around the NESCAC plenty of youngsters have shown some great potential on the mound in the early going.

After graduating Elias and Cooney and losing Pittore, Wesleyan hasn’t missed a beat on the mound. Miceli has looked good throwing the ball, and Peter Rantz has picked right back up where he left off, but Mike McCaffrey ’19 has shown some potential, too. His first outing was disastrous, to say the least, but so was everything else for the Cardinals in their season-opening 29-14 rout at the hands of Hamline. McCaffrey improved in his second outing, and then shined in his third appearance, a complete game victory over Carleton when he allowed four hits and one walk while striking out 10.

Hamilton’s Spencer Vogelbach ’18 first made a name for himself as a first-year at the beginning of last season. In the Continental’s spring break game against Alfred State, his 11 strikeouts were the most by a Hamilton baseball pitcher in a single game in five years — an accomplishment that should not and cannot be ignored. Vogelbach pitched in three of Hamilton’s seven wins last week, striking out 11 batters and racking up a 14.0 IP with just one walk. The rookie was sixth in the NESCAC with a 2.25 ERA and a 4-1 record last season. Clearly, his rookie season was just a preview of what is to come for Hamilton’s pitching rotation. Dan DePaoli ’18 has also impressed on the bump; he went 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in two starts that covered 11 innings. In Hamilton’s 7-1 win at Bard on March 12, DePaoli only allowed one unearned run on two hits in six innings of work. Then, in Friday’s 17-6 victory against Lawrence, he gave up three runs on four hits, struck out six and didn’t walk a batter in five innings. He also handled four chances in the field without an error.

Two freshmen started on the bump for Middlebury in their season-opening doubleheader against Bates. Colby Morris ’19 spun a complete game gem but was let down by his offense in a 2-1 loss. In the second of the twinbill, Jack Bunting ’19 was dominant through three innings before a pair of mistakes resulted in a three-run inning and one long left center field homer that was aided by a windy day that saw three balls leave the yard. Bunting finished with 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 K and 1 BB. In relief three members of the formerly beleaguered Middlebury staff, including newbie Conor Himstead ’19, combined for five scoreless innings.

  1. Walk Off Victories

It’s hard to tell what the Continentals love more: actually winning with a walk off or showing off the swagger of the moment on social media (as a loyal Continental, I’m personally a fan of both, but I confess I’m biased).

On March 14, the walk-off homerun of OF Kenny Collins ’17 won Hamilton’s first game against Minnesota-Morris by a narrow margin, 3-2. You have to love Collins’ elaborate helmet toss, shown towards the end of the video shared on Hamilton Baseball’s Twitter. I’m pretty sure hurling your helmet into the air is frowned upon by NCAA regulations, but in this situation, how could you not?

Andrew Haser ’17, the NESCAC Player of the Week, built off of Collins’ momentum ending Hamilton’s first game against Allegheny. With bases loaded in the seventh inning, Haser laced a homerun that freed the Continentals from a tied score (and this comes just two days after his grand slam contributed to Hamilton’s 17-6 victory against Lawrence). Haser currently leads the Continentals with 10 runs, seven extra-base hits, 13 RBIs, five doubles and a .706 slugging percentage. The junior is hitting .382 (13-for-34) and has only made one error in 54 chances at shortstop.

The Continentals cheered that they couldn’t believe they managed to escape defeat twice this early into the season? Neither could we.

It’s not just Hamilton walking off in style these days, though. In the second game of the doubleheader between Middlebury and Bates on Saturday, both teams threatened to score in extras of the originally seven-inning ball game. It was all ended with one swing though, when rightfielder Sam Graf ’19 notched his first career hit by smacking a long no-doubter to left field. The Panthers did a solid job of celebrating in their own right.

  1. Bowdoin: 7-0

Starting pitcher Henry Van Zant ’15 was unquestionably Bowdoin’s pride and glory last season, tying the program’s single-season record for wins by going 7-1, including a 5-0 mark in conference games. The stats don’t lie: he was the primary reason Bowdoin kept swimming throughout the season, even if he alone couldn’t launch the Polar Bears into the playoffs. Without him, Bowdoin has to redesign its entire pitching structure, to find a way to be victorious without their star.

In spite of pre-season doubts, Bowdoin really has come out on top, winning all seven of their games so far. And it’s worth noting that only two wins were by a narrow margin — in five of the Polar Bears’ wins to date, they have defeated their opponents by five or more runs.

Seniors Harry Ridge ’16 and Michael Staes ’16 impressed on the mound in Bowdoin’s sweep of Utica on March 15, pitching 5.2 and 7.0 innings, respectively. Ridge earned Bowdoin’s win on the mound while allowing just six hits and two earned runs. He struck out eight with only one walk. Staes turned in a complete seven inning performance in game two, allowing nine hits and only one run to earn the win. He struck out four Pioneers with no walks. Rookie Brandon Lopez ’19 earned his first collegiate win on the mound on March 17 against Dickinson, going six innings and allowing four hits and as many runs. Lopez struck out six and walked a pair.

Offensively, Chad Martin ’16 is clearly building upon his past success at bat. His .311 AVG last season placed him in the middle of NESCAC ranks, but he shows potential to outperform himself in the games ahead. Peter Cimini ’16 added ferocity to the Polar Bears’ deep offense, batting .400 with a .733 slugging percentage through the first five contests, collecting three extra base hits and six RBIs.

Stock Down

  1. Tufts’ 3B Tommy O’Hara ’18

Last spring training, rookie O’Hara was the wiz kid on the Jumbos, developing a .564 OBP in 42 at-bats with six walks during spring break. Throughout the season, the freshman infielder led the team’s offense with a .405 ABG, .518 OBP and .603 SLG. And let’s not forget that he also hit a team-high 14 doubles while registering four home runs, 42 runs scored and 42 RBIs.

The Jumbos may have seen only five games at this point, but their 2-3 record and poor showing at the plate are cause for concern. In his first 16 at bats, O’Hara has amassed a .188/.435/.188 line. That OBP is nice, and is carried by six walks, but he also has seven strikeouts already. O’Hara struck out 25 times all of last season for a 14.9% K rate. Right now he’s walking back to the dugout 30.4% of the time. It’s very early, still, but let’s hope the sophomore isn’t putting too much pressure on himself.

2. Trinity Pitching 

The Bantams are 4-6 to open the year, but it’s pretty obvious that the biggest hurdle they will have to climb this season is replacing SP Sean Meekins ’15, he of the 2.01 ERA a year ago. The experienced and usually reliable Jed Robinson ’16 has gotten knocked around in two starts to the tune of a 5.84 ERA, and the other pitchers with two starts already – Anthony Elgein, Jr. ’18, McLane Hill ’18 and Nicholas Fusco ’18 – have ERAs of 3.97, 5.87 and a ghastly 10.38. The bright spot for the rotation so far has been newbie Erik Mohl ’19, who shut down Plattsburgh St. in his one start, throwing six scoreless innings, but his 2:4 K:BB ratio over 7.1 IP does not bode well for the future.

Speaking of Plattsburgh St., the 37 runs that Trinity posted on the Cardinals during their doubleheader last week may be bolstering the team’s .314/.410/.433 slash line, but I’d bet more heavily on the Bantams’ offense than pitching staff right now.

 

3. Live Stats

I have many bones to pick with the stability of live stats programs this week. It’s hard enough trying to follow a baseball game using play-by-play stats rather than a video stream. A live stats program that continues that constantly lags or repeatedly—or permanently—freezes is just torture.

Over the years, I have accumulated quite a list of grievances about these streams, and the Hamilton vs. Fredonia stats stream probably embodied them all. In the first game, the program showed the stats of Fredonia’s previous game for the first two innings; when it finally switched to the Hamilton game, it never changed the lineup and eventually froze in the bottom of the third inning. It never adjusted for the second game.

Perhaps this was the most extreme of cases, but so far, none of my experiences with live stats during spring training have been positive. Help a fan out, NESCAC! Get it together. I hope, and expect, that the ability to follow along with NESCAC games will improve once all teams return up north, as is usually the case.

4. Editors

On Thursday, March 17, Trinity lost to Rutgers-Camden 9-4 in Auburndale, FL. According to Trinity’s website, however, the team actually played against Rugers-Camden. Now, as a New Jersey native, I was extremely skeptical that “Rugers-Camden” actually existed—I even looked up “Rugers” just to confirm that it’s not a slang way of referring to Rutgers University that I’ve never heard of. But no, Trinity corrected itself in the line below the flawed headline, accurately spelling out “Rutgers-Camden.”

Yet, Rugers appeared again. And then again. And then the website switched back to Rutgers. Then back to Rugers.

I can’t condemn an occasional typo (we’ve all been there), but having exorbitant inconsistencies regarding a nationally known institution on an official college website is inexcusable. Note that the errors still remain throughout the game recap.

The Bantams may have won the game, but the college itself lost in quality coverage. Shame on you, Trinity!

I thought that was all, but then this little nugget was brought to our attention. As noted above, Middlebury walked off on Bates 4-3 in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday, March 21. According to the NESCAC Weekly Release, however, “Bates def. Middlebury, 4-3”. They have the records right in the Team Standings category, but we couldn’t help backing the Panthers on this one.

 

The Biggest Storylines of 2015 and What to Expect in 2016

Guy Davidson '16 has some big shoes to fill as the incumbent star on the two-time reigning champs. (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)
Guy Davidson ’16 has some big shoes to fill as the incumbent star on the two-time reigning champs. (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)

The 2015 NESCAC baseball season was one for the history books: from a star-studded senior class to a handful of record-breaking underclassmen claiming the spotlight, the players made an impact not only on their own teams but in the entire NESCAC conference. With the season underway, it’s time to review last year’s hits and misses and predict what we can expect from this year’s competition.

But ICYMI, for any reason (like me—they don’t play baseball in London, where I was last spring!), here’s a rundown of the biggest storylines from the 2015 season:

  1. Wesleyan, Wesleyan, Wesleyan: the Continual Rise of the NESCAC Underdog

The Cardinals made history in 2014 when the underdogs grabbed the NESCAC Championship for the first time; they stunned us yet again in 2015 by holding on to the title in a nail-biting match-up against longtime rival Amherst in the final. It was wild. If you missed it (guilty), you really missed out.

Wesleyan just had everything in their arsenal and all the odds in their favor. The Cardinals didn’t graduate a single hitter after the 2014 campaign, and in 2015 the team ultimately produced the program’s record-breaking 31 wins. Offensively, Sam Goodwin-Boyd ’15, Andrew Yin ’15, current Cubs’ minor leaguer Donnie Cimino ’15 and Jonathan Dennett ’15 all produced in their final season. In the field Wesleyan was led by a trio of All-NESCAC performers: Cimino (CF), Goodwin-Boyd (1B) and Guy Davidson ’16 (SS), all of whom were eager to build off the momentum they developed during their summer with the Cape Cod League. Together, the trio helped produce the strongest defense in the NESCAC.

But the talent didn’t stop there: on the mound Wesleyan was a serious force to be reckoned with. Returning starters Nick Cooney ’15, a 2014 All-NESCAC selection, and Gavin Pittore ’16 both pitched in the Cape Cod League in preparation for their season. Sam Elias ’15, who competed in the esteemed New England Collegiate Baseball League the summer before last, was honored with the 2015 NESCAC Pitcher of the Year Award after accumulating a 7.78 K/9 ratio and 1.53 ERA over 76.1 IP. Elias turned into an ace, doing double duty as a starter (seven starts) and closer (four saves), and his 1.03 BB/9 rate was among the league’s best as well. Pete Rantz ’16 rounded out the Cardinals’ dominant rotation, and has big shoes to fill after the graduation of two rotation mates and Pittore’s early departure.

  1. The Man, The Myth, The Legend: the Unstoppable Odenwaelder

At 6’5″ and 225 lbs., Mike Odenwaelder ’16 is the type of baseball player you used to look at and wonder why he wasn’t playing Division-I ball, or even pro. After all, in his first two seasons alone, the player was crowned the 2013 NESCAC Rookie of the Year and 2014 NESCAC Player of the Year and selected for the NCAA Division III Gold Glove Team, the D3Baseball.com All-American team and First Team All-New England.

The real question going into the 2015 season was whether or not Odenwaelder could continue to surpass expectations. He returned to the Jeffs last year fresh off his most successful season. In 2014, he hit .400 with six HRs and 31 RBI, posting a jaw-dropping slugging percentage of .607. On the mound he had a 1.74 ERA over 20.2 IP. Though the Amherst star didn’t pitch for the majority of 2015 because of a shoulder injury, he continued to dominate the NESCAC with his powerful hitting. By the end of the 2015 season, Odenwaelder had racked up a total of 118 games, during which he developed a career batting avg. of .372 with 16 homers, 86 RBI, and 39 stolen bases.

  1. Tufts’ Secret Weapon: Tommy O’Hara ’18

O’Hara transitioned from “rookie” to “phenom” the moment he stepped onto the Jumbo diamond. The freshman third baseman was Tufts’ best hitter on their trip to Virginia and North Carolina. He had an incredible .564 OBP in 42 at-bats with six walks. But the question no one wanted to ask remained in the minds of Tufts’ NESCAC opponents: can a first-year really transform a team?

The answer was a thousand times, yes. Tufts’ offense was undoubtedly questionable at the beginning of the season and definitely needed bolstering if it was to make it to the NESCAC playoffs. O’Hara single-handedly delivered. The freshman infielder led the team with a .405 batting average, .518 on-base percentage and .603 slugging percentage. He also hit a team-high 14 doubles while registering four home runs, 42 runs scored and 42 RBIs.

Oh, and did I mention he was First Team All-NESCAC as well as NESCAC Rookie of the Year? I guess you could say he’s kind of a big deal.

  1. Hamilton’s Franchise: Joe Jensen ’15

The former three-season athlete (football, track, and baseball) gave the Continents serious bragging rights last year, breaking records both on the diamond and off.

In March of last year Jensen outplayed the lofty expectations set out for him after a successful junior year in which he hit .398/.495/.430 and a sophomore campaign during which he set school records with 137 at bats, 30 runs scored and 29 stolen bases. He was in the top three in the NESCAC in batting average (.525), on-base percentage (.587), and slugging percentage (.775) at the end of the month. His trip to Florida was probably his shining moment in the 2015 season, as he had multiple hits in all six games. While his numbers dropped off once the Continentals returned home, he remained one of the best hitters and defensive outfielders in the NESCAC.

Jensen received NESCAC All-Conference honors last spring for the second time, earning second-team recognition after leading the league with 24 stolen bases and a gaudy .450 on-base percentage. His .398 batting average ranked third in the NESCAC.

“His ability to affect the game both defensively and offensively with his speed is something that sets him apart from his peers, both on the field and as a professional prospect,” Hamilton coach Tim Byrnes said following Jensen’s senior season. “Joe is a true take-away center fielder with a plus arm for this level. He’s able to use his plus speed to beat out infield singles, stretch singles into doubles and steal bases at will.”

  1. Bowdoin’s Starting Pitcher Henry Van Zant ’15 (the NESCAC’s Best Non-Cardinal Pitcher)

Van Zant closed out a fantastic career for the Polar Bears by recording one of the finest seasons in program history; he tied the program’s single-season record for wins by going 7-1, including a 5-0 mark in conference games, with a 1.95 earned run average. That some rainy weather allowed Van Zant to pitch and win five NESCAC games is a miracle. Nobody had started five conference games since two players did so during the 2013 season, and Van Zant’s five wins in conference games is a NESCAC record. His complete game shutout over Wesleyan, which ended in a 1-0 victory for the Polar Bears, made him 6-0 overall against NESCAC teams.

Van Zant’s career amounted to 17 win (tied for third in school history) and 168 career strikeouts (ranking him fifth all-time at Bowdoin). Van Zant was named a second-team selection for the All-NESCAC and D3baseball.com teams.

Though Van Zant ultimately lost the Pitcher of the Year nod to his top rival, his remarkable senior season no doubt gave the conference a difficult decision to make.

So with that in mind, here are some of the biggest questions you should have as the 2016 season unfolds:

  1. The Pitcher Problem: Who will take the mount in place of former starters?

Year after year, graduation and the pros inevitably lead to casualties on teams’ rosters, but the damage inflicted this year, especially on the mound, is shocking. Reigning champs Wesleyan lost three—Elias, Pittore, Cooney—of their four top pitchers, leaving Rantz, who threw 60.2 innings with a 2.97 ERA in 2015, to pick up the pieces. After losing Van Zant, Bowdoin has to redesign its pitching plan, and Trinity loses ace Sean Meekins ’15, (3-1, 2.01 ERA, 10.48 K/9, 44.2 IP). Tufts lost Tom Ryan ’15 and Willie Archibad ’15. Amherst lost John Cook ’15. Even Middlebury lost Eric Truss ’15, who finished 9th in the NESCAC.

The pitching lineups of Hamilton, Williams, Bates and Colby appear unscathed, but time has yet to tell how the returning starters will mesh with the young up-and-comers on the roster.

While the teams’ are grateful for the underclassmen they set as starters last season, they still need to figure out how inexperienced pitchers will contribute to NESCAC competition during spring training. The clock’s ticking.

  1. The Odenwaelder Inheritance: Who will fill the shoes left in centerfield?

As anticipated, Odenwaelder was picked by the Baltimore Orioles in the 16th Round (493 overall) of the 2015 Major League Draft. But anticipation didn’t seem to lead to effective planning: Odenwaelder’s incredible talent overshadowed several, if not most, of the other Jeffs, and has consequently left a gaping hole to be filled.

Thankfully, Amherst returns several promising team members, including Harry Roberson ’18, he finished his breakout freshman year with an OBP of .429. Yet, while Roberson is unquestionably a standout hitter, it’s unknown if he can carry the team like Odenwaelder. Yanni Thanopoulos ’17 and Connor Gunn’16 have promising stats, but it’s unlikely Amherst will be the same offensive dynamite as last spring.

Nevertheless, Amherst pushed Wesleyan all the way to extra innings in a winner-take-all NESCAC championship game, so all hope is not lost for the Jeffs.

  1. The End of an Era? How will reigning NESCAC champs Wesleyan compete against the competition after losing most of their starters?

Elias, Cooney, Goodwin-Boyd, Dennett and Yin are off the field and into the real world of post-college life. Pittore signed as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cimino is with the Cubs organization. Guys essential to the Wesleyan machine, and part of the epic 2015 class of athletes at Wesleyan, are no longer a part of its construction, and for the two-time reigning NESCAC champions, that’s pretty frightening.

Shortstop Guy Davidson ’16 had a notable 2015 season and is back to up his game, but there are very few sure bets in the Cardinals’ lineup. On the flip side of that, though, the early returns on Wesleyan’s shiny, new lineup are darn right impressive. The Cardinals are hitting .386/.469/.600 as a squad through eight games down in Arizona. Gotta love that thin Tucson air.

Wesleyan has been so successful because it has been a complete, practiced team—the players worked for years to mesh together and become the reigning champions. There are a lot of gaping holes in the lineup now, and it’s unlikely the Cardinals will be able to fill them all this season. We’re looking at a dramatically different team than those we’ve grow accustomed to seeing come out of close games victorious again and again.

So, with Wesleyan in a sort of limbo, who will take up the mantle in the West? Amherst lost its beloved star to MLB, but still packs a ton of talent. Middlebury and Hamilton have promising players, but it’s unlikely that they are ready to step up to the plate. Williams has been in a sort of middle tier limbo for awhile now. I’d wager that Hamilton may have an inside track on a playoff spot; the team lost only one starting player going into this year, guaranteeing a solid lineup.

  1. The Spring of Tufts? Do the Jumbos have what it takes to win the NESCAC East this season?

The Jumbos aren’t without any losses: their lineup will have to make do without big contributors like Connor McDavitt ’15 and Bryan Egan ’15. However, Tufts’ fantastic pitchers Tim Superko ’17 and Andrew David ’16 give them a solid baseline on the field, and in a re-building season for many teams, that is a real boon. And then there’s O’Hara. Tommy O’Hara earned D3baseball.com Preseason All-America accolades following a tremendous freshman campaign last spring.

By putting faith in underclassmen—and phenomenal ones at that—early on, the Jumbos have outsmarted other NESCAC teams struggling to pull together competitive lineups.

  1. Chemistry on the Continentals: Is Hamilton the next NESCAC powerhouse?

Hamilton lost just one starter from the lineup, and the strength of the pitching rotation returns.

Even though the Continentals will play without Alex Pachella ’15 or JJ Lane ’15, co-captain Cole Dreyfuss ’16 stood out as the real pitching MVP for the Continentals last spring. Dreyfuss assembled a 5-2 record in seven starts and struck out 41 batters. He ended up third in the conference with a 1.89 earned run average in 47.2 innings.

Overall, the rotation is promising: hard-throwing right-hander Spencer Vogelbach ’18 was the No. 4 starter in 2015 but should be in the weekend rotation this season. Vogelbach went 4-1 with one save and was sixth in the NESCAC with a 2.25 ERA, averaging 9.90 strikeouts per nine innings and fanning a total of 44 batters in 40 innings, but with the propensity to get wild at times. Last season, Finlay O’Hara ’17 also emerged as a versatile arm, earning a 2-2 record and two saves. F. O’Hara struck out 28 hitters and walked just five in 28.2 innings. Depth in the bullpen is added by Dan DePaoli ’18, who fanned 22 batters in 22.2 innings. Charlie Lynn ’18 and Mike Borek ’18 provide depth in the bullpen.

Offensively, Hamilton has fostered a dangerous core group of juniors in twins Kenny and Chris Collins ’17, designated hitter Andrew Haser ’17 and outfielder Ryan Wolfsberg ’17. Kenny Collins, one of this year’s captains, finished with 32 hits in 102 at-bats for a .314 average and scored 21 runs, while hitting six doubles and three triples. He was fourth in the NESCAC with 16 stolen bases and represented the Wellsville Nitros in the 2015 New York Collegiate Baseball League All-Star Game. Chris Collins, meanwhile, hit .309 (30-97), cracked six doubles and stole 14 bases. Haser showed great improvement last season after having an OBP below .300 in 2014. To finish off the group, Wolfsberg developed his skills in the California Collegiate League last summer after finishing in fourth in the NESCAC with a .396 batting average (36-for-91) in 2015, smacking nine doubles, three triples and four homers and driving in 25 runs. The outfielder posted a .692 slugging percentage and a .449 on-base percentage.

Second baseman Zack Becker ’16 also proved to be an incredible offensive player last season, rebounding after a disastrous sophomore campaign. He was eighth in the conference with a .365 batting average (27-for-74) and enjoyed his best season at Hamilton with five doubles and a pair of round-trippers to go with an on-base percentage of .447.

In just two weeks, the season will begin in full force. While you can never really be sure what’s going to happen in baseball, it’s certain that these questions will significantly linger throughout the spring.

Continentals Hoping to Take the ‘CAC by Surprise: Hamilton Season Preview

LaShawn Ware '18 will be counted on, despite his youth, to be a workhorse for the Continentals. (Courtesy of Darryn Slover and Bates Athletics)
LaShawn Ware ’18 will be counted on, despite his youth, to be a workhorse for the Continentals. (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

Editors’ Note: While 99 percent of the work done in these previews is credited directly to the author, the projected records are a decision made together by the editors, Adam and Joe. So if you don’t like it, blame us.

Projected Record: 0-8

Projected Starters

Offense

QB: Brandon Tobin ’18
RB: LaShawn Ware ’17
FB: Jason Nastovski ’18
WR: Patrick Donahoe ’16
WR: Charles Ensley ’17
TE: Jordan Jenkins ’17
LT: Robert McClure ’17
LG: Dylan Berardelli ’16
C: Nicholas Gustaitis’16
RG: Jeffrey Jenkins ’16
RT: Matthew Snider ’17

Defense

DE: Brent Lobien ’17
DT: Paul Green ’17 / Nick Sobczyk ’17*
DE: Tyler Hudson ’19
DL/LB: Mickey Keating ’17
LB: John Phelan ’16
LB: Cade Larabee ’16
LB: Matthew Glebus ’17
CB: Conor Powers ’17
CB: Jimmy Giattino ’17 / James Taylor ’17** (currently recovering from a hamstring injury, but will not be out long)
SS: Alex Mitko ’16
FS: Colby Powers ’19

*Green and Sobczyk figure to split time at defensive tackle
**Giattino will start while Taylor recovers from a hamstring injury, but the latter figures to takeover the starting role once healthy

Offensive MVP: RB LaShawn Ware

Ideally, QB Brandon Tobin ’18, Hamilton’s recent acquisition and the potential saving grace for the Continental offense, would be the pick. With the right man, Hamilton just might have enough leadership and tactical smarts to create a new offensive dynamic that churns out a better outcome. Realistically, LaShawn Ware will probably be the team’s MVP. He dominated the field last season and will no doubt lead Hamilton’s ground game yet again. The junior tops the team with 299 yards rushing and an average of 42.7 yards per game. Consequently, he boasts some impressive NESCAC rankings: Ware ranked second in the conference for rushes and 10th for yards per game. With his history on the squad, the RB has the experience and skill to launch the Hamilton offense into a more successful season than in past years.

Defensive MVP: LB John Phelan.

The senior finished seventh in the NESCAC with 68 tackles and 8.5 tackles per game and second for fumble recoveries. One never would have guessed that the Chicago-native was recruited by former head coach Steve Stetson as a quarterback. Phelan has led Hamilton’s defense since he became a starter in his sophomore year and, with his impressive resume and grueling dedication, will no doubt continue to (literally) crush the opposition.

Biggest Game: Hamilton’s home opener vs. Tufts (Sept. 26)

Last year the Continentals dropped their season opener—a game they anticipated winning—against the Jumbos, who until then held a sorry 31-game streak of losses.

“We can’t forget Tufts … We need to think about it every day,” Murray admitted.

The coaches and players alike certainly can’t ignore the ultimate result of their cockiness and mental mistakes that day. To be fair, Hamilton statistically out-played Tufts: the defense surrendered just 12 first downs and 236 total yards, while the offense gained 416 yards. But the Continentals struggled with their return game and were penalized 12 times for 117 yards, mistakes that could easily have been avoided with better ball safety and communication. In pre-season camp, Hamilton has deliberately focused on returns with the Tufts debacle in mind. Murray believes the Continentals are a different team this year, and hopefully they can prove their growth in the upcoming rematch.

QB Colin Pastorella '16 has an uphill battle if he is going to earn reps over incumbent Chase Rosenberg '17 and transfer Brandon Tobin '18.
QB Colin Pastorella ’16 (14) has an uphill battle if he is going to earn reps over incumbent Chase Rosenberg ’17 and transfer Brandon Tobin ’18.

Summary: Hamilton hasn’t won a game in nearly three years, when they just barely outscored Bowdoin. Ever since, the team has consistently trailed behind other NESCAC schools in rankings: Last year alone, Hamilton placed ninth in scoring, points per game, total offense, and yards per game, among other categories. Though the Continental defense was only sub-par in conference standings, it is clear that the offense sunk far below standards.

Yet, the looming threat of being cut from the squad sparked motivation and progress away from the seemingly accepted pattern of defeat. Between returning players and recruits, approximately 90 players filled the Hamilton roster at the end of last year, far above the 75-player limit. What more: No one, with the exception of recruited freshman, was safe. Though handfuls of upperclassmen left the team prior to camp, several players are still at risk for the chopping board before the season begins in two weeks.

The season’s hot button topic, however, is unquestionably the quarterback battle between Colin Pastorella ’16, Chase Rosenberg ’17 and Brandon Tobin ’18. Though Rosenberg has been the designated QB1 since the second week of his freshman year, two inconsistent seasons with a 0-16 record raises a few eyebrows. Pastorella was thrown into the game various times last season in attempts to save the Hamilton offense, but it seems that the current forerunner for the coveted spot is D-II Pace transfer Tobin. Tobin started three games at quarterback for Pace and before that was the Section I-AA Offensive MVP for New York. Coach Murray emphasized that creative skills in actual game settings—rather than seniority or loyalty based upon Hamilton experience—determined who starts against Tufts, but nothing is permanently set in stone.

“The bottom line is we’re looking for … someone who will do more than just not make bad plays,” Murray explained.

Aside from the QB controversy, much of Hamilton’s lineup remains steady under the captainship of Dylan Berardelli ’16 and Pat Donahoe ’16 on offense and Cade Larabee ’16 and Alex Mitko ’16 on defense. Offensively, the team believes that a new QB will create a different—more successful—dynamic with familiar team members. The offensive line lost All-NESCAC tackle Nick Noonan ’15, but the returning players—Berardelli, Jeff Jenkins ’16, Rob McClure ’17 and Matt Snider ’17 will continue to hold the line alongside Nicholas Gustaitis ’16 as center. Nick Caso ’16, Charles Ensley ’17 and Donahoe return at wide receiver, and Ware, the Continentals’ leading rusher and remaining running back from last year’s squad should be better than ever. Jason “Bane” Nostovski ’18, nicknamed for his intimidating figure and prowess, will take the majority of the snaps at fullback.

No player can truly replace all-NESCAC recipient Michael de Percin ’15, but Hamilton’s defense has much potential for a strong season. Phelan leads the pack of linebackers with by Matt Glebus ’17 and Larabee. Jimmy Giattino ’17 will take up CB while James Taylor ’17 recovers from an injury. The Continentals have showcased some of their best talent on the defensive end of the ball, and it’s doubtful this season will be an exception.

Already, Hamilton has shown improvement. In their scrimmage against D-I Cornell on Sept. 12, the Continentals defeated their opponents 7-0 (Cornell scored a touchdown, but the points were revoked due to excessive celebration). With any luck, the momentum built from this success will remain going into conference competition.

Biggest Surprise of Camp: Inevitable team cuts certainly scared players into mental and physical shape. Pre-season tests show that the players are stronger, faster, and generally fitter than last season.

“We actually look like a football team now,” Murray said.

The coaches and captains agree that competition has made everyone better, both on the field and in the locker room. “Practices are more intentional and more focused,” Captain Berardelli added. Players have expressed stronger commitment to the program, creating positive atmosphere among teammates. Should growth continue, it can and will ultimately benefit the culture of football at Hamilton and improve the team’s reputation from recent seasons.

 

Best Tweet of the Offseason: OL Coach Matt Wright