Schools – Page 34 – Nothing But NESCAC

Suddenly the calendar has flipped to September, and that means football is everywhere all at once. The NESCAC football seasons starts later than every other conference which makes the wait just a little bit harder. And once it gets here we only get eight Saturdays before we have to wait for 2015. So cherish it and get ready.

The last images of the 2013 season included Trinity running wild over a previously dominant Wesleyan defense, Mac Foote throwing for a bajillion yards, and Amherst’s triumph over Williams for the third consecutive season. The Panthers, Jeffs, and Cardinals ended up splitting the NESCAC title three ways. Bowdoin made it onto ESPN again with their Hail Mary against Colby, and in the process they snatched the CBB away from the Mules and gave it back to Bates for a second straight year. And despite the loss at Trinity to finish the year, Wesleyan enjoyed their first Little 3 title in over 40 years after beating Amherst and Williams.

2014 promises to excite yet again given the wealth of returning talent across the conference. No team is more stacked with returners than Wesleyan and they look like the most talented team entering the season. And yet, the thumping that Trinity put on them to close out the 2013 season makes us pause before anointing Wesleyan the king of the ‘CAC. Middlebury will try to cement its place as a top-tier program despite the loss of star QB Mac Foote behind a defense ready for the spotlight. Williams looks to return to the the upper echelon, and they might do it because of a transfer at QB. The Maine schools Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin will battle for supremacy up north after an offseason that saw the teams get closer to each other in talent level. Finally, Tufts and Hamilton look to get off the losing skid, and one of them will do just that when they face off in Week 1.

The biggest offseason news surrounded the quarterback position. Way back in July we sent this tweet out.

Besides Middlebury every NESCAC team returns a QB with starting experience #CACstat

— Nothing But NESCAC (@CACSportsBlog) July 27, 2014

That turned out to be not quite right. Three QB’s who ought to have been returning and who saw time in 2013 are not on their team’s respective roster this fall. The 2013 NESCAC Offensive Rookie of the Year Sonny Puzzo (Trinity), arguably the best QB besides Foote last year, Justin Ciero (Colby), and formerly highly recruited prospect Nick LaSpada (Bates) all have left school for a variety of reasons. LaSpada was the backup last year so his loss is not so significant, and Henry Foye, who played in all eight games last year, returns for Trinity. Colby joins Middlebury as the two schools with no significant experience in their returners.

Two fresh faces arrive on the NESCAC quarterback scene after transferring from Division 1 schools. While transferring down does not automatically mean success in the NESCAC, Michael Ecke at Colby (via UConn) and Austin Lommen at Williams (via Boston College) both inherit situations where they could easily start immediately.

Wesleyan, with the ultra-efficient Jesse Warren, might be the only team without at question at quarterback heading into camp in 2014.

As mentioned above, one such team with a fluid quarterback situation is Williams. The Ephs tried both underclassmen Tom Murphy and Mark Pomella at QB last season, but the pair combined for two touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Hence the door appears wide open for Lommen. Better quarterback play could be the only thing holding Williams back from competing for a conference title.

Williams has historically been one of the conference’s best programs, but a 4-4 season in 2012 and a disastrous 2-6 record last year has Ephs’ fans searching for answers. But there’s reason for hope. RB Alex Scyocurka, the workhorse of the NESCAC, is back for a fifth-year. The receiving corps is experienced. The entire offensive line has starts under its belt. The Ephs’ 4-3 defense, fourth in the NESCAC in yards per game allowed last season, should improve. Three All-NESCAC caliber players return on the defensive line (DE James Howe was a First-Teamer in 2013). Likewise, the entire battery returns at linebacker. And All-NESCAC Second-Teamer Tom Cabarle is back at safety to solidify the back four.

The Ephs’ played a lot of close games in 2013. But seven-point losses to Trinity and Middlebury, and a two-point heartbreaker at Wesleyan were too much for the Ephs to overcome. If someone can emerge for Williams at quarterback, the Ephs will be a surprise squad in 2014.

If Wesleyan hadn’t squeaked out that two-point victory over Williams in Week 7, they wouldn’t even have had a share of the NESCAC crown. After looking like the conference’s best team for seven weeks, the Cardinals laid a stinker against in-state rival Trinity. The question for 2014 now becomes not whether Wesleyan is the best team in the NESCAC, but whether it is the best team in Connecticut. Despite losing two games in 2013, Trinity clearly showed that at their best the Bantams are a force, especially at home where Trinity has not lost in over a decade (51 games). Wesleyan essentially returns its entire starting roster (more on that in the Cardinals’ preview yet to come), and is the favorite to win the NESCAC. But the Cardinals are not infallible. And they don’t want to be the Buffalo Bills of 1989-1993, dominating through much of the season before crumbling when it really counts. Is Wesleyan the cream of the crop? We won’t be able to answer that question for 11 weeks.

For those of you who haven’t read us before, welcome. We hope to provide you with the very best NESCAC coverage you can hope for. The NESCAC is a special conference; one where the term “student-athlete” still rings true in that order. As students at NESCAC member schools, we hope to express our love of this amateur game for you in our devoted coverage. We ask for your help in spreading the word about our product and helping us make it as good as it can be. Contact us about great stories, because we know they are innumerable. Follow our coverage of every week’s games, and revel in our committed analysis.

Over the next three weeks we plan to give you every tool you could imagine and hope for in order to prepare you for the NESCAC football season. Team previews, this season’s biggest games, our predictions for the standings and for the end-of-year awards, and heaps of other information and statistics, all leading up to the first Saturday of games. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Thank you.

-Adam Lamont (Bowdoin ’16) and Joe MacDonald (Middlebury ’16), Editors

The summer baseball season wrapped up a couple of weeks ago so forgive us for our tardiness. Back in mid-June we let you know where some NESCAC stars were playing. We officially close the 2014 baseball season with a look back at how some of those and other NESCAC stars managed this summer. And if you didn’t get out to a summer league game and you live in New England, consider yourself missing out. Between the CCBL, NECBL, and FCBL, New England has the best and most college baseball in the country.

Cape Cod Baseball League

Nick Cooney ’15, Wesleyan, Falmouth Commodores

The Cape Cod Baseball League is filled with Division One players and MLB draft picks, so it is hard for a NESCAC player to get consistent playing time, but Cooney managed to carve out a role on the Commodores. He started two games at the beginning of the year including a good six inning, two earned run performance against the Chatham A’s. After that he was converted to reliever and he finished the season with 19 innings pitched. Cooney struggled with his command yielding 11 walks, but he still managed a 4.26 ERA which is impressive given the competition.

Gavin Pittore ’16, Wesleyan, Harwich Mariners

The only other player who managed to get a healthy amount of playing time in the Cape League was Cooney’s teammate Pittore. The Harwich Mariners used Pittore in a long reliever role. He often threw multiple innings including on June 19 against the Chatham A’s when Pittore threw two scoreless innings and collected the win. His 6.09 ERA is greatly inflated by a later appearance against the A’s when Pittore allowed eight runs in one inning. Still Pittore had a great summer fulfilling a lifelong dream, including playing with one of his oldest friends.

A few others saw cups of coffee in the Cape League including Wesleyan teammates Guy Davidson ’16 and Donnie Cimino ’15. Bowdoin’s Henry Van Zant ’15 also pitched a few innings for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.

New England College Baseball League

Nick Miceli ’17, Wesleyan, Vermont Mountaineers

The NESCAC champion Cardinals had the most impressive assortment of players throughout the leagues, and Miceli was one of the few NESCAC players in the NECBL. Miceli caught on with the Mountaineers later in the summer making his first appearance on July 19. After allowing two runs in his first relief appearance, he threw 8.2 scoreless innings in his final three appearances. The Mountaineers had a good season making the NECBL playoffs before losing to Sanford in the semi-finals.

Tim Superko ’17, Tufts, New Bedford Red Sox

Superko had a tough summer as a starter. He started seven games, but averaged less than four innings per start while posting a 7.39 ERA. His biggest problem was that he was incapable of drawing consistent swings and misses garnering only 17 strikeouts. Superko’s control sometimes betrayed him as he let up 20 walks. One bright spot from the summer came in a start against Danbury. Superko threw six scoreless innings before he took the hard luck loss when he allowed a run in the bottom of the seventh. While he did struggle this summer, Superko was also pitching in a very good league at a young age. He will be back even better next year.

Futures League

Mike Odenwaelder ’16, Amherst, Torrington Titans

Nobody in the NESCAC had a better summer than Odenwaelder. He absolutely crushed the ball. He posted a slashline of .370/.422/.586 on his way to winning batting title and MVP honors for the Futures League. He stole 20 bases while being caught only twice. He hit two two homers in one game and had no errors in the outfield all summer. The one thing Odenwaelder didn’t do was pitch for the Titans. Odenwaelder looks like he could somehow improve on his monster 2014 NESCAC season next year.

Nate Pajka ’15, Bates, Worcester Bravehearts

Pajka got off to a hot start before posting a line very similar to the one he did during the NESCAC season. Of course his .255 average this summer came against better competition than the average NESCAC pitcher. The most important thing was that Pajka got a ton of at bats (153) which should help him as he gets ready for next season. Most of Pajka’s 12 steals came in the first half of the season as his bat slowed down a little as the summer went along. Still a very successful summer for a player who will have to be a big part of the Bates offense in 2015.

Jack Roberts ’17 and Jack Cloud ’17, Williams, Martha’s Vineyard Sharks

Jack Roberts Courtesy of Williams Athletics — Jack Roberts
Courtesy of Williams Athletics

Jack Cloud Courtesy of Williams Athletics — Jack Cloud
Courtesy of Williams Athletics

Roberts spent the summer playing for his hometown team on the Vineyard and enjoyed a steady summer. He managed to get consistent at-bats, but only managed a .252 average with only five walks. After slumping down to .229, Roberts used three straight muli-hit games to get his average back up into the .250 range. Cloud saw his playing time dwindle as the summer went along making his last appearance on July 17, but he hit .260 for the summer as well as walking 11 times to have an OBP of .387.

Mekae Hyde ’15, Bates, Old Orchard Raging Tide

The positives for Hyde this summer is that he was the starting catcher and got a lot of at-bats and had a respectable .346 OBP. The negative is that his batting average was only .232. Still he can live with that because of the five home runs he also hit. Hyde had one of his best games August 3rd against the Dirt Dawgs when he went 3-4 with a homer and three RBIs. Hyde saw his power come in bunches as he hit three homers in seven games and then two in back to back games but none others.

Soren Hanson ’16, Colby, Martha’s Vineyard Sharks

It took a little bit of time for Hanson to get going, but once he did this summer, he turned into one of the best pitchers in the Futures League. Hanson started the season as a reliever before starting seven games in the second half of the season. He finished the season with a 2.07 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 52 innings. He also had three scoreless starts of six or more innings. Hanson had some troubles at the beginning of the NESCAC season in 2014 as well but finished the year strong and looks primed for a great 2015.

Andrew David ’16, Tufts, Brockton Rox

David threw the fifth most amount of innings in the Futures League, but he finished with a somewhat average 3.92 ERA. His success came from barely walking anyone as he allowed only four walks over the entire season. Teams did hit him pretty hard however as he allowed seven or more hits in each of his final five starts. David was somewhat of an afterthought for Tufts in 2014 because of all the talent in their staff. His summer performance shows a capable pitcher, but one who relies heavily on the defense behind him because he doesn’t strike too many batters out.

Rob DiFranco ’16, Bates, North Shore Navigators

This was an exceptional summer for the Bates reliever. He put up a miniscule 0.82 ERA over 32.2 innings of relief. His K:BB ratio of 8.3:1 was exceptional, and DiFranco finished with eight saves for the Navigators. DiFranco was the best pitcher for the North Shore squad and flashed the ability to go more than one inning several times. With the loss of several starters, DiFranco might be pushed into starting duty next spring for Bates. If he is not a starter, then he will be a lethal weapon out of the bullpen.

Kyle Slinger ’15, Tufts, Worcester Bravehearts

This summer was pretty much a continuation of Slinger’s impressive NESCAC season but with a few more hiccups. Despite those, he finished the season with a 2.55 ERA over eight starts and had a good 6.2:1 K:BB ratio. His best start of the summer was an eight inning outing against the Torrington Titans when Slinger allowed only one run on two hits. The run came in the first inning and after that Slinger fired seven innings of perfect ball. His 0.92 WHIP shows his ERA was no lie, and the southpaw should have another great season in 2014.

Atlantic College Baseball League

Joe Jensen ’15, Hamilton, Trenton Generals

One of the few NESCAC players to play on a team outside of New England, Jensen spent the summer in New Jersey. He could not match the gaudy stats he put up in the NESCAC, but still hit for a .269 average and made the ACBL all-star game. His play also fell off somewhat as the season went along as he had .380 OBP at points of the summer before a late season slide. His 13 steals for the season were also below the ludicrous rate he puts up in the NESCAC, but was still the fifth best amount in the league.

A few more NESCAC players saw a little bit of time in the Futures League and beyond but we ran out of space to feature those guys. If we missed anyone important please leave it in the comments and we will make sure to remedy our mistakes.

That does it for us in 2014 for baseball coverage. Stay warm this fall and winter and be ready for when the NESCAC returns in the spring.

Category: Schools

Welcome to 2014

NESCAC Summer Baseball Wrap-Up