Category: Williams

Time to Earn Your Stripes: Week 2 Weekend Preview

Ellis Schaefer ’17 leads the Wesleyan offense (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics/Jonas Powell).

NESCAC EAST

Bowdoin (6-9, 0-0) @ Bates (7-5, 3-0) – Waterville, ME – Friday, 3:00pm, Saturday 12:00pm and 2:30pm

Bates looks to continue their hot start in conference play after sweeping Colby last weekend, despite having a weak 4-5 out of conference record. The Bobcat staff has been sharp, especially returning starters Connor Speed ’18 and Anthony Telesca ’17, who have ERA’s of 2.18 and 1.80 respectively. Out of the bullpen, Justin Foley ’19 has asserted himself as one of Coach Martin’s reliable options pitching 10 innings in 4 appearances. Meanwhile, closer Matt Doyle ’17 has been shut down with 5.2 scoreless innings. However, for Bates to have a chance to win to this weekend’s series, their lineup must hit better than the .241 team average from the first 12 games. The lone standout bat for the Bobcats is outfielder John Dinucci ’17, who is hitting a clean .400 in 40 at bats. The power in the lineup comes mostly from Dan Trulli ’19 who has made his presence felt with 2 HRs already in the season. Overall, Bates must look to support their strong arms with run support to win the weekend series.

Bowdoin enters the weekend as the only team in the NESCAC East to have not played a NESCAC game after their out-of-conference double header at Amherst last weekend was postponed. The Polar Bears look to get a good start to what will inevitably be a competitive Division, especially as the season progresses. After having played 14 games with a 6-8 record, Coach Connolly proved to have confidence deep into his pitching staff. 9 of Bowdoin’s arms have thrown for 6+ innings, 6 of which have thrown 10. Additionally, in the 14 games, Connolly has slated 9 different starting pitchers. Underclassmen Brandon Lopez ’19 and Justin Schachter ’20 have stood out, undefeated in their 3 combined starts and both with ERA’s under 3. Out of the bullpen, Connor Rooney ’18 has thrown 6.2 innings while giving up only 1 earned run. This staff looks to continue its success against a struggling Bates lineup. However, Bowdoin’s lineup doesn’t look too much better. Cody Todesco ’19 leads the team in batting average at .346, but the bats around him haven’t put up much support. Everyday infielder Evann Dumont-LaPointe has been the Polar Bears’ most consistent hitter with a .295 average in a team-leading 44 at bats. Just like Bates, Bowdoin must rely on their pitching staff – especially its depth – in the weekend series. If the Polar Bear bats can score a decent number of runs, their staff should be able to lead them to a series win.

The weekend’s matchup between Bates and Bowdoin will likely be a low-scoring series. Each game will be a pitcher’s duel with Bates likely throwing their strong proven arms and Bowdoin continuing to use the different strengths of the entire staff. The key factor in this match up for both teams includes efficient hitting. The team that leaves less men on base will have a greater chance of taking this series.

 

Colby (3-11, 0-3) @ Trinity (9-8, 1-2) – Hartford, Connecticut – Friday, 3:00pm, Saturday 12:00pm and 2:30pm

Colby looks to avenge last weekend after getting swept by Bates. On the bright side for the team, however, is that the core upperclassmen bats are off to a hot start at the plate. Matt Treveloni ‘18, Ryder Arsenault ’17 and Andrew Della Volpe ’17 lead the team in batting average, all hitting .344 or better. Arsenault, leading the team with 49 at bats, has also shown the most power, hitting 4 doubles. Contrasting from Bates/Bowdoin, Colby’s pitching has been far from spectacular. Coach Plummer is still looking to find his third starter behind Brooks Parker ’19 and Bobby Forese ’18, and thus has started 5 other arms. Taking advantage of the opportunity is Roxbury Latin alum John Baron ’18 who has a 1-1 record after two starts and holds a strong 2.35 ERA. For Colby to compete with a tough Trinity team this weekend, their pitching staff must keep their opponents off the bases. The 24 walks that Colby’s pitchers tallied during their double header on Sunday is something that can be fixed, and if it is, Colby will fare much better on the mound. The Mules’ lineup has the potential to hit their way for a win or two, so the pitching staff just needs to do their part.

After dropping 2 of 3 games to a strong Tufts team last weekend, Trinity aims to bring its in-conference record to or above .500 with a series win against Colby. Nick Dibenedetto ’17 can certainly help them do that. After picking up where he left off last season, he is hitting a solid .407 with 19 RBI’s and 13 BB’s. Also off to a hot start is rookie catcher Alex Rodriguez (yes – that is his name) who has solidified himself as one of the top hitting catchers in the league early in his career. The rest of the Bantam bats have followed suit as 7 hitters are hitting above .300 with over 30 at bats each. This is all considering that Trinity faced the reigning pitcher of the year along with the rest of the strong Tufts staff last weekend. Offensively, this is a very talented team. The staff of the Bantams did not pitch to the same caliber as Tufts last weekend, however. After giving up 23 runs in the finale against Tufts, the team ERA is 6.22. Erik Mohl ’19 has been the most consistent arm for Coach Adamski, giving the team 19 innings in 10 appearances with a 3.32 ERA. However, Adamski seems adamant on maintaing a consistent set of starters, as 4 pitchers have 3 or 4 starts each compared to 3 for the rest of the staff combined. Trinity will put up runs, so if their staff keeps their opponent run total to a minimum, the Bantams will have a great chance to take a series win this weekend.

Contrasting the Bates vs Bowdoin series, this NESCAC match-up will be a shoot-out. Led by Dibenedetto, the Trinity offense look to continue their hot streak and put up high scores. Colby has the same game plan: rely on hitting. These high scoring games will depend on how effective each pitching staff can be. Whatever team can strand opposing runners on base will be victorious in this series.

 

NESCAC West

Middlebury (3-8, 0-3) @ Amherst (5-6, 0-0) – Amherst, MA – Friday, 4:00pm – Saturday 12:00pm and 2:30pm

While Middlebury did lose all 3 games of last weekend’s matchup to Williams, two of them were one run games. They look to put that in the past and put together a win in this series. A key player to help the Panthers do that is Jason Lock ’17. The senior has gotten off to an extremely hot start hitting .432 with 7 doubles and 19 RBI’s. Classmate Ryan Rizzo has also put together a solid start to the season with a .386 average, and Middlebury has also gotten help from rookie Justin Han ’20 who has taken on a starting role in the infield. The Middlebury pitching staff, on the other hand, has had a shaky at the start of this season. Coach Leonard has heavily relied on his starters throughout the first 11 games. Colby Morris ’19 has thrown a team leading 18.1 innings and is only one of four pitchers on the team with over 7 innings pitched. Middlebury’s arms will have to step up their game all around in order to win the series against a tough Amherst squad.

Amherst enters the weekend as the only team in the NESCAC West without an in-conference game. Unfortunately, the recently renamed Mammoths have compiled a 5-6 record, which is not quite up to their expectations. Despite hitting a phenomenal .358 as a team, the 6.17 team ERA has led the Amherst to a below .500 record. This incredible hitting is led by Ryan Hardin, who is hitting a clean .500 in 30 at-bats. However, don’t let his start take your attention away from 4 other players on the team – Anthony Spina ’17, Harry Roberson ’18, Yanni Thanopoulos ’17, Max Steinhorn ’18 – who are all hitting over .400. Roberson is also leading the league with 10 doubles. Even freshman catcher Severino Tocci has contributed to the hitting spree with a .381 average. These bats have gotten very little support from their pitching staff. However, Zach Horwitz ’20 has proved to be a bright spot in an otherwise underperforming bullpen. The rookie has pitched a team leading 13 innings with a 2.08 ERA. Additionally, Jackson Volle has continued his dominance with a 2-0 record in two starts and a 1.69 ERA. Behind Volle and Horwitz, the Amherst arms must keep the Middlebury offense in check to win this series, as the offense will continue to put up runs.

This series will come down to Middlebury’s ability to hit the back end of Amherst’s staff. The Panthers will need to keep up with Amherst’s power offense. However, if their starters pitch to their potential, Middlebury has a chance to compete for a series win. The series will come down to the ability of the pitching staffs to control the opponent’s offense.

 

Wesleyan (11-4, 2-0) @ Williams (8-2, 3-0) – Williamstown, MA – Friday, 4:00pm – Saturday, 1:00pm and 3:30pm

Wesleyan has gotten off to successful start with a 11-4 overall record and a 2-0 in-conference record (Saturday’s game against Hamilton was postponed). Their offense has continued its proven success with 7 bats hitting over .300, two of which have an average of over .400 – Danny Rose ’19 and Jonny Corning ’20. What is most impressive about this team feat is that 5 of these 7 players are only sophomores or freshman. Wesleyan also demonstrated power with Ryan Earle ’19 and Nick Miceli ’17 hitting 2 HR’s apiece. The Wesleyan offense looks like it will be powerful now and in the future. While the Cardinal offense is clearly doing well, their pitching staff makes a case for strength of the team. Miceli gets it done on the mound as well, leading the team with 4 starts and 23 innings pitched. However, Ethan Rode has been the star of the Wesleyan staff. He is 3-0, having pitched 21.2 innings with an astounding 0.83 ERA. The Cardinals also have the NESCAC Pitcher of the Week Mike McCaffrey who ranks third in the conference with 23 strikeouts.  Coach Woodworth has used his staff well, spreading out innings and building trust in his full staff. If Wesleyan continues their play into the weekend series, they have a good chance of coming out on top.

Williams, just like their opponent, comes in hot this weekend after sweeping Middlebury on their way to an 8-game winning streak after losing their first two games by a combined total of 3 runs. This streak shows that no matter the opponent, Williams has given themselves a chance to win. Leading the pack is Kellen Hatheway ’19 who hasn’t skipped a beat since last season, hitting a remarkable .488 so far in 2017. Like their opponent this weekend, the Ephs have 7 bats hitting over .300 with a team average of .343. One of those players is NESCAC Player of the Week Doug Schaffer, who went 5-8 with 5 walks which leads to a .769 OBP for the series. On the other side, Coach Barrale has shown confidence in his freshman arms. Sean Hager ’20, Kyle Dean ’20 and John Lamont ’20 have combined for 31.2 innings and have a cumulative 2.56 ERA. Dean leads the pack with a 0.90 ERA. Guiding these rookie pitchers are seniors Luke Rodino and Tyler Duff who have combined for another 30 innings themselves. Both look to continue their run as starters for the Williams team. Williams has the talent to compete with a tough Wesleyan squad, but their freshmen need to continue their success to do so. If this Williams team plays up to their potential, they can win the series.

This series will certainly be a close one. Both teams are hot and will be looking to keep their streaks going. The two sides have strong offenses and an efficient staff. All three games will likely be close and decided in the final innings. Wesleyan’s bats need to stay productive and their bullpen needs to be effective to win the series. On the other side, Williams’ underclassmen must continue their success to keep up with a tough Cardinal squad and take the series.

Goodbye to Hoops: Basketball Season in Review

Monday was the first day of spring. I know that the weather at many NESCAC schools begs to differ, but I promise you that it’s true. Spring is a melancholy time for sports fans. On the one hand it’s baseball season. As you might know from reading literally any article ever written about baseball, spring and baseball go hand in hand. Every play in baseball begins the same way; with a pitch. Every is redeemed, much like the deadened flowers are redeemed in the spring. And here at NbN our NESCAC baseball coverage has kicked off in a big way with Devin’s preview.

But in this early spring I’m thinking about the end of something; basketball season. This year of NESCAC basketball was in many ways unprecedented for the league. Not in my memory has there been such talent across the board. While there were obviously better and worse teams, every squad this season had at least a couple moments where they blended together and sang in that way that only basketball can create. At one point there were five NESCAC teams ranked in the national top 25, and those five teams all received bids to the NCAA tournament.

This was a very literary season. We had a tragic hero find redemption in Tuft’s Tom Palleschi, who went down with a brutal knee injury during his

Tom Palleschi recovered from an injury to lead Tufts in the NCAA Tournament

senior season before returning to lead Tufts to the Sweet Sixteen. We had a classic trilogy a la Lord of the Rings in Middlebury and Williams Rounds One, Two and Three. The final battle was one for the ages, a gritty war that featured unsung heroes (Bobby Casey ‘19,) star turns (Kyle Scadlock ‘19 looks like a POY favorite after his NCAA run) and several atrocious blown calls a lot of high quality basketball. Before fading down the stretch, Hamilton put the league on notice that they’re ready to make a run. They lose none of their main rotation, and Kena Gilmour ‘20 and Peter Hoffmann ‘19 are as deadly a one-two punch as there is in the league. Next year could be the year that they rise to the upper tier.

 

I could write one of these paragraphs about every team. That is the nature of NESCAC basketball this season and going forward; every team has SOMETHING that makes them worth watching. There’s a reason that Rory, Colby, me, Henry and all the other writers want to take time out of our diverse liberal arts college experiences to write about sports. Quite simply, it’s all interesting. But I will keep this briefer than that. Here are a few thoughts, feelings, way too early predictions and just general things I’m excited for from this season, and looking into next.

The Williams-Middlebury Rivalry is Real, Folks:

Kyle Scadlock ’19 and Matt Folger ’20 are the new faces of the budding Panthers-Ephs rivalry.

Both Williams and Middlebury will suffer huge losses come graduation. For Middlebury, Matt St. Amour, Jake Brown, Bryan Jones and Liam Naughton were the leaders of the team both on and off the court, and formed a back court that was unmatched in the country. Daniel Aronowitz and Cole Teal filled similar roles for Williams. Neither team will ever be able to fully replace theplayers they will say goodbye to come graduation.

But there is hope in Williamstown and Middlebury. Both teams balanced their experienced senior guard with dynamic young talent, particularly at forward. Matthew Karpowicz ‘20 for Williams is a future star at center, and Scadlock is maybe the league’s best talent at the forward spot. But Middlebury is loaded too. Eric McCord ‘19 and Nick Tarantino ‘18 became a dangerous duo this year, and Matt Folger ‘20 has First Team potential even as a sophomore. And better yet, all of these players will remember the games this year. Middlebury embarrassed Williams in the NESCAC final, and then Williams got their revenge in Pepin in the NCAA’s. Those wounds wont heal quickly, and we should be in for battles between the Ephs and Panthers for years to come.

The First Team Center Spot is Wide Open:

If you look throughout the league, the majority of the losses outside of Williams and Middlebury are big men. Tufts loses Palleschi, Bates loses both Delpeche’s, and Trinity loses Ed Ogundeko. This means that the door is ajar for new names to step forward as the beasts of the league. Early contenders would be Scadlock, Hoffmann and Joseph Kuo ‘18 of Wesleyan, but there plenty of darkhorses who could step up. McCord should get a lot of looks as part of Middlebury’s possibly less guard-oriented offense, and Williams has several young bigs who may make leaps. It will be fun to monitor who is stepping into those very big pairs of shoes.

Amherst Had Better Reload:

Amherst will need to replace a large portion of their core this off season.

The Purple and White are lucky in that they keep the dynamic back court of Jayde Dawson ‘18 and Johnny McCarthy ‘18. But in almost every other area they are significantly weakened. They lose their most consistent bench threat in Eric Conklin, as well as David George (center and defensive stalwart) and both their point guards. And unlike Middlebury and Williams, they did not have a lot of deeper bench players who showed the potential to fill their shoes. Amherst struggled all season with a lack of depth, and graduation will decimate that already thin bench. Amherst traditionally recruits well and has benefitted from transfers in the past. If they don’t do that quite as well this offseason, they run the risk of falling even further behind surging teams like Hamilton and Williams.

 

We’re Going to Miss NESCAC Basketball:

This one needs no explanation.

America’s Pastime Returns to the NESCAC: Baseball Season Preview

Tim Superko ’17 and the Jumbos look to defend their NESCAC title in 2017 (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics).

Editor’s Note: At this point, pretty much every NESCAC baseball team has had a chance to get out on the field and play some games (aside from Williams, who plays their season opener tonight). Devin Rosen is joining us for our NESCAC baseball coverage this spring, which is perfectly timed since we lose a couple writers, Colby and Rory, due to their roles on the Middlebury and Tufts baseball teams. The beginning of the NESCAC baseball season is always a mess for coverage since teams always try to cram as many games as possible into their spring breaks. Once NESCAC games roll around, we will be much more organized with our content. Until then, enjoy this preview of the NESCAC baseball season that Devin put together!

East

Bates

Ryan McCarthy ’17 is primed to lead Bates back to the playoffs this season (Courtesy of Bates Athletics).

Bates opens the season with new coach Jon Martin who comes from the head coaching position at Vassar College. He looks to turn last year’s 14-21 record (4-8 in conference) into a more productive season in 2017. Helping his transition at the leadership helm are senior captains Ryan McCarthy and Brendan Fox. McCarthy has been a three year starter in the outfield for the Bobcats, and 2016 Second-Team All-NESCAC shortstop Fox looks to continue his success after hitting .377 last season. The Bates rotation and bullpen returns most of its staff and is led by Connor Speed ‘18 who looks to open the season as Bates’ number one starter. Anthony Telesca ’17 adds to the returning rotation as well providing depth in the rotation. After a break out year last season, Connor Russell ‘18 aims to round out the Bates rotation. The strong core of returning players for Bates gives the Bobcats the potential to put up a strong fight in the NESCAC this year. In his first season in Lewiston, Coach Martin will have to use his returners to help him achieve a successful season. If Fox can lead the bats, then the solid pitching staff can keep Bates in contention in the competitive NESCAC East.

 

Bowdoin

Brandon Lopez ’19 (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics).

Bowdoin had a decently successful 22-14 campaign last spring, but looks to avenge their 4-8 in conference record this season. To do so, however, their pitching staff must fill in the spots of two now-graduated starters who combined for over 93 innings last season. Sophomore Brandon Lopez ’19 looks to be the number one guy for the polar bears after a solid freshman season as a starter. After him, however, it seems that Coach Mike Connolly will have to find a few arms out of the large junior class to eat up innings. Sean Mullaney ’17 aims to maintain his position as the team’s consistent top hitter after having a .304 average in 115 at bats last spring. Similar to the pitching staff, the young talent on this offense will have to step up in order to compete with the rest of the NESCAC. Bowdoin showed promise in their overall record last year and aims to replicate it both in and out of conference.

 

Colby

Brooks Parker ’19 (Courtesy of Colby Athletics).

Colby looks to turn their luck around after a disappointing season last spring. This task is made even tougher after graduating a First-Team All-NESCAC first baseman, Soren Hanson ’16, and a Second-Team All-NESCAC third baseman, Zach Ellenthal ‘16. Sophomore Andrew Currier looks to lead the way in doing so after posting a solid freshman spring which included 20 RBIs. The rest of the lineup will depend on hitting from other lower classmen. On the mound, the Mules graduated their number one starter, Hanson, and most reliable reliever, Tommy Forese. However, just like the lineup, young pitchers such as Brooks Parker ’19 and Will Cohen ’19 gained valuable experience in just their first spring. Look for Coach Dale Plummer to ride these young arms throughout the season while also depending on the more experienced juniors Dan Schoenfeld ’18 and Bobby Forese ‘18. Colby’s lineup and pitching staff took a hit from the most recent graduating class, but look for the young Mules to step up their game. Despite a smaller presence from the senior class, the underclassmen have the potential to compete with the top teams in the NESCAC after gaining a year of valuable experience.

 

Trinity

Brendan Pierce ’18 is off to a hot start for the Bantams in 2017 (Courtesy of Trinity Athletics).

Trinity enters the season having lost high caliber seniors from last spring including First-Team All-NESCAC catcher Scott Cullinane and Second-Team All-NESCAC outfielder Nick Pezzella, as well as their most reliable reliever Sam Jordan, all of whom contributed to a 7-5 conference record. The Bantams’ success in the NESCAC East earned them a playoff appearance, and they advanced to the NESCAC Championship game before losing to in-conference rival Tufts. Despite the talent lost, first baseman Johnny Stamatis ’19 is back after hitting .309 and earning a Second-Team All-NESCAC nod in his first college season. Another key returning bat is NbN writer and Trinity infielder Nick DiBenedetto ’17, who posted a .357 average last spring. On the other side of the roster stands Anthony Egeln Jr. ’18. He is the only returning consistent starter, but after posting a 4-2 record last spring, Egeln Jr looks to take over as the number one starter in the program. In order to keep up with the tough NESCAC East, Trinity’s young talent must replace last year’s seniors with some fluidity. The rotation’s consistency will make or break Trinity’s season as long as their bats heat up.

 

Tufts

The Jumbos are coming off a dominating performance after achieving the best season in school history. With an 11-1 in-conference record and 35-8 overall record, Tufts returns the core of its team. 2x First-Team All-NESCAC third baseman Tommy O’Hara ‘18 leads this stacked line-up along with captain First-Team All-NESCAC outfielder Harry Brown ‘17, who hit a team leading .397 average in 2016. Behind the plate, sophomore catchers Harrison Frickman and Eric Schnepf have a year under their belt after being thrusted into a timeshare of the starting role behind the plate as freshmen last season. In addition to a powerful line-up, Tufts returns most of its dominating pitching staff. Led by captains Speros Varinos ’17 and Tim Superko ‘17, the rotation looks to remain the best in the conference after posting a team ERA of 3.25, over a full run less per game than the second-best ERA in the league. Varinos, the reigning pitcher of the year, looks to best last year’s All-American performance, which included a 2.15 ERA and league-leading 79 strikeouts. He also tied fellow teammate, RJ Hall ’19 with a league-leading 7 wins. Additionally, our very own, Rory Ziomek adds depth to the staff. Tufts has the fire power to maintain their status as the best team in the league, and has their sights set on not only a NESCAC Championship, but a NCAA Regional Championship as well after coming up just short last spring.

 

West

Amherst

Harry Roberson ’18 is back and ready to help his team win the NESCAC Championship this year (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics).

Amherst looks to stay atop the NESCAC West this upcoming season, and the will jump on the back of First-Team All-NESCAC pitcher Jackson Volle ‘17, who had a league leading 1.79 ERA. The pitching staff aims to maintain its status as one of the best in the league, but we will have to wait to see who joins Volle atop the staff after losing a few arms to graduation. At the plate, Amherst returns two Second-Team All-NESCAC selections: shortstop Harry Roberson ’18 and outfielder Anthony Spina ‘17. Roberson had an impressive .336 average while Spina tied the league lead in homeruns with 6. Joining them in this impressive lineup are Ariel Kenney ‘18, who had a team leading 52 hits, and infielder Max Steinhorn ‘18. Outfielder Yanni Thanopoulos ’17 rounds out the lineup that hit a remarkable .316 as a group last year. Amherst has the potential to not only compete in the NESCAC, but to compete for its top spot. Volle gives them a consistently dominant starter while their lineup can hit any arm in the league. If Amherst plays up to their potential, look for them to stay atop the Conference.

 

Hamilton

Hamilton will try to knock off Wesleyan and Amherst in 2017 in order to reach the NESCAC Tournament (Courtesy of Hamilton Athletics).

Hamilton’s ferocious lineup from last season returns its top hitters, including First-Team All-NESCAC outfielder Ryan Wolfsberg ’17, who led the conference in slugging percentage (.645) to go along with a .418 batting average. Adding even more power to the lineup is Andrew Haser ’17, who was tied for the league lead with 6 homeruns last spring. The Hamilton pitching staff is forced to replace now-graduated pitcher Cole Dreyfuss, and first in line to do so are Spencer Vogelbach ‘18 and Dan DePaoli ’18. Look for these two juniors to eat up significant innings for Coach Byrnes. Rounding out the staff is Max Jones ’19, who threw 35.2 innings with a 3.53 ERA in his freshman campaign. Hamilton’s success will depend on its lineup and rotation performing up to their potential. The experienced pitching staff will have the chance to prove they can compete with the best of the NESCAC, and the returning Continental bats have the power to hit any arm in the league. If this occurs, Hamilton will be considered a force to be reckoned with in the competitive NESCAC West.

 

Middlebury

Colby Morris ’19 leads the Middlebury staff in 2017 (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics).

Middlebury enters the year looking to replace its key seniors from last season. However, plenty of now-sophomores including OF Sam Graf and SS Spencer Tonies, now have a year of experience to potentially improve their campaign from last season. Junior Brendan Donohue will also look to build off his .316 season in contribution to the Panthers season. Pitching, on the other hand, seems to be a plus for the Panthers both now and in the future. Sophomore starters Colby Morris (legendary NbN writer) and John Bunting led the team in innings last season, but with Bunting having transferred, Morris will be looked to to handle even more of the load. Seniors Dylan Takamori and Tucker Meredith additionally look to contribute to the strong staff. Last season Middlebury had a 6-6 in-conference record and aims to stand over .500 this season. To do so, Coach Mike Leonard will have to depend on his pitching staff, comprised of mostly returners. If the Panther bats can stay consistent, the rotation and bullpen can keep Middlebury relevant in the NESCAC West.

 

Wesleyan

Will O’Sullivan ’17 will lead the Cardinals offense this spring (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics).

The Cardinals look to repeat last year’s impressive 23-12 record along with winning the NESCAC West. Despite losing three senior bats hitting over .330, including the Player of the Year Marco Baratta, Wesleyan returns a dangerous lineup. Leading the way are two-way player Nick Miceli ’17, who is coming off a Second-Team All-NESCAC performance, and the Roxbury Latin groomed shortstop Will O’Sullivan, who hit a remarkable .370 last spring. Andrew Keith ‘19 proved his potential last season as well and looks to build on the success he enjoyed in 2016. On the mound, Wesleyan returns a solid core of three pitchers, including Miceli, who is joined by Ethan Rode ‘17 and Asher Young ‘17. These seasoned veterans should consume many of the season’s innings. Coach Mark Woodworth will ride his senior leaders throughout the season after they dominated the NESCAC West last spring. As long as his upperclassmen take charge, Wesleyan has the lineup and the rotation to compete for the NESCAC crown.

 

Williams

Luke Rodino ’17 will be in the running for NESCAC Pitcher of the Year once again this spring (Courtesy of Williams Athletics).

Williams aims to get over the .500 hump in NESCAC play this season, and if they do it, their efforts will be led by Second-Team All-NESCAC pitcher Luke Rodino ‘17. He is joined by fellow senior Tyler Duff ’17 as the leaders of the pitching staff. These two seniors look to guide Tom Benz ‘19, Jack Bohen ‘19 and Will O’Brien ‘19, all of whom contributed heavily during their freshman campaign. At the plate, Kellen Hatheway ’19 looks to build on a stellar first year in which he earned the NESCAC Rookie of the Year award after hitting .331 with 21 RBI’s and 24 runs scored. Joining him in the lineup are Adam Regensburg ’18 and Doug Schaffer ’18, as well as Jack Cloud ‘17, who all hit over .300. The freshmen, now sophomore class proved to have the potential to compete against the top teams in the NESCAC. This year for Williams baseball will be about how these sophomores, along with their other key returners, can perform after having last season to rebuild and come together as a group. Williams will use last year’s experience to give them a chance to improve on their record in the NESCAC.

Four’s A Crowd: Williams Final Four Preview (and Middlebury Love-Fest)

Before we get to the Williams Final Four preview, a couple thoughts on Middlebury’s terrific season, and the legendary careers of Jake Brown ‘17, Matt St. Amour ‘17, Bryan Jones ‘17 and NbN’s own Liam Naughton ’17. One of the hardest things about writing this blog is simply remembering that the players are students. The players that we laud, criticize and analyze every week have classes and friends and social stresses and just general college things going on in addition to the sports that we value so highly. I personally can’t imagine adding an intense sports schedule to my busy academic schedule (blogging, playing video games and eating onion rings,) and we have the responsibility to remind ourselves of that while writing.

Brown, Jones, Naughton and St. Amour led Middlebury to back to back NESCAC Championships, an Elite Eight run, and too many great moments to count.

But that is also one of the best things about writing this blog. NESCAC sports are a very tight knit community (as are NESCAC colleges in general) and it’s a thrill to write about people who are also your classmates and friends. This experience has been especially real for me in the last four years. I feel very blessed to have entered Middlebury at the same time as Matt, Jake, Bryan, and Liam even more blessed now to write about them, and simply to know them.

I want to single out Liam for a second. Like Bryan, he had the misfortune of entering in an incredibly strong guard class, and didn’t get a ton of minutes over the course of his first three seasons. But he never once let it get him down. He continued to work hard in practice, and was an incredible teammate for his whole career (his bench celebrations were a source of great joy for fans in the seats.) And this season he was able to provide valuable minutes off the bench when Middlebury’s guard rotation shortened up. Every team needs stars to win, but teammates like Liam are just as, if not more important.

The accolades for St. Amour and Brown have rolled in, and are deserved tenfold. Indeed, I can’t even open up my Facebook feed without seeing an article about a new award that Matt has won. But their success goes beyond awards. For four years they, along with Bryan (who had the bad luck of being in the best guard class in the country; he starts on every other NESCAC team) and Liam have represented Middlebury with flair, joy, and class. It’s been my pleasure to watch them and cover them, and it is my continued pleasure to know them.

*wipes a single tear from my eye*

Alright, on to the Ephs…Williams (23-8, 7-6, lost in NESCAC Final)

Turns out the Ephs’ blowout win over Middlebury in the regular season was not as much of a fluke as we thought. After losing to the Panthers in the NESCAC final, the Ephs took the rubber match last weekend in a game that showed just how much they have grown as a team throughout the year. Williams has always been a good shooting team, but early in the season if they weren’t hot from three, their defense wasn’t good enough to get them a win over a quality opponent. But that Williams team is long gone. Williams shot very well against Middlebury (49%, 40% from three,) but it was their defense that got them the ticket to Salem. The Ephs held Brown and St. Amour to 10-26 shooting (1-12 from three,) and held the Panthers to as a team to their lowest home scoring output of the season. Against Middlebury, Williams showed that they have everything firing on all cylinders, and are a real threat to win the National Championship.

Final Four Opponent: Augustana College Vikings (23-8, 11-5, lost in conference final)

Jacob Johnston ’17
(Courtesy of Augustana Athletics)

The Vikings are similar to Williams in that they have peaked in the NCAA tournament. Neither team won their conference final, but they both have put everything together to make a Final Four run. Augustana is led by their backcourt, with guards James Johnston ‘17, Chrishawn Orange ‘19 and Dylan Sortillo ‘18 leading the team in scoring. They seem to play at a very slow pace, only averaging 77 points on only 12.3 assists per game. The Vikings shoot a very high percentage from the field (48.5%) but don’t take many shots, and therefore have low rebounding numbers. Their team leader in rebounding is Johnston at 5.4, and the next highest number is 3.6. This is good news for Williams, as rebounding is their biggest weakness (the Panthers had 20 offensive rebounds last weekend, keeping them in the game.) Williams also defends the perimeter very well, so facing another team that relies heavily on their guards should be music to their ears.

Johnston seems to be the player to watch for Augustana. At 6’5” and 190 pounds, he has terrific size at the guard position. He is their leading rebounder and second leading scorer (5.4 and 12.7 respectively,) and certainly is the best match-up on paper for Daniel Aronowitz ‘17, Williams go-to scorer. With his size and rebounding ability, he will also play a critical role in stopping Kyle Scadlock ‘19, Williams’ best big man. Johnston will be the key to Augustana’s gameplan.

X Factor: Forward Kyle Scadlock ‘19

Kyle Scadlock
Kyle Scadlock ’19 (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

Speaking of Scadlock, he is the most important player for the Ephs tonight. Augustana, as every team must do against Williams, will try to run them off the three point line, and their slower pace could throw the Ephs off their rhythm. Additionally, they are a very deep team on the perimeter, giving them a lot of defenders to throw at Aronowitz, Cole Teal ‘17 and Bobby Casey ‘19. They do not have many defenders to throw at Scadlock. The Vikings are pretty big (they have four players over 6’7”) but not many of them play big minutes. And very few teams in the country have the versatility to keep up with Scadlock’s combination of size, quickness and skills. Scadlock’s assertiveness on offense has been a key to Williams’ run. He is averaging 17 points per game in their last seven, and his threatening inside presence opens up driving lanes and three point attempts for the guards. It is when he disappears and doesn’t look for his shot that Williams struggles. Scadlock has a great matchup tonight; if he shows up for it, Augustana is in trouble.

Other Teams in the Final Four:

#1 Whitman College Blues (31-0, 16-0, Won Conference Championship): vs Babson, 5:00 PM

Tim Howell
Tim Howell ’18 (Courtesy of Whitman Athletics)

As you can probably tell from their record, the Blues are the favorite to come out of this weekend as national champions. They are one of the most dynamic offenses in the country, averaging 91.8 points per game on 48% shooting. They seems to just be loaded up and down the roster with great scorers, rather than doing it with ball movement. They only average 12.5 assists per game, a shockingly low number for such a dynamic offense. They are led in scoring by National POY Candidate Tim Howell ‘18, who averages 20.4 points per game. Howell is an electric one on one scorer, and his skill off the dribble opens things up for his teammates. And they take advantage of those opportunities. Four other Whitman players score in double figures, including Jack Stewart ‘19, who shoots 42.3% from three. If you had to point to a weakness for the Blues it would be on the boards and at the foul line. Their rebound margin is only +1, a low number for such a dominant team, and they only shoot 64% from the line. But for 31 games in a row, neither of those things have mattered.

#3 Babson College Beavers (29-2, 14-1, lost to MIT in Conference Final): vs Whitman at 5:00 PM

Joey Flannery
Joey Flannery ’18 (Courtesy of Babson Athletics)

Babson spent much of the season as the number one team in the country before dropping due to their conference final loss. But like Stella, they’ve gotten their groove back in the NCAA tournament. They scored 102 points in their Elite Eight win over Keene State, shooting 61% from the field. Stopping Babson begins and nearly ends with stopping senior guard Joey Flannery ‘17. At 6’5” and 215 pounds, Flannery has the size to score inside, but is also a deadly outside shooter and ball handler. He averages 23.4 points per game and has proven himself to rise to the occasion in big games. He had 38 in their Sweet Sixteen win over Tufts. And as if that wasn’t enough, Flannery also averages 7.1 rebounds per game. But Babson isn’t a one man show. Junior guard Nick Comenale ‘18 averages 16 points per game on 42% shooting from three, and big man Isaiah Nelson ‘17 provides a valuable post scoring threat. Babson is one of the most well-rounded teams in the country. The Babson and Whitman game at 5:00 tonight should be a classic, I recommend checking it out before tuning in to Williams to support the NESCAC family.

The Rematch: Williams @ Middlebury Elite Eight Preview

Williams (22-8, 7-6) at Middlebury (27-3, 11-2): Pepin Gymnasium, Middlebury, VT 7:00 P.M.

What this means:

Throw out all of the statistics, the strength of schedule numbers, the bad losses, and the blowout wins. This is the Elite Eight and no matter how Williams and Middlebury got to this point in the season, they are in the NCAA quarterfinals on the road to the glory of a national championship. Expect a battle in Pepin tonight.

Williams and Midd are 1-1 against each other this year, and as Pete mentioned yesterday, the unwritten rules of pickup basketball dictate that there must be a rubber match. This is THE rubber match of all games. Both teams are coming off of relatively easy wins where they outmatched their opponents and haven’t been tested to this point in the tournament. These teams are a great match up for one another as Williams shot out of this world back in regular season NESCAC play to beat the Panthers, and Middlebury returned the favor to bring home the championship in Medford two weeks ago.

How They Got Here:

Jake Brown ’17 had his jump shot firing all cylinders against Endicott.

Coming off of stellar shooting performances from both Matt St. Amour ’17 and Jake Brown ’17, Middlebury looks to be firing on all cylinders as they head into the final stretch of the season. Their 4/5 rotations between Nick Tarantino ’18, Adisa Majors ’18, Matt Folger ’20, and Eric McCord ’19 has left other teams scrambling not knowing what combination of big men they are facing. McCord plays an aggressive, (sometimes out of control) game and Majors has a beautiful mid-range jumper and led the NESCAC in FG%, Tarantino is great at finishing near the rim and gets his share of offensive boards, and Folger has joined St. Amour and Brown as a splash brother with his ability to drain the long range shot. Middlebury has toppled Farmingdale St., Lycoming, and now Endicott, looking like a much better team than all three of their competitors. The closest game was surprisingly against Farmingdale as they won by just nine points after St. Amour shot just 5-18 from the field. He still added 18 points, but didn’t quite lock down the game like he did so well in both the rounds of 32 and Sweet 16. St. Amour has been playing out of this world, making Lycoming’s coaches exchange glances and shake their heads in disbelief after several of his plays. Against Lycoming, entering as the #15 team in the country, St. Amour was headed for the media table after forcing a turnover, scooped the ball with his left hand and threw it behind his back around the Warrior defender, hitting Jack Daly perfectly in stride for an and-1 basket, summing up the ridiculous nature of his senior season. The rest of the Panthers helped St. Amour out last night, shooting 41.9% from deep last night as a team. When they shoot that well, they are unstoppable.

Williams has several players who are threats from both long and short range. They have up and down shooting days but have been playing much closer to their season average recently, a big part of the process that

Kyle Scadlock ’19 has been a beast for Williams all tournament long, and traditionally gives Middlebury a lot of trouble.

has led to their deep run into the tournament. Mike Greenman was lights out last night, showing off his handles and draining contested threes all night, dishing it out to Kyle Scadlock and Daniel Aronowitz throughout the whole game. Aronowitz said after the game against Susquehanna that “when I was getting down low in the first half, my teammates were getting open on the perimeter,” showing how Susquehanna couldn’t stop the Ephs on both fronts of offense. Kyle Scadlock started getting more aggressive down low when Susquehanna’s center got into foul trouble, smartly recognizing the weakness that the big man was put into, unable to contest Scadlock’s shots. The entire Susquehanna defense was centered around stopping Scadlock, who added a triumphant turn around dunk in the second half. Despite the added attention Scadlock faced, he dropped 22 points for the Ephs. Williams offense has become multi-dimensional in this tournament.

What to Expect:

Williams survived some below average shooting numbers against Susquehanna (36.8% FG and 31.0% from deep.) Those numbers will have to improve tonight. Atypically for them, it was their defense that won them last night’s game. Ephs coach Kevin App said their defensive game plan last night was to stop the “back-breaking threes” from Susquehanna’s star point guard Steven Weidlich, who is comparable in style to Midd’s St. Amour. Now, I do believe that St. Amour has an edge over Weidlich, but the way St. Amour plays as a part of the Middlebury teams is similar to the way Weidlich played for his. Williams mixed up the man on man defense on the point guard all night, mixing in both big and small players, throwing Weidlich out of rhythm and unable to heat up from deep and

Jack Daly ’18 will again have to step up, as Williams will focus a lot of attention on St. Amour.

keep his team in the game late. The Ephs should use a similar strategy tonight, putting pressure on Jake Brown and Jack Daly to step up in place of the NESCAC POY. St. Amour is impossible to defend if he makes the contested shots like he did against Lycoming, but it’s better than leaving him open.

Middlebury took a 48-24 lead over Endicott to enter half time, and then came out on a 16-3 run to start the second half, finding a lead of 41 points at one point. They really weren’t tested at all in the round of 16, but did lose to Endicott earlier in the year after they were up 12 at the half on November 27th. This shows that not only did they make an adjustment this time around, but were just a far better team. Jake Brown scored 19 points last night, getting hot and attempting a few heat check threes from well beyond the arc, using the Middlebury crowd well as a momentum push for his team. The Middlebury crowds have been intimidating these past few weeks, and I wouldn’t want to be Williams heading into Pepin after having an easy go at it in terms of crowds last night. Williams brought a good fan section in their own right, not comparable to the home team, but should bring some good clean college back-and-forth banter throughout the night as the NESCAC final rematch takes place with bigger stakes this time—a ticket to the final four in Salem, VA on the line.

And So They Meet Again (Maybe): Williams and Middlebury NCAA Sweet Sixteen Preview

Every pickup basketball player knows the importance of the rubber match. If a team wins one game, and the opposing team wins the next one, it is a cardinal sin to not play that third game to determine the outright winner. No matter if you have work, class, or a hamstring that is closer to snapping than my mom when I forget to bring my dishes upstairs, you have to play the rubber match. This is the case in higher levels of basketball as well. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson met in the NBA Finals three times, with Magic taking the rubber match in 1987. Many NBA fans are praying that Lebron and the Cavs meet Steph and the Warriors for a rubber match this season. And on a smaller scale, Williams and Middlebury have a chance this weekend for a rubber match of their own. If they both win on Friday, they would match up in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, with bragging rights and a trip to Salem on the line.

Middlebury (26-3, 11-2, Beat Williams in the NESCAC Final)

Friday Opponent: Endicott (24-6, 15-3, lost in their Conference Final)

Kamahl Walker
Kamahl Walker ’17 (Courtesy of Endicott Athletics)

Middlebury has the rare chance this weekend to avenge two of their three losses. Williams of course blew out Middlebury in league play, but Endicott also bested the Panthers before league play. And the Gulls have the added honor of their win being in Pepin Gymnasium, a feat only they have accomplished in the last two years. Endicott was able to beat the Panthers at their own game; namely, guard play. Like Middlebury, the Gulls boast one of the best backcourts in the country. Max Matroni ‘17 and Kamahl Walker ‘17 combine for 32 points a game on the season, and have combined for 99 points in their two NCAA games. Against Middlebury Walker put up 28 and forced both Jack Daly ‘17 and Jake Brown ‘17 into foul trouble. Endicott is one of the only teams in the country who has a backcourt that can give Middlebury guards a run for the money. Expect them to go at Daly and Brown (who will likely start the game on Walker and Matroni) early and attempt to again get them on the bench with fouls.

Endicott also attacked Middlebury on the glass. Daquan Sampson ‘17 was able to roast the Middlebury big men to the tune on 19 points and 14 rebounds. The Gulls outrebounded the Panthers overall 40-31 and had 12 offensive rebounds. Endicott matches up well with Middlebury because their team is constructed in a similar way. They have an excellent backcourt who drive the team on both ends of the floor, and the big men are effective role players who benefit a great deal from terrific guard play.

X-Factor: Eric McCord ‘19 (and the new big men)

Eric McCord
Eric McCord ’19 (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)

Middlebury’s biggest improvement since that loss to Endicott is in the front court.When the two teams last met, Zach Baines and Adisa Majors ‘18 dominated the minutes at the two forward spots. Eric McCord ‘19  and Nick Tarantino ‘18 combined to play 19 minutes and went 1-6 from the floor. Baines’ transfer has allowed McCord and Tarantino (as well as Matt Folger ‘20 and Majors off the bench) to flourish into one of the deepest frontcourt rotations in the country. McCord in particular has blossomed, and should play a pivotal role in Middlebury’s game plan. Sampson and the rest of Endicott’s bigs are long, but they are not extremely strong, and Sampson in particular spends a considerable amount of time on the perimeter. McCord has become an effective scorer and passer in the paint, both playing off of a two man game with one of the guards or one-on-one. There is mismatch on the block that the Panthers didn’t have the personnel to exploit earlier this season. But the team is constructed differently now, and is far better suited to beat the Gulls down low if the guards play each other to a draw.

How They Lose:

We already have a blueprint for how Middlebury loses this game. Daly and Brown get into foul trouble, forcing St. Amour to expend more energy on defense chasing around either Matroni or Walker. Matroni or Walker take

Matt Folger ’20 rises up against Lycoming.

advantage of this and go off. And the Endicott bigs use their length and athleticism to terrorize the Middlebury bigs on the boards. Sampson also uses his quickness to draw McCord or Tarantino out of the paint and create driving lanes and putback opportunities. Both teams have seen that this can happen. We will see on Friday if Middlebury’s new look will prevent it from happening again.

 

Williams (21-8, 7-6, lost to Middlebury in the NESCAC Final)

Friday Opponent: Susquehanna (23-5, 11-3, lost in Conference Semifinals)

Steven Weidlich
Steven Weidlich ’17 (Courtesy of Susquehanna Athletics)

The rare team to make the Sweet Sixteen after not even making their conference championship, the River Hawks have been on something of a Cinderella run here in the NCAA tournament. They beat Eastern Connecticut State 72-67 in the round of t32, a team that beat Trinity and Amherst earlier in the season. Susquehanna is top heavy scoring wise, as the duo of Steven Weidlich ‘17 and Ryan Traub ‘18 combine to average 38 points per game (21 and 17 respectively.) No one else on their team averages more than seven. Weidlich is a Matt St. Amour type perimeter threat. A dangerous outside shooter, he connects on 39.5% of his threes and 45% of his field goals overall. However, he is also very versatile, averaging 5.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. Daniel Aronowitz ‘17 is Williams best perimeter defender (as well as best everything else) and will likely start the game on Weidlich. If he gets in foul trouble, the Ephs can be left with very few guys who create their own shots.

 

Traub is a very effective frontcourt partner for Weidlich. At 6’7” and 230 pounds, he is a load underneath and creates match up problems for
Ryan Traub
Ryan Traub ’18 (Courtesy of Susquehanna Athletics)

Williams’ series of skinny big men. He is also tremendous around the rim, shooting 57.4% from the field. He can step outside the arc (40% in a limited sample size,) and anchors a defense that only allows 41% shooting to opponents on the season. Williams three point heavy attack is not conducive to defensive struggles, therefore Susquehanna matches up well with the Ephs. Weidlich and Traub will try to occupy Aronowitz and Kyle Scadlock ‘19, while the rest of the River Hawks run the Ephs off of the three point line.

X Factor: Mike Greenman ‘17

Mike Greenman
Mike Greenman ’17 (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

As I mentioned above, Aronowitz and Scadlock, Williams’ two most important players, will both likely have difficult defensive assignments. Therefor Williams will at times need someone else to create shots for themselves and others. That is where Greenman comes in. The senior point guard can be an electric scorer (see his 7-9 three point shooting performance against Becker in the first round,) and can be an effective passer (11 assists last round against Scranton.) If Susquehanna tries to slow the game down and pound the ball into Traub, Greenman will be largely responsible for keeping Williams’ pace and energy up without turning the ball over. He has played two of the best games of his career in this tournament, largely explaining Williams impressive blowout wins in the first two rounds. He will be just as important in this game, and maybe even more so.

How They Lose:

Daniel Aronowitz ’17 shoots against Scranton.

NESCAC fans have seen throughout the season how Williams loses. If they are not hitting threes, they generally don’t win. The three point shot is the key to everything the Ephs try to do on offense. It opens up driving lanes for Aronowitz and Scadlock, post ups for big men off the bench like Michael Kempton ‘19, and it forces defenders to overplay on the perimeter, opening up the backdoor cuts that killed Middlebury during their regular season loss to Williams. The Ephs simply don’t have enough shot creators to overcome a shooting slump. Aronowitz is a terrific player but his burden is at times too great, and Scadlock is prone to disappearing in big spots. Their game becomes something of a “Chuck and Run” style, with contested threes being taken too quickly. Williams lives by the three and dies by the three, and living has been very good lately. Let’s hope it continues into Saturday, because, as all basketball fans know, there’s nothing better than a rubber match.

They Did What They Needed To Do: Williams NCAA Tournament Opening Round Preview

Williams (19-8, 7-6)

(Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

Williams was on a real hot streak until they ran into Middlebury. They toppled Amherst and Tufts, both NCAA tournament teams, and then lost to the #6 team in the country—not exactly a surprise. What this means is that they have a real shot at making a run, and their recent performances against top competition bodes well heading into the tournament. Playing in their home gym this weekend should help, and the thrills of a late season run leading to an at-large bid have the Ephs changing into their best dancing shoes. It’s finally March, after all.

 

How They Got Here

Of course a 5-5 league record reached by a late season run means Williams really started off slowly. After back-to-back losses to Bowdoin and Hamilton, the Ephs finished 7-3 to earn the trip to the tournament. With some pretty discouraging losses, Williams needed every win along that stretch, as the committee saw their victories against Middlebury, Tufts, Amherst and Wesleyan (all tournament teams) as pretty impressive. After all, the Ephs went 4-2 against ranked NCAA tournament teams in the last month of the season – they deserved to get a shot at the national title. Kyle Scadlock and Daniel Aronowitz put up big numbers last weekend, coming in clutch with 19 boards and 33 points combined against Tufts. The peak of the Williams style of play was reached against Midd on January 22 when they spread the ball around and were able to work as a cohesive unit. They out-rebounded Middlebury 43-25, giving themselves a big advantage in ball control. With Aronowitz and Scadlock both playing big roles in the rebounding department, Williams often holds the ball longer than opponents, but shooting is their wild card. Of late, they have been hovering around their season average of 46.1% field goal shooting which is second in the NESCAC to Middlebury. They shot nearly 60% FG and 50% from three against the Panthers on January 22 though, and if they put up some of those numbers, they will win any game.

 

How They Lose

When Williams shoots like they did against Middlebury the first time they played, they are unbeatable. However, if they shot 48.1% from deep in that game and were at 33.6% beyond the arc on the season, they must’ve had some duds to regress their total back to earth. In their blowout loss against Tufts, the Ephs still shot 46.8% FG but just 32% from deep, not terrible, but chucking up 25 threes gave the Jumbos too many easy possessions. They led the NESCAC in 2017 with 735 threes attempted, but were just tenth in efficiency. When the Ephs try to replicate their three point success from January 22, they are vulnerable to quick runs from opponents. They need to rely on their ability to get to the rack, an area where they don’t lapse nearly as often. This will give them more of a possibility for second chance points.

 

The Competition

Becker College Hawks (19-8, 15-3)

Kyle Credle (Courtesy of Becker Athletics)

Becker had a great conference record, but limped to a 4-5 record against teams not in the NECC conference. They don’t have any common opponents with Williams, but Becker went 1-2 against Southern Vermont, a team that went 1-2 against NESCAC opponents this season. Becker also got blown out by Babson 91-57, again not a shock because the (at the time) #3 team in the country was a huge favorite, but Williams competed against teams of similar stock. Becker also doesn’t have any wins against teams that received votes or are in the top 25, while Williams has five. Becker’s strength of schedule is much weaker than that of the Ephs, and they wouldn’t have made the tournament without the NECC conference crown. Obviously with such little similarities between the Hawks and a NESCAC team, Williams can’t sleep on them, so here’s a little bit about who they are: Sophomore Kareem Davis was just named NECC tournament MVP and averages 17.0 PPG, shoots 41.1% from deep (about 10 PPG from that range), and averages 3.1 REB/G, 3.7 AST/G, and 1.1 STL/G. Kyle Credle, the team’s point guard, is the senior leader of the team and gets buckets, good for 18.2 PPG with 3.9 AST/G. Samuel Durodola is the best player on the court as he scored 19 per game and hauls in 10.7 REB/G. Durodola also has put up a handful of games with 28-34 points, so the Ephs need to be aware of his ability to go off. Williams will need to use their length to body up Durodola – he is just 6’4’’ and is the biggest man on the Hawks’ roster.

 

Oswego State (21-6, 15-3)

Brian Sortino (Courtesy of Oswego State Athletics)

Each team on the other side of the bracket is much stronger than Becker. Oswego State just won the SUNYAC regular season and postseason, and are ready to make a run here in March. They received ten votes for the NCAA top 25 on February 27th (Williams received 20 for reference) and were 1-1 against NESCAC opponents, albeit in Colby and Hamilton—not exactly the top of the league. Brian Sortino is their leading scorer with 21.6 PPG. The senior point guard can really light it up when he gets hot, and he could easily match Williams’ Scadlock or Aronowitz in a second round matchup. Just recently, Sortino went off for 48 against Buffalo State. Additionally, he dished out 4.6 AST/G. The offense runs through Sortino, whether he’s scoring or just being a playmaker. Jameer Ferebee and Ian Schupp are the next leading scorers for Oswego, tallying 12.5 and 12.3 PPG, respectively. Their big rebounder is Mykelle Krecko who brings in 9.6 boards per game. He has played limited minutes lately, but he can really get going when given the opportunity. The 6’10’’ big man is at his third school in four years and seems to finally be settling in with the Lakers.

 

Scranton (21-6, 11-3)

John Vitkus (Courtesy of Scranton Athletics)

Scranton, like Oswego, received 15 votes in the top 25 last week and they look like a pretty even matchup for the Ephs if the two end up facing each other. Earlier in the year, they beat Cabrini (who is in the Middlebury regional), beat Emory (in the Texas Lutheran regional), beat #17 Susquehanna twice, and lost to #11 Neumann. Their strength of schedule certainly rivals that of a NESCAC team. The Royals have experience against strong opponents, and they have experience winning. They just took home the Landmark conference tournament title to give them an automatic bid, and they’re ready to keep up their streak. John Vitkus led the team with 16.9 PPG and 8.3 REB/G, and is very dangerous on the block. The senior center is a long 6’9’’ and is very consistent offensively, putting up double digit points in all but two games. Their second leading scorer and point guard, Ethan Danzig, is a sharp shooting threat. Although he only scores 12.1 PPG, he drains 43.8% of his three pointers so opposing defenders cannot leave him open on the perimeter. The Scranton team will be a tough opponent for anyone they face. They are well balanced just like Williams, and they are battle tested. Williams would be put to the test against the Royals if they played them in round two on Saturday.

NESCAC Tournament Roundup

Middlebury ran through the NESCAC tournament en route to their second straight NESCAC title (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)

Williams at Tufts:

The Ephs kept their late season magic going against the Jumbos in a David (Aronowitz ‘17 and Kyle Scadlock ‘19) meets Goliath matchup in Medford, MA. Williams played just like they did against Amherst the weekend before – they put up solid, yet repeatable shooting numbers (46.8% FG, 32.0% 3-point, and 71.4% FT) which allowed them to build a steady lead in the second half. Tufts shot just 37.3% FG in this semifinal with their five starters going 11-34 from the field and 4-18 from deep, significantly worse than their bench. Everett Dayton ‘18, Vinny Pace ‘18, and Drew Madsen ‘17 were stopped from putting up any real rebounding numbers while Scadlock and Aronowitz ran the floor effectively for the Ephs. The Jumbos got away from their game plan as a result of their poor shooting, as just three players were able to score in double-digits. This came in stark contrast to the recently balanced Jumbo offense. Mike Greenman was able to do what the Jumbos couldn’t and controlled the offensive side of the ball for the underdogs with nine assists, a key to Williams’ success. High percentage shots stemmed from their balanced and efficient attack, and five Ephs tallied double-digit points as a result. Williams built their lead in the second half, and a quick three by Greenman with 3:58 to go put the Williams lead out of reach. While this game appeared to be a bit one sided, it was tied at 65 with 4:23 to go. Isn’t that exactly how many points Tufts scored? It is. Williams ended the game on a 16-0 run, capitalizing on free throws and protecting the ball. Tufts, on the other hand, finished the game on an 0-8 shooting run (including free throws). It’s definitely concerning for the Jumbos that they couldn’t muster any sort of last minute comeback in their home gym in a playoff game, but maybe Tom Palleschi ‘17 will be able to change that. Early in the season there is no question that Tufts was the top dawg in the NESCAC, as beating Middlebury didn’t surprise anybody. However, they limp into the NCAA tournament off of a loss without any guarantees from their star senior Palleschi. Palleschi played eight minutes against Williams, the first action he’s seen since January 20th. If he can return to form and play significant minutes his defensive presence will be a huge upgrade for the Jumbos.

 

Trinity at Middlebury:

Matt Folger ’20 pulls down a rebound (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics).

Double-teaming Ed Ogundeko ‘17 was Middlebury’s formula to beating the Bantams. It worked. Ogundeko was forced to shoot without a clear look at the basket and couldn’t do enough with the ball when he had it. His 1-11 shooting left Trinity without any hope, as Eric McCord ‘19, Nick Tarantino ‘18, and Adisa Majors ‘18 played tough basketball to grind out a win. Unlike most Trinity games, Chris Turnbull ‘17 and Eric Gendron ‘18 shot well and carried the Bantam offense, which usually would spell out a big win for this team, but without the addition of Ogundeko’s ~17 PPG average, there was a big piece missing. Majors’ nine boards, McCord’s five, and Tarantino’s eight were enough to give the Panthers a presence down low that was willing to scrap for every possession. McCord plays dangerously at times, often making unnecessary foul (he had four on Saturday), but it was just the right style of play to slow down Ogundeko, who is used to having his way with NESCAC opponents. Matt St. Amour ‘17 did his thing, and even though he only had 18 points (haha, only), he shot the ball efficiently. Jake Brown ‘17 had the chance to shake off the rust from his recent spell on the bench with ankle injury. Brown came back in full force, competing for 31 minutes and getting his feet wet before the championship. Matt Folger ‘20 was huge off the bench for Midd as the first year Panther went 4-4 from the field and 3-3 from deep, totaling 11 points. For Trinity, Turnbull’s 23 points were the most he had scored since November 22nd. While the senior did everything he could to carry the Bantams in the big anomaly of a game for Ogundeko, it would turn out to be his last college performance. While it was a tough last game for Ogundeko, he still led the league in REB/G this year, averaged a double-double, and finished in Trinity’s top ten all-time for rebounding. What a career. For Midd, the fun was only just beginning.

 

Williams at Middlebury:

 

There’s no question that Williams kept their magic going into Sunday’s contest as they took a quick lead on the favored Panthers. In fact, a four point Williams lead and just three points out of Matt St. Amour at the half would’ve shocked anybody. Kyle Scadlock lit up the scoreboard for 15 in the opening frame, shooting 6-7 from the field and 3-3 from the charity stripe, with James Heskett ‘19 going 3-3 FG and 2-2 from deep en route to a perfect eight points. Scadlock added ten first half rebounds, enough to carry the Ephs to a 40-36 early lead that gave them hope that they could put a ring on after the season. Unfortunately for the Ephs, they weren’t able to hold off St. Amour the whole game, as this game was a tale of two halves. In fact, St. Amour went off in the second half and you wouldn’t even be able to tell he started off slowly unless you took a closer look at the box score. St. Amour dropped 17 after the break, going 6-9 in FGs and 4-7 in 3’s. Scadlock still put up a solid nine points in the second, but only had one rebound as Williams got dominated in the paint. Seven Panthers had three or more rebounds in the second half compared to just two for Williams, leading to a 26-13 boards advantage for Midd. Midd took 11 more shots in the second half and Williams shot to the tune of a terrible 20.0%. While the underdogs came out firing, their cinderella story came to an end. Middlebury simply couldn’t be held back for a whole 40 minutes. The 48-22 line in the second half shows what kind of team Middlebury is—which bodes well for the Panthers heading into the NCAA tournament. Those games always seem to come down to the final seconds. Clutch is the name of the game and Williams couldn’t keep it going throughout the contest.

 

With that being said, Williams played well enough to earn them an at large bid, along with three other NESCAC teams: Amherst, Tufts, and Wesleyan. Winning the NESCAC earned Middlebury the conference’s automatic bid. Five teams from one conference are in the NCAA tournament. That is an absurd number of NCAA tournament teams from the NESCAC. Five teams is nearly half of the conference. There are only 64 teams in the tournament so therefore the NESCAC makes up just under 8% of the bracket. Talk about conference depth. It’s time to go dancing.

2016-2017 Men’s Basketball All-NESCAC Team

Ed Ogundeko ’17 is an absolute powerhouse down low (Courtesy of Trinity Athletics).

After a wild stretch of upsets (pretty much all at the hands of Williams), the NESCAC tournament wrapped up this weekend. However, the All-NESCAC selections are chosen based on a season worth of play – not just one game, not just the playoffs, not just team success. Individual players who rose to the occasion again and again are those most deserving of All-NESCAC honors, not players who rose to an individual occasion. Some teams have clearer leaders than others, while some are just stacked with players in the running for All-Conference recognition. At the end of the day, way more than the following 10 players could be considered All-NESCAC performers, but that’s exactly why receiving the honor is so prestigious. Pete and I came up with the following list together. Some disagreement definitely occurred in our discussion of who to select, but ultimately, our lists were nearly identical. So, here it is – the most official All-NESCAC list you’ll ever read!

 

Player of the Year

Trinity Center Ed Ogundeko ‘17 – 16.6 PPG, 11.5 REB/G, 1.5 BLK/G

For the second year in a row, I believe that the NESCAC POY honors should go back to Hartford. Shay Ajayi ‘16 deserved the award pretty clearly last season, and his old teammate Ogundeko has taken the reigns this year as the leader of the team. Big Ed is a beast, that much we can all agree on. But did he perform POY well? There’s certainly an argument to be made for Middlebury’s Matt St. Amour, and maybe even one for Williams’ Dan Aronowitz, but at the end of the day, Ogundeko deserves this. While Trinity only ended at 16-10 (6-4 in conference), without Ogundeko I don’t even think the Bantams are a .500 team. He is the glue that keeps them together, and without a doubt he was the best big man in this league this year. His 11.5 REB/G lead the NESCAC, and also make him the only NESCAC player to average double figures rebounding the ball. Ogundeko also averaged 16.6 PPG overall and 18.5 PPG in conference play, showing the ability to step up whenever his team needed it. That being said, he kind of folded in the NESCAC tournament, scoring just 8 against Wesleyan and a meager 3 points against Middlebury, which is why Pete and the rest of Panther Nation is going to kill me for giving this to Ogundeko instead of St. Amour. However, as I said above, these awards are based on a culmination of play over the course of the season, not just a couple games. Without Ogundeko, the Bantams are an average team at best – he makes them one of the toughest teams in the league to play, and that’s why he deserves this award.

 

Defensive Player of the Year

Bates Center Malcolm Delpeche ‘17 – 13.2 PPG, 8.8 REB/G, 3.1 BLK/G

Though it took him until his senior year to finally realize his potential, I think that Malcolm Delpeche finally showed everyone in the league what all the hype was about. In true rim protector fashion, Malcolm led the league in blocks, and he did it pretty handily. In 24 games, the lanky senior swatted 74 shots. Amherst’s David George ranked second with just 53 blocks. Malcolm was the Bobcat that made opponents fear the paint, and a big reason that Bates was able to pull off their biggest upset of the season when they dominated Tufts in Lewiston. To add to his resume, the first of the two Delpeche twins (I have no idea whether Malcolm or Marcus is the elder twin) averaged an astounding 8.8 REB/G, good enough for fourth in the league. Malcolm Delpeche made his presence felt throughout the season, and he was a huge reason that the Bobcats were as good as they were this season.

 

Rookie of the Year

Hamilton Guard Kena Gilmour ‘20 – 12.0 PPG, 3.8 REB/G, 0.7 AST/G

Kena Gilmour made a splash on the second-highest scoring team in the NESCAC this season. It didn’t take the freshman long to become accustomed to the college game; while Gilmour didn’t score in Hamilton’s opener (he played just 8 minutes), he then went on to score 16, 15 and 26 in their next three games, all of which the Continentals won. Overall, Gilmour averaged 12.0 PPG, but he actually stepped up his production a bit in conference play, dropping 13.3 PPG in NESCAC play. These rates were good for 19th and 12th in the conference respectively, but if you look at another interesting stat, you can see how explosive a scorer Gilmour truly is. Due to his minutes, which were hampered a bit by his youth and the fact that he was coming off the bench, Gilmour’s overall scoring totals weren’t as impressive as I am trying to make them sound. However, if you look at Gilmour’s scoring in terms of Points per 40 minutes, he ranks third in the conference, trailing only the two leading scorers, St. Amour and Jayde Dawson. Assuming the same rate of scoring, Gilmour would drop an average of 26.4 points in 40 minutes. This kid is a weapon, and one that will certainly sniff some All-NESCAC Honors as he matures.

 

Coach of the Year

Middlebury Coach Jeff Brown

It’s pretty difficult to write about the Coach of the Year, especially since I don’t have stats to fall back on for information. However, looking at the easiest stat to judge a coach by, Middlebury is 24-3. That is pure dominance. They had just one non-conference loss, and the two conference losses came to the top-seed in the NESCAC tournament and the NESCAC tournament runner up. That’s pretty damn good. Oh, and I guess they won the NESCAC tournament too – not bad, Midd, not bad at all. What’s most impressive to me is that having a preseason All-NESCAC candidate (Zach Baines) transfer midway through the season didn’t slow down the Panthers at all, and I think that Coach Brown is largely responsible for that. It’d be very easy for a team to fall into a slump after facing that kind of adversity, but the Panthers did not falter, they thrived. A gut-wrenching loss to Tufts over winter break set the stage for a second straight Middlebury NESCAC Championship run, and after their worst loss of the year to Williams, the Panthers went on to win 11-straight to accomplish that task. Hands down, Coach Brown deserves Coach of the Year recognition.

 

First Team

Amherst Guard Jayde Dawson ‘18 – 19.1 PPG, 3.8 REB/G, 2.5 AST/G

Jayde Dawson could be my most controversial pick for first team, especially due to the Jake Brown fan club that hawks this page waiting for a chance to pounce. I know the critiques – he is a volume scorer, he’s out of control at times, and he is inefficient. Even if those are all true (which I’m not saying I agree with all of them completely), he’s a stud. Having played Dawson in high school, I never wanted to believe that he was that good, but his 19.1 PPG/19.7 PPG in conference speaks for itself. Does he take a lot of shots? Yes. But Dawson also makes a lot of shots. He shoots 41.3% from the field and 36.4% from the three-point line. He also had a handful of buzzer beaters, including one against Babson that handed the #1 ranked Beavers their only loss of the season. Amherst is really a two-headed monster this year featuring two prolific scorers in Dawson and Johnny McCarthy. If you take Dawson out of the equation, Amherst is a much, much different team, and I would argue that they are much, much worse. For you Middlebury fans, this is the difference between Dawson and Brown. You take Brown off of Middlebury, they’re still in the NESCAC finals. You take Dawson off, they aren’t even hosting the quarterfinals. Overall, Dawson is a dynamic guard that can get to the rim consistently with a streaky three-point shot. He is well-deserving of First Team All-NESCAC honors.

 

Middlebury Guard Matt St. Amour ‘17 – 22.0 PPG, 4.7 REB/G, 3.0 AST/G

Though I snubbed him on my pick for Player of the Year, there is no question that St. Amour is a First Teamer. He led the league in scoring, and is the only NESCAC player to average over 20 a game (he averaged 22.0 PPG). One reason that he was able to score so much is that St. Amour was able to do a ton of damage from the perimeter. He hit the most threes with 103 on the season (and counting), and shot the 4th highest three-point percentage in the conference. Another truly impressive stat is that St. Amour played the third most MIN/G this year, highlighting his durability and consistency. Coach Brown was always able to count on St. Amour. He hasn’t scored under 10 points in a game since December 7th, and he averaged 24.0 PPG in the NESCAC tournament. St. Amour is a beast, end of story. He will do damage in the NCAA tournament.

 

Williams Guard Dan Aronowitz ‘17 -17.2 PPG, 6.1 REB/G, 2.0 AST/G

Aronowitz was my preseason pick for POY, and though he did perform at a POY level, he was darn close. After a season of ups and downs for the Ephs, the senior rallied the troops in the NESCAC tournament and pulled off back-to-back upsets over the three-seed Amherst and the one-seed Tufts. Against Williams’ bitter rival Amherst, Aronowitz led the team in scoring with 22 points on 8-18 shooting, following that up with 13 points against the Jumbos. Evidenced by his 8 rebounds against Tufts in the NESCAC semis, Aronowitz was willing to do anything he could to help his team win. His 6.1 rebounds were just behind forward Kyle Scadlock, who led the Ephs on the boards, and Aronowitz was constantly battling for loose balls, diving on the floor, and defending the best opposing players. Even on days when his shot wasn’t falling (which were few and far between), Aronowitz found a way to contribute. Easy pick here.

 

Bates Center Malcolm Delpeche ‘17 – 13.2 PPG, 8.8 REB/G, 3.1 BLK/G

This was a tough pick for me because his brother had such impressive numbers as well, but it was Malcolm’s defense that really earned him the First Team nod here. If you want to hear me rave about his defense, read the blurb above on Malcolm’s DPOY title, but let’s discuss his offense for a second. Without much of a jumper, Malcolm relies on banging around down low for most of his points. He gets a lot of put back opportunities because he gets great position on the offensive boards, and he has his rank of 7th in the conference in offensive rebounds to show for it. The Bobcats, in my opinion, performed well over their heads at times this year. Malcolm was consistently effective and had a huge part in Bates earning a playoff berth.

 

Trinity Center Ed Ogundeko ‘17 – 16.6 PPG, 11.5 REB/G, 1.5 BLK/G

Again, I’ve said pretty much all there is to say about Ogundeko above. I hope (though I don’t have much faith) that Trinity did enough to earn an NCAA bid, because I really want to watch Ogundeko play a few more games. The selection show is on now, so we will see!

 

Second Team

Middlebury Guard Jake Brown ‘17 – 12.2 PPG, 2.9 REB/G, 6.2 AST/G

Tufts Guard Tarik Smith ‘17 – 13.0 PPG, 3.1 REB/G, 3.5 AST/G

Amherst Guard Johnny McCarthy ‘18 – 14.5 PPG, 8.0 REB/G, 2.0 AST/G

Hamilton Guard/Forward Peter Hoffmann ‘19 -16.7 PPG, 5.6 REB/G, 1.2 AST/G

Bates Forward Marcus Delpeche ‘17 – 15.1 PPG, 9.7 REB/G, 1.1 AST/G

 

Revenge, Thy Name is NESCAC: Middlebury vs. Williams Final Preview

#2 Middlebury (23-3, 8-2) vs. #6 Williams (19-7, 5-5): 12:00 PM, Medford, Massachusetts

Overview:

And then there were two. Middlebury and Williams meet today at noon to decide the NESCAC Championship. The game is a rematch of one of the most surprising results of the regular season. In the game in Williamstown, the Ephs blasted the Panthers 89-65 in Middlebury’s only truly disappointing performance of the season. As is usually the case when the Ephs win, they were very hot from three, shooting 13-27. And they held Middlebury, the leading field goal shooting team in the league, to 40% shooting from the field and 28% shooting from three. You can bet the Panthers will be looking to avenge their embarrassing performance, but Williams might just hold the keys to slowing down Middlebury’s ride to a second straight title.

Middlebury X-Factor: Close-outs

Much of Williams’ offensive strategy is based off of attacking perimeter closeouts. If a player doesn’t get out quickly enough on a three point shooter, you can bet that shot is going up, and they have more than enough outside threats to make that offense pay off. But if the closeout comes too fast, they can drive past and kick to an open three point shooter when the defense collapses. This also opens up the backdoor cuts that they love so much. As the player with the ball drives past his man, the help man is distracted, allowing his defender to cut backdoor for a layup. Middlebury’s close-outs were very shoddy in the loss in Williamstown: today they will have to come out quickly but also solidly, keeping good guarding position. If they can do that Williams will struggle to score, as they lack great one-on-one scorers outside of Daniel Aronowitz ‘17.

Williams X-Factor: James Heskett ‘19

James Heskett
James Heskett ’19 (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

As I mentioned above, Williams lacks players who can break down perimeter defenders one on one if the defender has a solid close-out. Against Middlebury in the regular season, Heskett begged to differ. He put up 19 points on 5-10 shooting, and went 3-4 from three. At 6’8”, Heskett is too long to be guarded by any of Middlebury’s three guards, but is quick enough and a good enough shooter and ball handler to be a matchup issue for Eric McCord ‘19, Adisa Majors ‘18 or Nick Tarantino ‘18. The best match-up for him on Middlebury is probably Matt Folger ‘20, Folger looked very comfortable in the semifinal against Trinity, scoring 8 points in a row during the second half en route to 11 points. However, the NESCAC final is still a big stage for a freshman. Heskett’s combination of size and skill might force Coach Brown to play Folger a little more than he’d like. And if he doesn’t, Heskett could be a huge factor this afternoon.

Final Thoughts:

Middlebury has to be encouraged by what they saw from Jake Brown ‘17 against Trinity. After missing the first round game against Bates with a high ankle sprain, Brown played 31 minutes against Trinity. His stats weren’t tremendous (the sloppy nature of the game kept everyone’s stats pretty low) but he looked to be moving well, and his presence allowed Middlebury to push the pace in the second half and avoid falling into too much of a barfight with the Bantams.

Jake Brown scored 23 points and dished out six assists in the win.
Jake Brown ’17 is one of the keys to Middlebury’s effort to take home a second straight NESCAC championship;

Brown’s health will be even more crucial in this game. Williams is a perimeter-centric team, which means that Middlebury’s two terrific perimeter defenders (Brown and Jack Daly ‘18) will be tasked with slowing down the ball movement and outside shooting of the Ephs. Additionally, Brown is a needed offensive weapon for Middlebury. The Ephs will try to load up on St. Amour, so Brown will probably get some good looks from three. He and Bryan Jones ‘17 need to be threats from their to open up the floor for St. Amour. Eric McCord also will probably have a strength advantage over whoever is guarding him. If Middlebury can space the floor well enough, they should look to go to him in the post early and often.

Based on the match-ups, I would pick Middlebury in this game 8 times out of 10. But that’s what I said before the regular season game too, and look what happened there. Williams has all the sports-movie momentum in the world right now, and the re-emergence of Kyle Scadlock ‘19 as a terrifying two-way threat gives them a dimension they didn’t have against Middlebury earlier in the year. However, I still think Middlebury pulls it out. The Panthers should recognize the Ephs; they’re doing the same thing Middlebury did in the tournament last year. Therefore they should know what to do with them.

Writer’s Pick: Middlebury