Amherst – Page 5 – Nothing But NESCAC

Trinity Isn’t Number 1: Week 1 Power Rankings

The return of NESCAC football also brings with it the return of our weekly power rankings. Our weekly power rankings are one of my favorite things we do because they are almost entirely subjective and opinion-based and yet they make people very upset. I have been blessed with the opportunity to rank 10 entire college football teams based almost exclusively upon 60 whole minutes of football—this should be a ton of fun.

IMPORTANT LINK: https://www.nescac.com/sports/fball/2019-20/standings

I have gone ahead and included the link to the standings after Week 1. This link is for the people who think that the power rankings and the standings are the same thing: I have saved you 5-10 minutes of your life reading this article. For the rest of us, let’s get into it.

1. Amherst (1-0)

The Mammoths certainly don’t get any points for style in their 27-13 win over Bates, a game they found themselves trailing 13-6 at the half. Any questions that were asked of this team over the summer still linger—whether or not they will be able to replace their two leading rushers, or if they will be able to overcome the loss of 4 of their top 5 tacklers to graduation. QB Ollie Eberth ’20 looked good not great, going 15-31 for 236 yards, 3 TDs, and 1 INT, but Amherst certainly will not complain about emerging from a hectic Week 1 at 1-0.

2. Tufts (1-0)

How about the Jumbos? I was tempted to put them a little bit lower, but it would have been almost impossible to justify after they held the Trinity offense to just 8 points. The defense sacked QB Seamus Lambert ’22 6 times on Saturday, 3 of which came from DPOW DE Jovan Nenadovic ’22. I’m not quite ready to say that Tufts is a true championship contender but beating Trinity in Week 1 will go a long way to getting them in the conversation. First time starting QB Jacob Carroll ’20 was 13-23 for 173 yards and 2 TDs, but 128 of those yards came on 3 catches of 30+ yards to 3 different Tufts receivers. RB Mike Pedrini ’21 will need to give them more than 71 yards on 27 carries if they hope to remain at the top, but it’s tough to be upset about anything after this start to the season.

3. Trinity (0-1)

The Bantams are still the class of the league, but it’ll be an uphill battle the rest of the way

Before you complain: name 3 teams you know for sure are better than the 3-time defending league champions. Okay, glad we got that out of the way. Yes, it was a very disappointing week for the Bantams, whose gave them 8 points after having the third highest scoring season (324) in league history to pair with the most total offense (4179) in league history. I say this all to remind everyone of the talent this team has on paper. Yes, QB Seamus Lambert’s performance and the fact that he was pulled late for Jordan Vazzano ’21 do not give Trinity fans a lot to write home about, but there is a whole lot of football left and this team is too talented to not be able to figure it out. They have a free win on Saturday against Bowdoin and then a bit of a test Week 3 against Middlebury, a team they are also better than. If they beat Middlebury, they should show up in Week 7 at 5-1. Everyone calm down.

4. Middlebury (1-0)

This is where it starts to get tricky, but give me the Panthers here, who had almost as impressive a win as Tufts, beating Williams on a late, dramatic TD drive. After accumulating just 218 yards of total offense all day, QB Will Jernigan ’21 led the Panthers on a 7 play, 78-yard drive in just 2:01, having taken over at their own 22 with just 2:31 left on the clock. The only reason it is difficult to assess their performance is because of how little we still know about Williams, who came into the game already banged up and looking like a carbon copy of the worst version of their offensive selves from last season. 2 months from now, this Middlebury win could look like a fluke, or it could look completely unremarkable—it depends on both teams’ trajectories.

5. Williams (0-1)

The Williams defense held Midd, as I just mentioned, to just 218 yards and 10 points in the first 57 minutes and 29 seconds of the game. Yet the Panthers managed to engineer a clutch drive and found the endzone with just 30 seconds left to steal a week 1 win. But if the Ephs get a stop on that drive, they are still the same one-dimensional offense with the same flaws on defense, they are just 1-0 instead of 0-1. Yes, they traveled to Vermont with 3 of their starting linemen at the start of camp, and missing top targets TE Justin Burke ’21 and WR Rashad Morrison ’21. But everything else was the same—the rest of the league is unable to cover WR Frank Stola ’21 (6 catches, 151 yards, 2 TDs), and the running game is non-existent, 35 carries as a team for 101 yards. Unluckily for them, they don’t get the same chance as Trinity to run their confidence back up because Tufts is coming to town this weekend, but on the other hand, a win versus Tufts will be a huge confidence boost and they will be right back in the swing of things. We are going to learn A LOT about this team this week.

6. Wesleyan (1-0)

Probably a tough break for the Cardinals here, finding themselves 6th despite the fact that only 5 teams are 1-0. Apparently to some a win against Colby is impressive, but the reality in this league is that there are only 6 teams that matter in the big picture, and that will remain true until proven otherwise. QB Ashton Scott ’22 had a very impressive debut, going 18-30 for 217 yards and 3 TDs, as well as adding 76 yards on the ground, as he begins his quest to fill the very large shoes of QB Mark Piccirillo ’19. Wesleyan has Hamilton, Bates, and Bowdoin in their next three games before taking on Tufts in Week 5, so it might be awhile before we know what kind of team this is going to be. For now, they just need to continue to take care of business.

7. Hamilton (1-0)

A very fine performance by David Kagan propelled the Continentals to their first victory

Being the only remaining team to win a game this week, Hamilton slides in at 7 after defeating Bowdoin 37-24. As it has the last few years, this team will go as QB Kenny Gray ’20 goes, as talented a thrower as any in this league, despite his junior year drop off. Week 1 was not the most promising for Gray, who was just 8-20 for 157 yards and 1 TD (also adding 43 yards and another TD on the ground). RB David Kagan ’20 was the biggest bright spot for this team, earning OPOTW honors for his 195 yard and 3 TD performance, a performance which also earned him d3football.com Team of the Week honors.

8. Colby (0-1)

Always tough to rank these last three, but I’ll give Colby the early CBB nod almost strictly because they had the best record (3-6) last year. They did lose by 20 though, the biggest defeat of the week, so it’s going to be a short leash. The Colby offense had a much better day than their 10-point total would indicate, going for 364 yards of total offense. Unfortunately, it was the combination of 4 turnovers and going a whopping 1-11 on third down conversions that did this team in. Reigning co-ROY QB Matt Hersch ’22 had an iffy day, going 22-40 for 244 yards with 1 TD and 2 INTs, but it’s a promising sign that they trust him enough to sling it 40 times. RB Chris George’s 104 rushing yards on just 18 carries is also a cause for excitement as they look to replace RB Jake Schwern ’19.

9. Bates (0-1)

To start the road to redemption after an 0-9 campaign with a 13-6 halftime lead at Amherst is not too shabby. Unfortunately, we play 60 minutes for a reason, and the second half was sung to a different tune, as Amherst scored the only 21 points of the final 30 and won 27-13. Much like the Williams-Middlebury game, the next 8 games will give us more of a feel for how this reflects on both Bates and Amherst—was it an off game for the Mammoths or is Bates going to be stingy this year?

10. Bowdoin (0-1)

In fairness, it was 24-21 Bowdoin with just 9:26 left in this game. Then David Kagan ’20 rattled off a 70 yard run and punched one in from 4 yards out just 54 seconds later, before adding one more a few minutes later for a rather misleading 37-24 score line in favor of Hamilton. You would’ve liked to have seen a few more standout individual performances from Bowdoin if there was any confidence to be gained going forward. RB Nate Richam-Odoi (who gets a lot of buzz for his 1400 career yards) had just 61 yards on 21 carries, and QB Austin McCrum was 24-43 for 229 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. The defense did have a collective 8 tackles for loss, which is going to be something they will have to lean on if they plan on allowing 246 rushing yards a game.

That Was Only Week 1??: Stock Report 9/17

Stock up

Tufts defense

There was no way that the Jumbo D wasn’t going to find itself in the stock up column this week. They held the league’s top scoring team over the last several seasons to just 8 (!!) points – the Bantams haven’t scored that few points in a game since the 2015 season. On the day, the Tufts defense recorded 6 sacks, 13 tackles for a loss, 2 interceptions, and 5 pass breakups. They were in the face of Trinity quarterback Seamus Lambert all day – so much so that Coach Devanney subbed in Jordan Vazzano ’21 for the final drive. While the entire unit deserves credit, the performance of the day was undoubtedly that of D-lineman Jovan Nenadovic ’22 who added 9 tackles including 3 sacks and 5 tackles for a loss. It was also a terrific effort by the Jumbo secondary in locking up the lethal wide receiver duo of Koby Schofer ’20 and Jonathan Girard ’21 because those guys truly are two of the top three or four receivers in the league. If this defense can hold the NESCAC’s best offense to just 8 points then it’ll certainly be a scary year for any opposing team who visits Medford.

Will Jernigan clutch gene

Jernigan is starting to look like an upperclassman

This is also an easy one because Middlebury surprised all of us by beating Williams in the final minute on a drive orchestrated by none other than Will Jernigan ’21. The junior had a solid day under center – 16-33 for 170 yards with 1 touchdown and no interceptions, while adding 82 yards and a touchdown on the ground as well. This is certainly a fine effort, but what’s interesting here is that Jernigan is known as more of a run-threat quarterback and he was put in a position where he had to throw the ball. The Panthers got the ball back from Williams on their own 22-yard line with 2:31 left, down 13-10. They had to at least get into field goal range to give their kicker a chance to send it into overtime, but Jernigan engineered a 7-play, 78-yard drive in which he went 4-4 with 61 yards in the air. This was not something we were seeing out of him last season and it’s very, very promising for Middlebury. Look for Jernigan to keep things rolling as the Panthers head up to Maine to take on the Bates Bobcats.

Championship excitement

More than anything else, the first weekend showed us that the league is wide open this year. The three-time defending camps have a losing record for the first time since 2001, Hamilton leads the league in points (Trinity has the fewest), Amherst and Bates were tied going into the fourth quarter, and Ashton Scott ’22 proved that Mark Piccirillo isn’t the only Wesleyan quarterback who can throw the ball. I also like that the NESCAC decided to flip around the schedule a little bit this year – seeing Tufts and Trinity play each other Week 1 was pretty cool. I honestly was starting to think that Trinity was going to run away with the league this year, so I’m glad that they got handed a loss right off the bat. This is going to be a fun season.

Stock down

Chance for a four-peat

The archives on the NESCAC website only go back to 2000, but there has never been a team win four consecutive outright NESCAC football championships since then. Trinity had a real chance to do that coming into this season and they still very well do, but this weekend was a real setback. Their schedule is somewhat backloaded, however, because their last three games are against Williams, Amherst, and Wesleyan who are three of the four best teams left on their schedule. They play Middlebury on the road during Week 3 and that will be a huge one too, but for now they’ll have to focus on Bowdoin this weekend. I’m interested to see if the Bantams stick with Seamus Lambert ’22 at quarterback, or if putting Vazzano in for the final drive against Tufts was some sort of foreshadowing. They’ve got some work to do.

Power rankings

I have to admit; I chuckle to myself at the thought of having to write the power rankings this week. Wesleyan had the biggest win, but how good is Colby? They looked pretty good at the end of last year. Bates held their own against Amherst, but they are coming off an 0-9 season so how much does that factor in? Do you go 0-1 Trinity over 1-0 Hamilton? I think you do, but that’s sort of hard to justify. Although at the same time it’s not hard to justify because it’s Trinity. Does 0-1 Williams sneak ahead of a 1-0 team? I’m excited to see what he comes up with but I honestly feel bad for Karp having to write the power rankings this week. Keep an eye out for them over the next few days…

It’s Finally Here: Weekend Preview 9/14

This year we’ve decided to tweak the weekend previews during football season. Instead of having one writer make every pick and write the article, we had 5 of our writers pick the winners and scores of every game. These picks are included at the end of the write up for each game. I then wrote each preview knowing which team our writers had selected as the winner. This week’s slate of games wasn’t very exciting because there was only one game where we didn’t all agree on a winner, but hopefully it gets more exciting when the standings get messy in the middle of the season. For now we’ll just have to see who gets the closest score!

Hamilton @ Bowdoin, 1pm, Brunswick, ME

This is an interesting one to start off with. Neither of these teams had good seasons in 2018 and they’re both looking to bounce back in 2019 – Bowdoin even added a new head coach. On the Hamilton side, I love the Kenny Gray-Joe Schmidt QB-WR connection, and Joe Park ’22 had a terrific rookie season out of the backfield in 2018. Hamilton has a sneaky offense but they’re going to need their defense to compete in order for them to stay in games. Lafayette transfer Austin McCrum ’21 didn’t have a particularly impressive first season for the Polar Bears, but they return their entire receiving corps so hopefully they’ll be a bit more on the same page in year two. Nate Richam ’20 has proven to be one of the league’s best running backs when he gets good protection and he is likely the team’s deadliest offensive weapon. The only reason Hamilton gets the edge here is that they have proven slightly more in the past – and they haven’t lost to Bowdoin in 4 years. These two teams played an absolute shootout last season, so this one could be very exciting to watch.

MK: Hamilton 28-21
RM: Hamilton 32-21
SS: Hamilton 35-10
HC: Hamilton 28-14
CC: Hamilton 38-21

Writers’ Pick: Hamilton

Bates @ Amherst, 1pm, Amherst, MA

On paper this is a game that looks fairly lopsided. The Bobcats are coming off an 0-9 season, while Amherst was the league runner-up last year and is a perennial NESCAC powerhouse. One of the biggest problems for Bates in 2018 was that their offense wasn’t able to get much going, so the defense spent the entire game on the field. They have very solid skill players such as QB Brendan Costa ’21 and RB Jaason Lopez ’21, but the offensive line needs to give those guys a chance to shine or else it doesn’t matter. Everything isn’t all sunshine and rainbows in Western Mass either, because the Mammoths lost their top two rushers and their top receiver from last season. They’ve still got seasoned vet Ollie Eberth ’20 under center and James O’Regan ’20 out wide, but aside from them the offense is largely up in the air. Amherst has always been known for their defense and if that unit can get the job done then they won’t have any offensive questions to worry about. Should be a lot of purple on Saturday.

MK: Amherst 42-0
RM: Amherst 27-13
SS: Amherst 38-6
HC: Amherst 48-7
CC: Amherst 21-13

Writers’ Pick: Amherst

Colby @ Wesleyan, 1pm, Middletown, CT

If there’s one thing I can say about this game it’s that Colby has come a very long way. During my freshman year in 2016 this game was a blowout – 37-6 in favor of Wesleyan. The result wasn’t much better the following year, then in stepped Jack Cosgrove. Coach Cosgrove helped lead the Mules to a 3-6 season last year, including a 28-20 loss to the Cardinals in a very well played game. Heading into this season this game is very much in the air. Our writers gave the edge to Wesleyan, but let’s not look past this game too quickly. Wesleyan’s offense wasn’t particularly impressive last season and now they no longer have Mark Piccirillo taking snaps, so who knows what direction they’ll go. Colby, on the other hand, seemed to be just putting things together towards the end of 2018, settling on Matt Hersch ’22 as their quarterback. He saw some success there, but it will be interesting to see how he does without all-NESCAC running back Jake Schwern this season. Colby is still the underdog, but all I’m saying is this isn’t your classic Wesleyan-Colby football game.

MK: Wesleyan 28-17
RM: Colby 24-20
SS: Wesleyan 28-24
HC: Wesleyan 28-24
CC: Wesleyan 27-14

Writers’ Pick: Wesleyan

Trinity @ Tufts, 1:30pm, Medford, MA

This game follows nearly the opposite trend of the last one. Over the last three seasons Tufts-Trinity was a great game, but this year I’m not so sure. The Jumbo defense is always excellent but the loss of QB Ryan McDonald and their top three pass-catchers makes the offensive unit a hell of a lot less scary. The Bantams look as good as ever, returning two of the league’s best wide receivers in Koby Schofer ’20 and Jonathan Girard ’21 and their quarterback, Seamus Lambert ’22. And if for some reason Lambert isn’t doing the job, URI transfer Jordan Vazzano ’20 is ready to go. They’ll obviously suffer the loss of Max Chipouras, one of the best running backs in the history of the NESCAC, but Spencer Lockwood ’22 is in position to have a fine season as his replacement. All signs point towards Trinity for this one.

MK: Trinity 35-10
RM: Trinity 31-13
SS: Trinity 38-10
HC: Trinity 35-13
CC: Trinity 42-21

Writers’ Pick: Trinity

Williams @ Middlebury, 2pm, Middlebury, VT

There’s no doubt that this is the best game of the weekend – that is, best matchup combined with best title chances. Williams returns nearly everyone, headlined by QB Bobby Maimaron ’21, WR Frank Stola ’21, and LB TJ Rothmann ’21, who make up just a small part of this outstanding Eph junior class. They hoped to have a better year last year but were bit by the injury bug at the wrong time and the rest was history. Now they’re all healthy and ready to compete for a championship in Williamstown. You can never count out Middlebury, although I have to admit that this does not appear to be one of the better Panther teams in recent years. They return QB Will Jernigan ’21, TE Frank Cosolito ’20, and RB Peter Scibilia who were all key pieces of their offense last season, but the bar is set pretty high at Midd. Jernigan will have to navigate the passing game a bit better if he wants Midd to be able to compete with the top dogs of the NESCAC and I’m curious to find out if he can do that. Keep an eye on the score from the Green Mountain State.

MK: Williams 28-14
RM: Williams 27-17
SS: Williams 24-17
HC: Williams 38-14
CC: Williams 31-24

Writers’ Pick: Williams

Familiar Faces: Preseason Awards Watch List

Coach of the Year: Jeff Devanney, Trinity

With the exception of Williams Head Coach Mark Raymond’s 2017 season in which he guided the Ephs to a 6-3 season just one year after going 0-8, this award has been given to the title-winning coach every year since 2012, and even then Trinity won the league and Coach Devanney split the award with then Bates HC Mark Harriman, whose Bobcats went 5-3 and posted their first winning season since 1981. I say all of this to say that this award is almost guaranteed to go to the winning coach, and why would I pick against the Bantams?

Defensive Player of the Year:

3. Greg Holt ’20, LB, Tufts

My pick to win this award last year, Holt had the unfortunate luck of taking the field in the same year as Amherst DE/OLB Andrew Yamin ’19, who will finally vacate this honor after taking it home in his final two seasons. Strangely enough, Holt’s numbers have dropped every year since he arrived in Medford—from a staggering 98 tackles in 8 games his freshman year, to back to back years of 84 and 72 in the now longer 9 game seasons. However, his 2.5 sacks last season and 8.5 TFL were more than his first two seasons combined. This tells me he has grown into a more disruptive role where he can cause much more damage in opposing teams’ backfields.

2. TJ Rothmann ’21, LB, Williams

Rothmann has been a disruptive force for Ephs since he stepped foot on campus, logging 83 tackles his freshman year and 58 tackles his sophomore season, which essentially amounted to 6 healthy games. He’s arguably both the most talented football player and best athlete on his team, and that should be in full force this year. Some injuries in the past provided a setback, but this guy is back and better than ever. Williams has boasted a top defense the last two years, and if they are contending for a championship then Rothmann, too, will be contending for DPOY.

1. Taj Gooden ’21, DL, Wesleyan

The best interior lineman in the league, by a mile. Gooden was second in the league with 9 sacks (half a sack behind Yamin) and first in the league with 17.5 TFL in 2018. In any other season, he wins this award with ease because guys like Yamin don’t roll around in the NESCAC very often. This season, where he should take his biggest expected leap in production as he transitions into being an upperclassman, we could see record breaking numbers. The only question is whether or not the Cardinals have the team success to go with it.

Offensive Player of the Year:

3. Ollie Eberth ’20, QB, Amherst

I’ve always seen Eberth in more of a glorified game manager role, in charge of taking care of the ball and letting the Amherst RBs go to work, but it would be tough to deny that his numbers last year told a different story. Eberth was second in the league in passing yards per game with 181.6, threw 10 touchdowns to just 1 interception, while also finding the end zone 9 times on with his feet, tied for 2nd in the league. It remains to be seen whether or not the weapons on Amherst’s offense will allow him to continue to thrive in this role, with the graduations of two-time first team RB Jack Hickey ’19 and loss of RB Biafra Okoronkwo ’20 to a semester abroad.

2. Bobby Maimaron ’21, QB, Williams

Pretty straightforward logic here—for Williams to reach its ceiling, Maimaron has to play like a first team all-league guy. Probably the most talented dual threat QB returning to the NESCAC season, Maimaron should have the weapons and the system to put up the numbers everyone knows he is capable of. He has now had two full season to gel with this talented offensive unit and get accustomed to Coach Raymond’s system, so the sky is the limit now that Maimaron jumps into an upperclassmen role. His 17 total TDs were third in the league last year behind Eberth and co-OPOY Ryan McDonald ’19 of Tufts—that number should be in the 20s this year if he stays healthy.

1. Jonathan Girard ’21, WR, Trinity

There have been 3 seasons in NESCAC history in which someone has recorded more receiving yards than Girard’s 1005 in 2018, just the 4th 1000-yard season since the league began keeping records in 1992. It feels like it got swept under the rug because of the Bantams’ overall dominance, but Girard was as good as anyone last year—as a sophomore. Additionally, you would think it would be the case that now that Girard presumably an entire season paired with QB Seamus Lambert ’22, but the numbers tell a different story. Girard’s 5 100-yard games were the 1st 5 games of the season—the 5 that Jordan Vazzano ’21 played before being replaced by Lambert. His 3 lowest receiving games were the last 3 games—totals of 74, 49, and 58, against Middlebury, Amherst, and Wesleyan, respectively, a far cry from beating up on the CBB. But I’m going to bet that Girard strikes a more consistent partnership with Lambert this season, and although RB Spencer Lockwood ’22 appears to be more than ready to replace Max Chipouras at lead back, more of the production will fall to Girard.

The Road Back from Heartbreak: Amherst Football Preview 2019

2018 Record: 8-1

Projected 2019 Record: 7-2

Projected Offensive Starters (*5 Returning)

QB – Ollie Eberth ‘20*

RB – Biafra Okoronkwo ‘20

WR – Turner Garland ‘21

WR – James O’Regan ‘20*

WR – Joe Masterson ‘21*

TE – Justin Berry ’20*

C – Dan Papa ’20*

RT – Brendan Coleman ’20*

OL – Jacob Ayyub ’21

OL – Nick Diprinzio ’22

OL – Peter Jerome ’20

Projected Defensive Starters (*4 Returning)

CB – Avery Saffold ‘20*

CB – Ricky Goodson ‘21

DB – John Ballard ‘20*

DB – Matt Durborow ‘21*

LB – Matt Schiano ‘22

LB – John Schiano ‘22

LB – Manny Malone ‘22

DL – Alex Katchadurian ‘20

DL – Joe Kelly ‘21

DL – Flynn McGilvray ‘22

DL – Greg Franklin ‘20*

Projected Specialists (*2 Returning)

PK – Henry Atkeson ‘20

P – Henry Atkeson ‘20*

KR/PR – Joe Masterson ‘21*

Offensive MVP: QB Ollie Eberth ‘20

The Amherst offense entirely revolves around it’s 6’2’’, 185 lb dual-threat quarterback. A two-year starter, Eberth enters his final campaign with the Mammoths in search of an elusive NESCAC Championship, one that slipped through his fingers in 2018 after suffering Amherst’s lone loss of the season against Trinity. Despite falling short of the ultimate goal, the Massachusetts native had a season to remember, finishing second in passing yards per game and fifteenth in total rushing yards en route to an All-Conference First Team selection. James O’Regan ‘20 is back to receive the bulk of Eberth’s targets in the passing game, but losing fellow wide receiver Bo Berluti ‘19 (44 rec, 610 yds, 4 TD’s) certainly hurts. On the ground, the combination of Eberth and running back Biafra Okoronkwo (95 carries for 581 yards and 4 TD’s in 2018) will be the focal point for Coach Mills and the Mammoth offense. All in all, Eberth is the true conductor on the offensive side of the ball and will be counted on time and time again to carry the Mammoths with his arm and legs in 2019.

Defensive MVP: DL Joe Kelly ‘21

Senior Greg Franklin is the lone returning starter on the defensive line for Amherst, but it’s Kelly that i’m selecting to break out in wake of two-time NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year Andrew Yamin’s departure. He finished second on the team (and tied for sixth in the conference) with 4.5 sacks as just a second-teamer, and with Franklin likely receiving most of the attention early on in the season, Kelly could burst onto the scene. He finished the 2018 season on a strong note, registering at least .5 sacks in five of his last six games. With another spring/summer of refining his game and improving under the tutelage of defensive wizard Coach Mills, Kelly is my pick to emerge as the star of the defensive line.

Biggest Game: November 2nd vs. Trinity

Amherst could very well be undefeated when they welcome the reigning NESCAC Champions, the Trinity Bantams, on senior day. Last season’s matchup ended up serving as the de-facto Championship game, with the Bantams snagging a 27-16 win after Max Chipouras ‘19 busted a game-clinching 70 yard run with under three minutes left in the fourth quarter. An early tilt with Tufts will be a tough game, but I’m not as high on the Jumbos after the departure of Ryan McDonald ‘19. Even without Chipouras, the Bantams are still the team to beat in the NESCAC, so the rematch between these two football giants will surely be one of the most entertaining matchups of the 2019 season.

Team Slogan for 2019: #Crankit

Not the most creative slogan I’ve come across in recent years, plus there’s too many ways to run with this hashtag in a negative connotation. Rating: 4.5/10

Everything Else:

Despite the talent on this squad, there are undoubtedly glaring holes on both sides of the ball. On the offensive end, the Mammoths lost three starters on the line. Juniors Eric Papa and Brendan Coleman will be tasked with leading the group, but Amherst will have to find five guys that can gel together and protect their quarterback. There are questions amongst the receivers as well; O’Regan and Berluti combined for 83 of the team’s 124 receptions, but the latter graduated in the spring. The only other player with double digit receptions last season was tight end Justin Berry ‘20 (11 receptions). Masterson was electric in the return game during 2018, but he’s being thrust into the WR2 position despite catching a mere eight targets last season. Masterson and others such as Turner Garland ‘21 and Brendan Popovich ‘20 need to emerge to give Eberth options and keep opposing defenses honest.

Matt Albino ‘21 and Greg Franklin ‘20 are looking to create havoc on the defensive line in wake of Andrew Yamin’s departure

Defensively, the Mammoths are strong at the back end. Three of the four returnees on defense reside at the corner and safety positions, and there is plenty of depth. The major question revolves at linebacker. In addition to Yamin, (who was more of a pass rush specialist despite being listed at the BUCK position), Amherst has to replace two more starters (Andrew Sommer ‘19 and John Callahan ‘19) and key reserve Jack Barrett ‘19. The quartet of linebackers accounted for 189 tackles, 15 sacks, and four interceptions. That is A LOT of production to replace in one season, and trusted to take over are (from what I can tell) three sophomores that have minimal playing experience. One possibility to ensure some more stability to the position is moving corner Ricky Goodson ‘21 back to outside linebacker; he played linebacker in high school, so at the very least he would bring knowledge to the position. I’m not too worried about the defensive line position – despite the lack of returning starters, guys like Kelly, Alex Katchadurian ‘20 and Flynn McGilvray ‘22 were key role players on last year’s team and will fill the void.

Looking at the schedule, I do think it will take time for the Mammoths to find their footing on both sides of the ball; their opening two games are perfect to work out the kinks, as they host Bates before traveling to Colby. If the Mammoths can beat the Jumbos (which I believe they will), they have a real shot at entering the Trinity matchup at 7-0. Trinity is still the clear favorite to repeat as NESCAC Champions, but Amherst has the pieces and talent to run the table early and give the Bantams a run for their money.

Students of the Game: Checking in with Former NESCAC Athletes in the Pros

With summer in full effect I’m sure no one has thought about NESCAC sports in quite a while. Well, here at NbN we’re always thinking about NESCAC sports so the summer is no time to slack off. With that being said, there are no NESCAC sports being played at the moment so this article will focus on those athletes lucky enough to be able to continue their careers beyond the collegiate level. We decided it would be worth checking in to see how each of the athletes is doing at the professional level to take a look at how the NESCAC fares amongst the very best. Please don’t be offended if I left someone out (we all know how NESCAC students love getting offended), but these were the only people I could find enough info on to write about.

Marcus Delpeche ’17 (Bates basketball)

It was no secret that the Delpeche brothers would see success at a higher level than the NESCAC. You could tell as soon as they set foot in the gym. Most Division III basketball teams don’t feature a 6’8”, 230-pound, athletic, muscular power forward on their roster, let alone two. How Coach Furbush convinced those guys to come to Lewiston is beyond me, but hindsight is 20/20 and it’s easy to see now how their development at Bates was crucial to taking their basketball careers to the next level. Marcus began his professional career with the Grevenbroich Elephants in the fourth tier of German basketball, posting 11.5 points per game while hauling in 5.3 rebounds in his rookie season. He then proceeded to sign with the Bristol Flyers of the British Basketball League, where he appeared in 33 games (including 15 starts) while putting up 7.8 points per game on 52% shooting and grabbing 4.6 rebounds per game in the process. Marcus re-signed with the Flyers earlier this month and he’ll be under contract until the conclusion of the 2019-2020 season.

Malcolm Delpeche ’17 (Bates basketball)

Like his brother, Malcolm started his career with the Grevenbroich Elephants, where he put up 13.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game for a team that finished the season 21-3. This performance earned Malcolm a spot on the WWU Baskets Muenster of the German Pro B League – the third tier of German basketball. Here he continued to see success, starting 28 of the 31 games he appeared in while recording 12 points (on 55% shooting), 7.2 rebounds, and 1 block per game. His team finished as the league runner-up. He, too, has extended his contract another season so we can expect to hear more about his success from across the pond.

Drew Fischer ’?? (Amherst baseball)

Fischer has had quite the career to this point. He didn’t play much (for someone who ended up getting drafted) during his freshman or sophomore year at Amherst while battling injury, then put together an outstanding junior season on an innings limit. What caught the eyes of scouts was that he had a projectable frame (6’3”, 210lbs) and he lit up the radar gun with his fastball reaching as high as 95mph while in college. When he was selected after his junior year in the 35^th round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates they knew he’d be a bit of a project with slight control issues, but they were willing to take a chance. So far that chance has paid off as Fischer has slowly been climbing the ranks in the Pirates’ farm system. Here are his stats from each of his first three seasons in the minor leagues:

2017 short-season rookie ball with the Bristol Pirates:

3-1, 5.00 ERA, 27 IP, 28 H, 20 BB, 31 K, 1.78 WHIP

2018 class A with the West Virginia Power:

2-2, 3.83 ERA, 44.2 IP, 41 H, 20 BB, 50 K, 1.37 WHIP

2019 high A with the Bradenton Marauders:

0-1, 2.89 ERA, 9.1 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 6 K, 1.18 WHIP

The 23 year-old has been improving every year with a lower walk rate, a higher strikeout rate, and a lower ERA to prove it. He is currently on the 7-day injured list in high A so his sample size is small for this season, but there’s clearly a trend here. If Fischer can stay healthy then it’s clear that his stuff will get him a long way.

Kellen Hatheway ’19 (Williams baseball)

Hatheway is one of the two youngest former NESCAC players currently playing professional sports. The 2019 Williams grad made his first NESCAC Tournament this past season after a very successful career as an Eph. He had a standout power year during his senior campaign hitting a career-high 5 home runs, two of which came in the NESCAC Tournament against Bates. He has continued that power streak into the summer, where he is playing for the Alpine Cowboys of the Pecos League of Independent Professional Baseball. Through just 16 games Hatheway already has 4 homers and 12 RBI, while hitting .242 and playing shortstop. Hopefully he’ll be able to stay hot and continue to impress scouts with his tremendous tools as a ballplayer.

Stephen Hauschka ’07 (Middlebury football)

This one is much different from all the others on this list. Stephen Hauschka has put together an incredibly successful career in the NFL with 5 different teams, most notably the Seattle Seahawks with whom he won a Super Bowl. His story, however, is worth talking about because he came to Middlebury with the intention of joining the soccer team. After he was cut his freshman year, his friends urged him to try out as a kicker for the football team the following fall. He made the team and completed his final 3 years in Vermont as the team’s starting kicker. With one year of eligibility left after graduation, he became a graduate transfer at North Carolina State where he was the starting kicker. His success there drew attention from NFL teams and the rest is history. Hauschka has a career field goal percentage of 86.4% (242-280) in the NFL and his career long is 58 yards. He is currently a member of the Buffalo Bills who he has been with since 2017.

Lucas Hausman ’16 (Bowdoin basketball)

The 2015 NESCAC Player of the Year has already had a successful career overseas. Hausman began his career in 2016-2017 with Basket Villa de Mieres in the fourth tier of the Spanish Basketball League. In 2017-2018 he found his way to CB Marbella, also in the fourth tier of the Spanish League, however Hausman’s first team all-tournament performance in the postseason help them earn a spot in the third tier heading into the following season. He finished the season averaging 13.5 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists per game while shooting 55% from the field and 38.3% from behind the arc. Hausman’s early success helped him earn a 3-year contract (through 2020-2021) with Maccabi Haifa of Liga Leumit in the second tier of Israeli professional basketball. In 2018-2019 he served as a role player for Maccabi Haifa, however his 57.4% shooting was best on the team. They also went on to win the national championship, earning them a spot in the Israeli Basketball Premier League in 2019-2020. Hausman will look to continue his strong career while slowly making his way up the ranks.

Johnny McCarthy ’18 (Amherst basketball)

After graduating from Amherst in 2018, McCarthy decided to pursue a Master’s Degree in Business at IT Carlow in Ireland. It just so happened that IT Carlow has a basketball team that competes in Ireland’s Division 1 National Basketball League because, you know, in Europe you can get paid to play basketball while you’re still in school, but I digress. McCarthy took full advantage of his opportunity, putting up 21.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 3 steals per game, while shooting 51.2% and 40.1% from 3-point land – earning him first team all-league honors. This may be McCarthy’s only year of professional basketball now that he has earned his master’s, although he was recently able to gain some publicity while playing in The Basketball Tournament on ESPN alongside the Delpeche twins for team We Are D3, so we’ll have to wait and see where that takes him.

Nick Miceli ’17 (Wesleyan baseball)

To be honest, Nick Miceli probably has had the wildest professional career of anyone on this list. This guy spends his winters playing with the Golden Grove Dodgers of the South Australian Baseball League and his summers playing in the German Bundesliga. I know what you’re thinking and yes, winter here is summer in Australia, so Miceli pretty much gets to live in the summer all year round. Not a bad deal right? To make things even better, he has been absolutely tearing up both of these leagues. In his first season with the Golden Grove Dodgers he hit .348 at the plate while finishing with a 2.53 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 57 innings pitched on the mound. This performance earned him a 3^rd place finish in MVP voting that year as well as a spot as the club’s pitching coach the following season. During his first season in the Bundesliga with the Bremen Dockers, Miceli hit .353 with a 2.66 ERA and 156 strikeouts in 100 innings pitched. He also finished with a .966 fielding percentage while playing all 9 positions at some point throughout the season. He followed this up with another stellar season for Golden Grove in Australia, hitting .360 while maintaining a sub-3.00 ERA and actually leading the league in runners caught stealing from behind the dish. He is currently playing his 2019 summer season with the Bonn Capitals of the Bundesliga where he looks to continue his sweltering pace.

Colby Morris ’19 (Middlebury baseball)

The other newbie to pro sports, Morris initially signed with the Trois-Rivières Aigles of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. After battling through a minor injury towards the end of his senior year at Middlebury, the 2018 NESCAC Pitcher of the Year bounced back and made 3 appearances totaling 11.2 innings with a modest 5.40 ERA in the Can-Am League. After a few short weeks Morris signed with the Gary SouthShore RailCats of the prestigious American Association of Professional Baseball, a league largely comprised of guys that bounce between indy ball and the double-A and triple-A levels of minor league baseball. He has already appeared in 4 games out of the bullpen for the RailCats and he will look to further impress scouts to improve on his impressive pitching career.

Harry Rafferty ’17 (Wesleyan basketball)

This is a guy who has a little bit of mystery around him. Rafferty graduated from Wesleyan in 2017 after a very successful NESCAC career and I’m honestly not sure what he was doing for his first year after graduation. I say that because he played the 2018-2019 season for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, an NBA G-League team in the Miami Heat organization. I was not able to find any information about him playing overseas, but he clearly did an excellent job staying in basketball shape because the G-League is no joke. He appeared in 4 games, averaging 19.1 minutes, 3 points, 2 assists, and just over 1 rebound per game for the Skyforce. It’s unclear what the next step is in his basketball career, but he is clearly someone who is willing to do whatever it takes to get to the next level.

Jake Turtel ’18 (Middlebury baseball)

Here’s another guy with a pretty interesting story. Turtel graduated from Middlebury in 2018 after a solid 4-year career with the Panthers, although he wasn’t quite the standout player that many of the other guys are on this list. This is by no means an effort to diminish Turtel’s time in the NESCAC, but rather to draw attention to the fact that he may have been a late bloomer. A career .253 hitter at Midd, Turtel has exploded in his first season as a member of the Stockholm Monarchs of the Elitserien League, Sweden’s highest level of professional baseball. He is currently hitting .372 with an on-base percentage of .560 while primarily playing second base. Turtel has also logged 13.1 innings on the mound in the process. There is clearly a precedent for former NESCAC baseball players succeeding overseas and this guy is no exception. In addition, Turtel serves as a youth coach for the lower levels of the Monarchs organization, so it’ll be intriguing to see where his career takes him.

Duncan Robinson ’18 (Williams basketball)

This one may be a bit of a stretch, but I felt the need to include it. Robinson only played one season at Williams before transferring to the University of Michigan for his final three years of college*. However, his impact at Williams is still felt today. He holds numerous single-season scoring and shooting records in Williamstown, and his success in Ann Arbor landed him a two-way contract with the Miami Heat after he went undrafted in 2018. As a member of the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Robinson average 21.4 points per game on 51.4% shooting and 48.3% from 3-point range, while grabbing 4.3 rebounds and dishing out 3 assists per game. He finished the year as an All-NBA G-League Third Team member and appeared in 15 games (1 start) with the Miami Heat in the NBA. In the last game of the season with the Heat, Robinson netted 15 points against the Brooklyn Nets – the first double-digit effort of his NBA career. Although he took a very different path, Robinson is still a NESCAC man at heart and it appears as though his pro career is just getting started.

*It appears as though Robinson has paved the way for future NESCAC basketball players to transfer to high level Division I schools, because Austin Hutcherson ’21 from Wesleyan recently took an official visit to the University of Notre Dame.

Random side note: One of the first times I was exposed to just how much talent is present in NESCAC sports was my freshman year of high school when our basketball team traveled to Phillips Exeter Academy for a holiday tournament. I didn’t know much about Exeter because we typically didn’t play them in the regular season, but man were they good. At the time, Harry Rafferty and Duncan Robinson were seniors on the team and after they torched us for 32 minutes I learned that they were headed to Wesleyan and Williams, respectively. I remember thinking to myself that these guys were absolute steals for NESCAC programs and that they probably should be heading to Division I schools. Turns out I was right about Robinson (and maybe Rafferty as well) but needless to say I gained an enormous amount of respect for NESCAC athletics after that experience.

There’s an “I” in Win: End-of-Season Awards Predictions

With championship weekend finally on the horizon, it is finally time to make our award predictions. This season has been one of the closest in recent memory in regard to individual accolades, with so many different guys up and down different lineups contributing to their team’s successes. We’ve got a lot of these so let’s jump right into it.

West Division

Comeback Player of the Year: IF Kellen Hatheway ‘19 (Williams)

At first glance it probably seems pretty stupid to pick a two-time all-league selection, former rookie of the year, and former defensive player of the year as the CPOY. But the last two years have been a lot bumpier than the first two for Hatheway, who hit a career-low .228 with 11 RBI last season, after hitting .331 and .362 with a combined 46 RBI his first two years. His chances at a bounce back senior year were derailed after 5 games to start the season, absent from the starting lineup for 9 games in a row due to an injury, missing all of his senior year spring trip. But Hatheway returned to the lineup at a key time and was as big a reason as any that the Ephs captured their first NESCAC West title since 2010, hitting .407 with 3 HR and 11 RBI, capped by a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the 9th in a de facto playoff game against Wesleyan on Saturday, a moment that will live in Williams baseball lore for quite some time.

Honorable Mention: RHP Michael Farinelli ’21 (Middlebury), 1B Doug Schaffer ’19 (Williams)

CF4 Slugger: OF Henry Strmecki ’21, Middlebury

5 homers, 21 RBI, and a .557 slugging percentage for a playoff team makes you a pretty obvious answer for this one. The ball was flying out of the park in Vermont all season, as the Panthers tied for second in the league with 16 dingers, led by their sophomore slugger at the heart of the order. An interesting note is that Strmecki actually didn’t hit any home runs in conference games this year, so we’ll see if he can continue swinging it in the games that matter most.

Honorable Mention: C Severino Simeone ’20 (Amherst)

Reliever of the Year: RHP George Goldstein ’21, Middlebury

The Middlebury sophomore class makes another appearance on this list, this team in the form of closer George Goldstein. Goldstein broke on to the scene as a freshman by posting a 1.70 ERA in 21.2 IP, but managed to one up himself and lower that number to a 1.18, in addition to a 10.07 K/9. We look forward to George’s senior year, when his ERA is a 0.34.

Honorable Mention: RHP Mike Dow ’19 (Amherst), RHP Kyle Dean ’20 (Williams)

Rookie of the Year: RHP Alex Price ’22 (Middlebury)

Well it’s good to know there won’t be too much of a drop off at Middlebury once Colby Morris’ standout career comes to a close in a few weeks. His apprentice actually beat him out in ERA, with Price’s 2.63 just nudging out Morris at 2.70. RHP Sam Rohrer ’22 (41.1 IP, 3.07 ERA, 3-1) and his numbers don’t quite do justice to the impact he has had on the Williams pitching staff that so desperately needed arms, and got arms, but I don’t think the gap is narrow enough to give to a guy whose team had the same conference record as Price’s.

Honorable Mention: RHP Sam Rohrer ’22 (Williams)

Cy Young Award: LHP Jack Bohen ’19 (Williams)

This is by far, I think, the one you could really flip a coin on. I took a long and hard look at Bohen and Colby Morris’ stats, and I went with Bohen, by a hair. Bohen has the edge in ERA, but Morris has pitched 16 more innings than Bohen, leading the conference with 61.0 – the best ability is availability, and no one was more available than Morris. What did it for Bohen was his conference numbers – 3-0, 26.2 IP, 2.06 ERA, as compared to Morris’ 2-2 in 31.0 IP with a 2.61 ERA. Bohen’s teams went 4-0 when he pitched in divisional games, as opposed to 3-5 without him. It also doesn’t make things any easier (or fairer) for Morris attempting to repeat and win this award a second year in a row, after posting a 1.68 ERA last season. It could really go either way and whoever it goes to is more than deserving.

Honorable Mention: RHP Colby Morris ’19 (Middlebury)

MVP: 1B Doug Schaffer ’19 (Williams)

What an absolute breakout year for Schaffer, who had just as good a chance of winning Comeback Player of Year as any but lost out to his classmate Kellen Hatheway ’19 by a slim margin. After two straight years of hitting .218 and .277, the senior first baseman exploded to lead the league with a .433 average and 46 RBI—14 more than anybody else – as well as a preposterous .633 slugging percentage, also a league-best. Schaffer had 38 career RBI in 283 at-bats prior to his senior season, just to put things in perspective. His detractors will point out that he didn’t have a single home run, which really doesn’t matter when you put up 46 RBI, and that he only hit .295 with 6 RBI in conference play, which is a fair criticism. But Schaffer was the best player all year on a divisional title winner and there just wasn’t a close enough competitor for it to be anybody else.

Honorable Mention: OF Joe Palmo ‘21 (Amherst), OF Henry Strmecki ’21 (Middlebury)

East Division

Comeback Player of the Year: RHP Justin Foley ’19 (Bates)

The Bobcats return to the playoffs for the third straight year on the backs of a killer 1-2 punch in the rotation. Beside RHP Nolan Collins ’20 playing Batman, is Foley playing Robin – in large part because of the huge step forward he took for his senior year. His ERA dropped from a 5.08 to a 3.59, his K/9 jumped from a 6.46 to an 8.07, and his IP climbed from 39.0 to 50.2, culminating in going 6-2 after going 2-4 as a junior. He might even be the hot hand in Lewiston right now; Foley has thrown two consecutive complete game shutouts against the likes of Colby and Bowdoin – the latter of which earned him the most recent NESCAC Pitcher of the Week honor. The former Mr. Baseball in Massachusetts will be heavily relied on this weekend if Bates has any opens of hoisting their first banner.

Honorable Mention: LHP Eric Mohl ’19 Trinity

CF4 Slugger: OF Matt Koperniak ’20 (Trinity)

Koperniak can’t be thrilled to be missing the NESCAC tournament once again, but his 4 HR, 26 RBI, and .591 slugging percentage (2nd in the league) are a huge reason why the Bantams might still have a chance at postseason baseball in the form of an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this guy playing in the Cape Cod League for a bit this summer.

Honorable Mention: OF JP Knight ’20 (Tufts), OF Casey Santos-Ocampo ’19 (Tufts)

Reliever of the Year: RHP Spencer Langdon ’20 (Tufts)

It was quite the year for Langdon, who was moved into the Jumbos bullpen despite going 5-0 with a 2.00 ERA in 45 IP as a starter last season. It isn’t a move that I would make but that’s why John Casey is John Casey and I’m not. It has been a resounding success, with Langdon closing out 5 games for the NESCAC East leaders. While the 3.68 ERA doesn’t jump off the page, 3 of his 9 earned runs came in a spot start against Eastern Connecticut St. It’s also pretty scary to think about what his save numbers really good have been if they ever needed him – shockingly, his appearances in their 16-0 win against Bowdoin and 30-2 (30-2!) win over Salem State, both scoreless innings, were not in save situations.

Honorable Mention: LHP Eric Mohl ’19 (Trinity), RHP Alex Simon ’19 (Bates), RHP Colby Lewis (Bowdoin)

Rookie of the Year: RHP Cameron Crowley ’22 (Trinity)

51.1 IP. 8-0 record. 2.29 ERA. A complete game allowing 1 run in a win against Tufts – just a few highlights of Cameron Crowley’s freshman year in Hartford. That really speaks for itself, honestly. Perhaps the most impressive part of Crowley’s first collegiate season was that all of this success came despite a meager 4.23 K/9. To show an ability to pitch to contact and throw outs at such a young age is seriously impressive. If he comes back with a bit better stuff, he will dominate the league at an even higher level than he did this year.

Honorable Mention: IF Peter DeMaria ’22 (Tufts), IF Bryan Gotti (Bates)

Cy Young: RHP RJ Hall ’19 (Tufts)

If you really want to understand how good Hall was this season, then go scroll up ever so slightly and read through Cameron Crowley’s numbers again, and then learn that he didn’t even remotely warrant consideration for this award. Everything Crowley did, Hall did better for Tufts, and did it while leading Tufts to yet another division title. He went 6-0 and lead the NESCAC with a 1.57 ERA, and 3 complete games. He only threw 46 innings because of a brief stint on the DL (IL, excuse me), but returned just as strong as he was pre-injury, closing out his regular season going 7 strong in a win against Colby, allowing just 1 run.

Honorable Mention: RHP Nolan Collins’ 20 (Bates), RHP Cameron Crowley ’22 (Trinity)

MVP: OF Matt Koperniak ’20 (Trinity)

To be honest with you, I kind of hate this pick. I’m a big fan of rewarding team success, but baseball is dependent on so many other factors that I don’t think it’s as big of a deal. Yes, Trinity did not make the playoffs. But they still went 27-7 with an 8-4 record in the league, and Koperniak slashed .380/.473/.591 while hitting 4 HR and driving in 26. It’s not like his team stunk and his production certainly warrants consideration. The other thing, unfortunately, is that Bates’ top hitters (Jack Arend ’20 and Christian Beal ’21) aren’t quite on the same level as Koperniak and Tufts has had such good production up and down the lineup that no one person can be identified – anyone worth considering cancels the next guy out. The Jumbos have 5 guys hitting .300 or better with 20+ RBI (we’re rounding Casey Santos-Ocampo’s .298 up for the sake of this stat), but none of them quite have Koperniak’s numbers.

Honorable Mention: IF Peter DeMaria ’22 (Tufts), OF Christian Beal ’21 (Bates), OF JP Knight ‘19 (Tufts)

Playoff Baseball: Stock Report 5/8

And then there were four. NESCAC playoff baseball is here with a few surprises. Bates came out of nowhere to claim yet another playoff appearance. Tufts remained the top team in the East. Wesleyan and Amherst can no longer claim dominance in the West. Williams and Middlebury took their spots. Colby didn’t win a conference game all year. On a positive note, there’s nowhere to go but up for the Mules! NESCAC playoff baseball promises close games, great pitching, and clutch hitting. Let’s take a look at my stock report:

Long: Whatever’s going on in Lewiston, ME

Brace yourself, Bobcats fans, you’re not going to appreciate what I am about to say: Lewiston has to be the worst location of all NESCAC schools. And yes, I am writing that in my dorm room in Middletown, CT. Regardless of their location, the Bobcats have been a model of consistency for the past few years. When Coach Leonard left for Middlebury three years ago, the growth could’ve ended for Bates. Jon Martin, a former Vassar College coach, was named head coach shortly after. Vassar, a school who boasts alumni such as Meryl Streep and Phoebe from Friends (Lisa Kudrow), isn’t known for its athletics. Martin has led Bates to three consecutive playoff appearances in a division with Trinity and Tufts. Bates has always relied on their strong pitching and clutch hitting to win some ball games. The Bobcats have never been able to get over the hump. Is this their year? It certainly looks like the Bobcats have improved on the hitting side with Christian Beal ’21 and Jack Arend ’20 hitting in the high .300’s. Nolan Collins ’20 has been an absolute force yet again with a team high in innings and a 2.44 ERA. Of all the teams in the playoffs, Bates has the best matchup in game one against Williams. If the Bobcats take game one, they will be in the driver’s seat for the rest of the tournament. I am excited to see if Bates can finally get over the hump this year – it would be tough to have three straight playoff appearances coupled with three straight early exits. Arend, Beal, Collins, and co. may have the swagger to get them over the top, though. It will be fun to watch.

Short: Amherst and Wesleyan

If you were to ask me before the season began who would represent the West in the playoffs, I would say Wesleyan and Amherst. Wes made the playoffs a year ago, and their only real impact player who graduated was Matt Jeye. I would’ve expected Mike McCaffrey ’19 and Kelvin Sosa ’21 to have dominant seasons again. McCaffrey only appeared in three conference games, which was a dramatic decrease from last year. Wesleyan didn’t seem to have the same clutch factor they did a year ago. Alex Cappitelli ’20 had an off year for his high standards, and the weakness in the lineup game from middle to bottom. Clutch hitting was a real issue for the Cardinals. Amherst was fresh off a NESCAC championship the year before. One could speculate that a fall was possible for Amherst. The losses of Coach Hamm, Harry Roberson, and Max Steinhorn proved to be too much to overcome. Amherst has always been a very resilient bunch, so I was surprised they couldn’t get a playoff bid in a so-so conference. Middlebury taking a playoff spot wasn’t all that surprising to me. I truly believe getting swept by Wes to start the 2018 season just crushed the Panthers the rest of the way. It was a sophomore slump for Midd. The likes of Colby Morris ’19 and Justin Han ’20 drove the Panthers this year to a playoff appearance. Amherst and Wesleyan are the usual suspects representing the West based on previous years, so I am quite shocked that neither of them made it in this year. I am curious to see how they bounce back next year especially with Wesleyan graduating many key players.

And Then There Were Four: 5/4 Weekend Recap

Middlebury vs. Amherst

This three game series held high stakes in the NESCAC West, as both Midd and Amherst were tied at 5-4 in conference heading into the series. Whoever won this series was guaranteed a playoff spot, so the entire season was on the line for both teams. Friday was game one in which two California natives, Andrew Ferrero ’19 and Colby Morris ’19, took the mound for their respective teams. Midd was able to score and take the lead in the 3rd inning and then added on one more run each in the 5th and 7th innings. Morris was stifling Amherst batters and managed to keep them scoreless until the 8th, when Joseph Palmo ’21 mashed a three-run dinger to tie things up. The score remained 3-3 until the 10th inning when Midd doubled their total and scored 3 in the top half of the inning. Amherst was able to respond with a run in the bottom half but it was not enough and Midd was able to capture 1 of the 2 wins they needed to clinch the playoffs. In game two Amherst scored once in the 2nd inning and Midd quickly matched it in the 3rd. In the 4th inning Phil Bernstein ’19 singled in Alec Ritch ’22 and the score remained 2-1 Middlebury until the final out. With Midd taking the first two games, they clinched a playoff berth and the final game was just to help decide seeding. Game three was yet another close contest in what proved to be a thrilling series. The game was back and forth throughout with it being tied 5-5 going into the bottom of the 9th. After the first three hitters reached base, Seve Simeone ’20 ripped a single, allowing Amherst to capture the final game of the series and prevent Midd from snagging the #1 seed in the West. Next weekend Midd will travel to Colby for the NESCAC Tournament and face 1 seed in the East Tufts, while Amherst’s season is complete and the reigning champs will not have an opportunity to defend their title.

Williams vs. Wesleyan

Jack Bohen will look to continue his brilliant season into the NESCAC playoffs

The second of the NESCAC West series to occur this weekend took place between Williams and Wesleyan for each team’s final series of the year. Jack Bohen ’19 started game 1 for the Ephs and continued the dominance he has shown all year. He went 8 strong and gave the Cardinals no chance as he gave up no earned runs. The Eph bats were hot in game one as well; Eric Pappas ’21 had 3 RBI and Williams scored 6 runs to defeat Wesleyan by a final score of 6-1. Similar to Middlebury, going into the second day of the series Williams knew they needed just one win to guarantee playoffs. Despite this, Wesleyan came out very strong in game 2. Kelvin Sosa ’21 tossed a 7 inning CGSO, collecting 7 strikeouts and walking just 1. Johnny Lamont ’20 collected a 6 inning CG, but his 2 runs were too many for his offense to cover. Going into the final game both teams needed a win to have even a shot at playoffs, so this game was winner-take-all. Game three was extremely close as the teams were neck and neck throughout. Both teams staffed the game, using many pitchers in short spurts. They took turns trading blows, as Jonny Corning ’20 hit a two-run shot in the 4th to give the Cardinals the lead. The game was tied 3-3 going into the top of the 9th inning, when Eph prayers were answered with a Kellen Hatheway ’19 two-run bomb that ended up sending Williams right to the playoffs. Williams will be back in action next weekend in Waterville, ME, facing #2 seed in the East Bates. Wesleyan fell to Trinity 2-0 in their final game of the season on Monday.

Bates vs. Bowdoin

Brandon Lopez wrapped up a solid career against Bates over the weekend

Heading into this weekend Bates knew that just one win in their doubleheader against Bowdoin would send them to the playoffs, holding the head-to-head tiebreaker against Trinity. With this information in mind, Bates did not hesitate to get the job done as they came out firing in the first game of this Saturday doubleheader. Justin Foley ’19 was fantastic for the Bobcats, tossing a complete game shutout and allowing just 6 baserunners – earning NESCAC Pitcher of the Week honors in the process. Brandon Lopez ’19 was less impressive for Bowdoin, allowing 6 runs in his 6 innings. Christian Beal ’21 paced the Bobcats offensively, going 4-4 with 2 RBI, while Jon Lindgren ’20 added on by going 3-4. Catcher Jack Arend ’20 drew 3 walks, bringing his season total to a league-leading 33. All in all, Bates captured game one with ease and therefore their playoff berth. Despite this, the Bobcats continued to pounce on Bowdoin in game 2. Nolan Collins ’20 concluded his terrific regular season with a 5-inning, 4-hit, 1-run effort, earning the win on the mound. As a team Bates collected 14 hits and 11 RBIs in game 2, bringing home a decisive 11-1 victory. Bowdoin finished out their year with a non-conference win on Sunday while Bates takes on #1 seed in the West Williams next weekend.

Tufts vs. Colby

While Tufts entered the weekend knowing that they had already clinched a playoff spot, they ended up needing one victory against Colby to clinch the #1 seed, and they decided to tack on one more for good measure. RJ Hall ’19 threw a complete game, giving up just one run in the first game of the doubleheader. Six different Jumbos collected RBIs in the game, highlighted by a 2-4 day including a single and a home run from Harrison Frickman ’19, as Tufts took the game easily, 10-1. In game two the foot wasn’t really let off the gas as Tufts held Colby to just 2 runs behind Aidan Tucker ’22 providing 8 innings, allowing just 1 run and striking out 4. Brandon Bay ’21 and Will Shackelford ’19 combined for 5 RBIs for the Jumbos as game 2 was taken by a score of 7-2. While the Colby Mules will not be back in action this season, their field will be. Tufts will be one of the 4 NESCAC teams traveling to Waterville this weekend for the NESCAC Baseball Championships. They’ll start by facing 2 seed in the West Middlebury on Friday.

Close to a Photo Finish: Stock Report 5/2

Our playoff picture has firmly come into focus headed into our final weekend. Following a riveting last set of games, highlighted by an incredible Tufts series win over Trinity, we have (finally!) been blessed by the scheduling gods with a terrific weekend of games to determine who will compete for a NESCAC crown. Let’s find out who’s feeling good and bad heading into the last regular season weekend.

Stock Up

Final Weekend Drama

The NESCAC baseball schedule and general competitive format has been a topic of much negative discussion around these parts, but I will give credit where credit is due. This weekend is set up to be an absolute thriller thanks to a touch of good fortune, most notably in the West. Middlebury and Amherst will square off, both at 5-4, while Williams (5-4) faces Wesleyan (4-5), with 4 teams all still in playoff contention going at it head-to-head. It’s fairly simple—the series winner of Middlebury and Amherst is headed to the postseason, that much is certain. The Williams and Wesleyan results will be a little muddier thanks to the tiebreakers. Wesleyan will be rooting for an Amherst sweep along with a sweep win of their own, in which case the 8-4 Mammoths and the 7-5 Cardinals would make it in. A Middlebury series victory could be promising for Wesleyan as well, given that they hold the tiebreaker over Amherst and Williams as well if they’re able to win at least two this weekend. A Williams series win puts them at 7-5 and into the tournament, which would be a massive achievement for this Ephs team. There are two scenarios that end in a three-team tie for second (Midd, Williams, Wesleyan OR Amherst, Williams, Wesleyan at 6-6). In the first case, the second playoff team would be decided by overall winning percentage as each team would be 3-3 against one another. The team that would go to the playoffs would be between Midd and Williams–It’d be Williams who would hold an extremely narrow advantage over the winning percentage. In the second case, Wesleyan would be in as they would have won series against both Williams and Amherst.

Bates’ Playoff Chances

I simply cannot believe the Bobcats might (and almost certainly will) pull this one off again. They have quietly put together a very nice season, even appearing in the last New England regional rankings. After sweeping Colby and receiving the good news that Tufts took two out of three from Trinity, Bates sits at 7-3 while Trinity is in the clubhouse at 8-4. The Bobcats need just one win on account of their series win versus the Bantams, and their last two games are against the 6-21-2 Bowdoin Polar Bears. After sneaking into the playoffs last year, they somehow might just do it again, barring a shocking turn of events versus their in-state rival this weekend.

JP Knight’s Clutch Gene

Are you kidding me?!? Tufts was down 6-5 in the ninth inning against Trinity in Game 2. The bases were loaded, but there were two outs. In fact, they were down to their last strike. But then OF JP Knight ’20 struck. He deposited a grand slam over the fence to give Tufts a 9-6 lead which they would hold and turn into the clinching of a NESCAC Tournament berth. It capped off a 4-4, 2 HR, 7 RBI day for Knight, who was this week’s Player of the Week and on the D3baseball.com national team of the week. Pretty damn good week if you ask me. It was perhaps a turning point for the Jumbos, who could’ve been looking pretty sticky at 7-3 heading into the final weekend. Instead it clinched their spot in the NESCAC tournament, and as we mentioned, could prove to be a dagger for Trinity.

Doug Schaffer’s Player of the Year Chances

I’ve been hesitant to talk about this as a fellow Eph, but with just three conference games left and with Williams well within striking distance to improbably make the NESCAC Tournament, it’s finally time to talk about Doug Schaffer ’19. The senior infielder started out white hot, and while the rest of the league waited for him to cool off, he simply refused to do so. He leads the league with a .455 batting average, and has 14 more RBI than anyone else with 45. The no home runs are a red flag I suppose, but does that really matter with the rest of the stats? I doubt it. Now, it would be tough to give the POY to a guy who doesn’t make the postseason, which is why this upcoming weekend series against Wesleyan is crucial. If Williams wins this series and heads to the postseason, Schaffer has my vote.

Stock Down

Morale in Hartford

There simply isn’t anything else to talk about at this stage in the game. For the second straight year it looks as if Trinity is going to inexplicably miss the NESCAC tournament. For the second straight year, you could make the case that the Bantams are the best team in the league, and they might find themselves watching at home. Last season they needed just one victory to clinch a postseason appearance in their final series at home against Bates, but they couldn’t get it done. This season they had Tufts down 6-3 to start the 9th and even down to their last strike in a game that would have clinched a playoff spot before JP Knight stepped in and put the Jumbos ahead. It was a quietly tough battle to begin with this year, especially after Trinity lost their series to Bates, but after Bates swept Colby to move to 7-3, it is seriously looking like a reality that history will repeat itself. Last year they were 7-5 and missed out thanks to some tiebreakers, and this year could feel even worse—missing out at 8-4. The Bantams will be the biggest Bowdoin fans alive this weekend, needing them to somehow find a way to take both games off Bates. If not, it happened again—somehow. For a team with this much talent who is able to do this much damage outside the NESCAC, it is really surprising that they, yet again, couldn’t close out the most important games of their season. Is this a result of a serious lack of clutch genes from the Bantams? Maybe. Is it because of poor coaching and questionably managed games? Probably. Whatever it is, something isn’t right. The question now just may be: is this irreversible damage to the confidence and psyche in Hartford?

Editor’s Note: Having said all that, however, Trinity still was ranked 3rd in the latest New England Regional Rankings, almost certainly giving them an at-large Pool C bid to the NCAA tournament. While it is highly unusual that a team that misses their conference tournament could make the NCAA tournament, the top four teams in the regional rankings always get bids to the tourney, so at least in this moment, the Bantams’ season will continue past next weekend.