Life’s really not fair, man. I mean what an unbelievable couple of months. What a ridiculous, confusing, maddening, twisted couple of months. As a baseball player, I feel for all my fellow spring athletes who had their seasons taken from them because of these terrible circumstances. I, like many other seniors, never got a chance to take the field knowing that I’d be playing my final game. We never got to play the senior season that you train your entire life for. It sucks. It really, really sucks. Words can’t describe the emotions we all feel and that’s not what I intend to do here. Instead I’d like to take this opportunity to reflect a bit on my amazing time at Bates and at Nothing But NESCAC.
There are several people from NbN that I’d like to give a huge thanks to right off the bat: first of all, Joe and Adam for creating the site all the way back in 2015. What those guys were able to do was incredible and the fact that the site is alive and well several years after their graduation is a testament to all of their hard work and dedication. I’d like to thank Pete Lindholm who was the editor-in-chief when I started writing for NbN, because he allowed me to dip my feet in the water and as I got more comfortable he gave me more to write. Pete is a huge reason that I was able to have the success that I did as a writer and I often attempted to mimic his voice in my early writings as I was still establishing an identity. I want to thank Colby Morris who, in addition to being a hell of a pitcher, is also a hell of a sports writer and who helped train me on how to take over the site. He definitely kept me grounded at times when I needed it and I appreciate him not getting too fed up with me when I made some mistakes in the early going.
Another big thank you goes to Matt Karpowicz who I would argue was the best big man in NESCAC hoops during my four years and who has some of the hottest NESCAC sports takes you’ll ever hear. I owe big thank you’s to Haven Cutko and my baseball teammate Ryan Moralejo who were always willing to write an article whenever it needed to be done, even at the very last minute. Those guys are both excellent writers and they were huge parts of the NbN staff this year. My roommates at Bates – Nolan Collins, Jack Arend, and Jon Lindgren – sat on the couch with me as I wrote every single article, pitching ideas and offering suggestions. I love those three guys to death and I absolutely would not be where I am today without them.
Lastly I’d like to thank the people who make Nothing But NESCAC possible – the players, coaches, administrators, fans, and everyone who follows the site. Knowing that people pay attention to what we say is a bit scary at times, but it’s a lot of fun. Hearing from players or coaches that they like what we’re doing is the best feeling and it makes all the long nights, extensive research, and awkward conversations 100% worth it. We even started to interact on social media with the athletic departments of some of the schools, and that was a really cool validation of what we were doing.
I first heard about Nothing But NESCAC on my overnight recruiting visit to Bates because they had recently released a NESCAC fantasy football draft in the early days of the site and the baseball players at Bates were buzzing about it. As a high school student at the time, following the site gave me a way to stay invested in NESCAC sports when I was on the outside. I continued to follow NbN as a freshman at Bates and towards the end of the year I finally decided I wanted to get involved. I started off the 2017 football season slow, but once the 2017-2018 basketball season rolled around I became a full-time contributor and really established my voice as a writer. Ultimately, Pete recognized my passion and genuine interest in what we were doing so he allowed me to help take over the site the following year.
One of the things that I always pushed for from the day I started at NbN was to add some sort of podcast. I thought this would be a really cool way to put us onto another platform and make it even more interactive. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get around to that until the short weekly interview series I did with the men’s basketball player of the week this year. I wish I had a chance to put some more time into that and get a bit more creative with it, but being a full-time college student with an athletic schedule to worry about forced me to put it to the side at times.
Nothing But NESCAC has given me the chance to explore a side of myself that I never even knew was there. Before college I never considered myself much of a writer, but I had a passion for sports and I had read enough NbN articles to at least be able to mimic the way they wrote. As I wrote more I began to get more comfortable, and started to realize that I had a knack for this. I was able to expand my writing beyond game recaps and analyses, trying my hand at pure entertainment for a change. This led me to produce what ended up being my all time most-viewed article, the 2019 NESCAC Baseball All-Roster Pic Team. NbN gave me a chance to meet people I would never have met and try things I would never have tried and for that I will always be thankful.
Being on this side of things is funny – I sometimes found myself confused about why people were getting upset over the opinions of a bunch of college kids. If someone ever took issue with something we said it meant that people were paying attention and that was what we wanted, right? Learning that your words carry weight is not an easy task for a college student and that was definitely one of my biggest takeaways from running the site. There were also times when I felt pressure to get an article out on time because I knew there were people waiting to read what we had to say this week. Nothing But NESCAC might not be ESPN, but there were definitely expectations that people had and it turned out that recruiting writers and regularly publishing articles was a bit harder than I made it out to be.
In the end, Nothing But NESCAC became one of the greatest sources of pride and accomplishment for me during my time at Bates. It’s hard right now amidst the chaos to really reflect on the last four years and how they’ve impacted us. In a way, the year ending like this resembles the end of an athletic season. Sports have a deceitful way of collapsing down to one game or one moment, and that’s certainly what this year has felt like. When we look back on our seasons and careers, we won’t remember the arrant throw or the missed shot that affected one game. What we’ll remember is the time we spent with our teammates; the long bus rides, the hours in the locker room, the grueling conditioning sessions. When we reflect back on the (almost) four years spent at our respective colleges it won’t be about how the coronavirus cut short our senior year. It’ll be about all the good; the relationships formed and experiences had during the time we actually were there.
The NESCAC likes to think of itself as special when it comes to the way they operate. Often times we resent the restrictions they arbitrarily place on the number of games and out-of-season practices, and rightfully so. Some of the rules that the conference has in place only feel like they exist so that NESCAC schools can maintain a sort of self-righteousness. These 11 schools like to think that they’re better than their peer schools, and in many respects they are. But let’s not forget, however, that Williams recently put $22 million into their football field, Middlebury poured $46 million into a new fieldhouse, and Colby broke ground on a new $200 million athletic complex, among others. There’s a reason NESCAC schools so frequently compete for national championships, and it’s certainly not because they have a superior balance between academics and athletics.
That being said, NESCAC sports are special. They aren’t necessarily special for the reasons that the administrators believe, but they truly are. Getting a world class education while competing for a national championship is something that very few people get to experience in their lifetime. Having a real college experience while still playing your sport at a very high level is a really awesome thing and shouldn’t be taken for granted. The NESCAC may be shifting towards the rest of the NCAA more than it would like to think, but it still is a bit of an enclave when it comes to the way they handle athletics on campus. It will always have a special place in my heart.
For the first time ever, the Nothing But NESCAC will be crowning a baseball champion virtually. With no NESCAC baseball being played in 2020, everyone across the league is left thinking that this could have been their year. Fortunately, we have a way to bring some sort of satisfaction to those who are feeling this lack of closure. We’ve decided to hold the 2020 Nothing But NESCAC baseball tournament online via MLB the Show 20. For those of you who don’t know, MLB the Show has been the best baseball video game franchise on the market ever since Backyard Baseball stopped releasing new editions. This will allow us to have the most realistic tournament that we can possibly have, played over the weekend when the actual NESCAC baseball tournament was supposed to have been played. Each of the 10 NESCAC baseball teams have selected one member of their program to represent them for a chance to bring home the only baseball championship trophy that will be handed out this year.
The tournament format looks like this: -NESCAC East and NESCAC West will remain separate and each team will play everyone else in their division on Friday, May 8th and Saturday, May 9th to determine seeding and eliminate the 5th place team on each side -Remaining teams will be seeded 1 through 4 on each side based on pool play record with tiebreakers being head-to-head results followed by overall run differential (and a coin flip if still tied) -Bracket play will take place on Sunday, May 10th -The bracket will have two sides: on one side the top seed in the East will face the fourth seed in the West, while the second seed in the West will take on the third seed in the East…the other side of the bracket will look identical except the seeds will be flipped (i.e. 1 West vs 4 East, 2 East vs 3 West) -We plan to stream the bracket play games online so that anyone can tune in and follow what’s going on
Not only will this tournament let us recognize a champion for the season, but it is also intended to provide a platform for us to give as much help as we can to those who are most affected by COVID-19. We’ve started our own fundraising page through GlobalGiving (link below) to help get masks, ventilators, and other lifesaving medical supplies to hospitals and clinics, deliver essential items to struggling families and older individuals in quarantined cities and refugee camps, feed children that rely on school meals as their only source of nutrition, and much more.
Obviously we all would have liked to play baseball as usual this year (take it from me, a senior who lost his final season), but something much bigger than us is going on right now. The NESCAC is a family and I trust that our family understands the type of difference that we can make. If you like the idea of this tournament or if you’ve enjoyed our content here at NbN, please consider donating even just a few dollars because – as cliché as it sounds – every bit really does count.
Not having any spring sports played certainly makes our job difficult given that there isn’t much to write about, but we haven’t forgotten about the baseball that we typically cover around this time of year. In fact, this weekend was supposed to be the opening weekend of conference play for everyone, so we thought we’d honor that with an article recapping the opening day games as if they had actually been played. Please understand that these situations are all completely made up and somewhat dramatized so work with us a little bit. This article was co-written by Ryan Moralejo and Cameron Carlson, and we’re simply doing our best to keep people entertained during these tough times, so take our opinions with a grain of salt because we have no idea how these games really would have gone. We tried to keep lineups and situations somewhat realistic, but certain things were hyperbolized purely for entertainment’s sake. With that being said, let’s find out how each team did (or would have done) on Friday:
Williams @ Hamilton (Neutral Site @ Tampa, FL)
It’s pretty bizarre to have NESCAC play occur so far out of state, but it’s equally as awesome to have a venue like the New York Yankees Spring Training Complex host the beginning of league play. First up we have Hamilton, who (to be quite honest) has been pretty irrelevant in a division that is usually quite competitive and volatile in terms of the playoff hunt. Since 2013 (because that’s as deep as the Hamilton baseball website will allow me to dive into an archival list teeming with underwhelming seasons), the Continentals have finished below the .500 mark against their divisional foes; however, they did bring in some young talent a few years back such as the swiss army knife Matt Zaffino ‘21, SS Ethan Wallis ‘21 and RHP/celeb-shot hitter Gavin Schaefer-Hood ‘21, the 2020 season would (hypothetically) be the time in which Hamilton could surprise a few folks. For the Ephs, last year’s run to the NESCAC Playoffs was in large part due to their plethora of loud bats, and despite returning Preseason 3rd-Team All American Eric Pappas ‘21, a regression was absolutely on the horizon. LHP John Lamont ‘20, a freshman phenom who sadly lost his sophomore season to Tommy John and never fully returned to his dominant form, would seem to be in line to start opening day of league play.
Game Recap
Game one of the three-game series pitted Schaefer-Hood against Lamont. Pappas led off the game with a scorching double to left-center (no surprises there), and despite retiring the next two batters, Schaefer-Hood allowed a two-out single to Erik Mini ‘21, plating Pappas and giving the Ephs the early advantage. Lamont struck out the side in the bottom half of the inning, firing up both of Williams’ supporters in the stands. Schaefer-Hood settled down and delivered his best performance to date, allowing a total of four hits in seven innings of one-run ball with six punch outs. Lamont faced the minimum during the first three innings but began to struggle with control the second time through the lineup; after back-to-back walks to open the bottom half of the fourth, Zaffino barreled a ball that clipped the left-field line and rolled to the fence, scoring Wallis and moving Brady Slinger ‘22 90 feet away from taking the lead. Keeping the momentum going, Matt Cappelletti ‘21 (every time I read that last name I have to say it with an Italian accent) knocked a single through the right side to score both Slinger and Zaffino, giving the Continentals their first lead of the day. The southpaw found a way to exit the fourth without allowing further damage in large part due to a much-needed 6-4-3 double play with runners on the corners to end the frame.
Eric Pappas ’21 (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)
Hamilton added to their two-run advantage in the following inning; Sam Rowley ‘20 worked a ten-pitch walk to lead things off and after advancing to second on a wild pitch, Wallis dumped a flare into shallow left center that fell just out of reach for Mike Stamas ‘20. Lamont would again work out of a jam to keep Hamilton from tacking on, ending his afternoon with four runs in five innings of work, striking out seven while walking three. With the score remaining 4-1 through the seventh-inning, the Ephs began to feel the game slipping away and got loud in the dugout, but failed to do any damage in the top half of the eighth (Alexa, play Sweet Caroline). In the final frame, catcher David Driscoll ‘22 worked a two-out walk against RHP Jamie Hauswirth ‘22 (c’mon Jamie, two-out walks will kill you). Hauswirth beared down and induced a ground ball off the bat of Mini, but Slinger short-armed the throw and it got away from first baseman Graham McOsker ‘20. With runners at second and third and the dangerous Pappas on deck, Hauswirth again delivered in a pressure situation, forcing Jakob Cohn ‘23 to fly out to center. The victory was the Continentals’ first opening-day NESCAC win since 2011.
Final Score: Hamilton 4-1
Trinity @ Tufts (Medford, MA)
In a battle of the two preseason East Division heavyweights* (asterisk because we all know who Trinity’s Daddy really is in that Division), the Bantams head to Medford oozing with confidence; having notched a slew of quality wins, including taking two of three from Southern Maine and a sweep against Amherst, the Jumbos don’t scare the boys from Hartford. If you recall correctly, the Bantams should have taken the series last year until the pitching staff absolutely collapsed in the ninth inning, blowing a 6-2 lead that was capped off by a two-out, two-strike grand slam by JP Knight ‘20. While the Jumbos did lose a significant amount of talent, including 2019 NESCAC Pitcher of the Year RJ Hall ‘19 and First-Team All-Energy Casey Santos-Ocampo ‘19, they returned most of their pop in the lineup, including every single arm from their pitching staff with the exception of Hall. Coach Casey always has one of the most disciplined and hard-working teams in the league (most likely because they’re absolutely terrified of the man), so this series was sure to be one of, if not the most hyped regular season series of the year.
Game Recap
Tufts opted to roll with RHP Aidan Tucker ‘22, who as a freshman impressed with a 7-1 record and a 50:16 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Trinity countered with fellow sophomore RHP Cameron Crowley ‘22, who adopts a pitch-to-contact type of mentality and led the Bantams with an 8-2 record and a 2.42 ERA in 2019. Tucker worked a quick 1-2-3 inning, but the same can’t be said for Crowley as a one-out hit by pitch quickly went awry when Peter DiMaria ‘22 launched a two-run moonshot to left. Crowley regrouped and retired the next two batters, but the damage was done and the Jumbos took a 2-0 lead into the second inning. After fanning Vincent Capone ‘21, A-Roid – I mean Alex Rodriguez ‘20 – smacked a double to right-center to get things going for Trin. 2B Robbie Cronin ‘21 kept the bats going with a single up the middle, putting runners at the corners; however, Tucker worked his magic and got the third baseman Patrick Dillon ‘23 to roll over on a 2-0 curveball into a 5-4-3 double play, stranding both runners and keeping the Bantams off the scoreboard. Crowley retired the first two batters in the second before hitting Ryan Daues ‘21 on what clearly seemed to be yet another traditional Tufts case of leaning into a pitch. Coach Adamski was irate and let the home plate umpire know his feelings on the matter but did not leave the dugout. Crowley stranded Daues at first base after fielding a comebacker.
Coach Casey and Kyle Cortese ’22 (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics)
The Jumbos stretched their lead in the bottom of the third; after SS Elias Varinos ‘20 singled through the left side with one out, Knight tattooed a ball off the left-center wall, easily scoring Varinos. After a groundout to second moved Knight over to third, Kyle Cortese ‘21 dropped a perfectly placed bleeder in right to give the home team a four-run advantage. Tucker continued to evade trouble until the fifth, when OF Matt Koperniak ‘20 launched a two-run shot to put the Bantams on the board and simultaneously cut the deficit in half. Crowley returned to the mound for the bottom of the fifth, and promptly plunked OF Justin Mills ‘20 on a 1-2 fastball on what this time was a clear indication of the batter leaning over the dish to take a HBP. Coach Adamski went absolutely bezerk on the home plate umpire and bellowed phrases that can not be repeated in this recap to the point where he is ejected from the game. Adamski got the last laugh, however, when after continuing his heated conversation with the field umpire, he promptly took first base and threw it into right field. Crowley managed to evade any further trouble in the fifth, and a fired up Trinity side came into the dugout ready to rake. The only problem is Tucker tossed a 1-2-3 sixth, staring down the Trinity dugout after catching Brett Stevenson ‘20 looking at strike three to end the frame.
Crowley ran into some trouble after giving up a pair of singles but worked his way out of the pickle in his final inning of work, and the score remained stuck at 4-2 heading into the seventh. Coach Casey decided to roll out Tucker despite his pitch count nearing 100; after allowing a leadoff single to Mack Lauder ‘20, a wild pitch moved him up 90 feet. Koperniak worked his magic again and singled to left to score Lauder, but was foolishly thrown out at 2nd trying to catch the left-fielder napping. Tucker was relieved after 6+ innings of solid work, and Steven Landry ‘22 came out of the bullpen to retire the next three hitters in order as the Jumbos now found themselves leading by just a single run. Tufts went to work against RHP Justin Olson ‘21, with DiMaria lacing his second double of the afternoon down the left-field line to open things off. After a sacrifice bunt from Mills, Knight once again came up clutch and clapped a ball way over the left fielder’s head for an RBI double. Olson was relieved by veteran Andrew DeRoche ‘20, but Daues rudely greeted him with a single back up the middle to score Knight and stretch the Jumbos’ lead to 6-3. With the eighth inning featuring virtually no action, the Bantams were left with three outs to score three runs off of closer Spencer Langdon ‘20. The senior didn’t bat an eye, fanning two consecutive hitters before securing the game with a weak infield popup.
Final Score: Tufts 6-3
Bates @ Bowdoin (Neutral Site @ Colby College)
With the Mules down in Florida and the typical Maine winters preventing either team from preparing their respective fields for game shape, both coaches agreed a neutral setting would be perfectly acceptable. The Bobcats came out of the gate in 2020 on a sluggish note, having dropped seven in a row after winning their opening game in the Sunshine State. If you look back at previous years, however, the ‘Cats have notoriously started on the slower slide and tend to ramp up their quality of play into another gear once conference play kicks in. For the Polar Bears, the 2020 season seems to be more of a rebuilding project with the loss of some key upperclassmen from both sides of the ball; however, the young roster no doubt possesses plenty of talent – in fact more than enough to take the series from the favored Bobcats if the latter comes into this series with a passive mindset.
Game Recap
Nolan Collins ’20 (Courtesy of Bates Athletics)
For the Bobcats, senior ace Nolan “Dirty 30” Collins ‘20 took the mound in his usual Friday role. The hard-throwing righty dominated the Polar Bears a season ago, tossing a complete game with eight K’s, allowing only one hit after his first inning of work. The Polar Bears countered with RHP Colby Lewis ‘20, an effective pitcher who traditionally fills up the zone and pitches to contact. Lewis started off the game with a casual 1-2-3 inning, successfully mixing in a slew of offspeed pitches and forcing the Bates’ hitters to chase out of the zone. Similar to last season’s opening game between the two, the Polar Bears struck first: Eric Mah ‘20 led off the bottom half of the first with a single to right, taking second on a passed ball. Following a sacrifice bunt, Brendan O’Neil’s fly ball to center was just deep enough to plate Mah from third, giving the Polar Bears a 1-0 advantage. Collins fanned his first victim of the day to end the inning, burying a slider in the dirt to get right-fielder Gavin Cann ‘22 check swinging (you could hear “It’s not a sword” echoing out of the Bates dugout). A few innings went by and the score remained unchanged; Lewis faced one over the minimum through three innings, while Collins settled in nicely and retired six in a row, four of those coming via the punchout.
The Bobcats finally got things going in the fourth, with senior catcher Jack Arend ‘20 (playing through a broken hamate bone) working a leadoff walk. Newcomer Henry Jameison ‘23 patiently smacked a get-me-over curveball into the right-center gap, scoring Arend and knotting the game at one apiece. After Bryan Gotti’s ‘22 deep fly ball to right moved Jameison up to third, Antonio Jareno ‘22 knocked a single just past the outstretched arms of Mah at short, giving Bates a 2-1 lead. The hit parade didn’t stop there, however, as Zach Avila ‘20 ‘21, Giovanni Torres ‘20 and Will Sylvia ‘20 each found barrels of their own. When all was said and done, the Bobcats scratched across four runs, which was more than enough for Collins to work with. The senior workhorse ended up going eight strong, allowing two runs (one earned) on just four hits with an impressive ten strikeouts. The Polar Bears attempted to claw their way back in the seventh, getting a run across on some defensive miscues in the seventh. They had an opportunity to cut into the lead further on a single to left from Stephen Simoes ‘23, but left-fielder Jon Lindgren ‘20 absolutely hosed a runner at the plate to keep the Bobcats’ advantage at 4-2. Bates responded in the top half of the eighth with some more offense of their own: facing RHP Peter Mansfield ‘20, Pat Beaton ‘20 (pinch-hitting for Lindgren) worked a leadoff walk. Beaton promptly stole second, and a beautifully-executed hit and run by Christian Beal ‘21 found a gap in right-center as he slid into third with a triple. Arend’s single up the middle would plate another run for the Bobcats, extending their lead to 6-2. After Collins finished off the eighth and RHP Ryan Winn ‘21 worked a quick ninth, Coach Martin called on senior closer Miles Michaud ‘20 to shut the door. After plunking OF James McCarthy ‘21 with a heater in the back, Michaud turned a comebacker into a 1-6-3 double play, taking the wind out of the Polar Bears’ sails. The man they call “Slenda” caught Nick Lam ‘22 looking on a slide-piece for strike three, ending the ballgame.
Final Score: Bates 6-2
Middlebury @ Colby (Neutral Site @ Orlando, FL)
It’s always nice to start NESCAC play in sunny Florida, particularly on the back end of a successful spring break trip. While this game may not officially count towards the NESCAC standings, it pits two interesting teams against each other with both teams trying to make some noise before they head back up north. For Middlebury this game represents an opportunity to show that they’re the favorites in this league, behind an impressive pitching staff with the dangerous 1-2 punch of RHP Michael Farinelli ’21 and LHP Alex Price ’22. They also return speed demon Justin Han ’20 and power-hitter Henry Strmecki ’21 who is a legit candidate for farthest ball hit this season with the ugliest swing. On the Colby side, Frank Driscoll ’21 is truly one of the best starting pitchers in the league, but they boast a relatively unproven lineup. Will Phillips ’21 and Will Wessman ’21 are important returning pieces, but it’s hard to know who would step up for the Mules this year.
Game Recap
Justin Han ’20 (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)
The matchup of Farinelli vs. Driscoll proved to be quite an exciting pitcher’s duel. Working around a leadoff walk to Justin Han ’20 in the top of the first, Driscoll was able to strike out the side, stranding Han at second base. Farinelli responded by striking out the Colby side in the bottom half of the first, despite 3-hitter Dylan Nastri ’22 yanking a ball down the right field line that missed the foul pole by mere inches. Over the next 3 innings Driscoll worked his way out of a few jams, keeping the Panthers scoreless through 4. Farinelli put together 1-2-3 innings in both the 2nd and 3rd, but a leadoff triple by Will Phillips ’21 in the 4th put the Mules in an excellent position and forced Middlebury to bring the infield in. After inducing an Andrew Russell ’21 pop up to the infield, Nastri was able to draw a walk, putting runners on the corners with just one out. A Will Wessman ’21 fly ball was just deep enough to score Phillips, putting Colby ahead 1-0. However, Farinelli punched out Drew Miller ’23 to minimize the damage and end the inning. The Panthers were finally able to get to Driscoll in the 5th behind a gap shot from Alec Ritch ’22 and a two-out, bloop single from Alan Guild ’20 to even the score.
The game remained tied through 7, when Coach Leonard decided that Farinelli’s day was done. He handed the ball to known psychopath George Goldstein ’21, who worked around a walk in the 8th to keep the score knotted at 1 as they headed to the final frame. Driscoll, still in the game to start the 9th despite a pitch count at 117 and counting, surrendered a leadoff single to Justin Han ’20 and Coach Woods turned to Patrick Carbone ’21 out of the bullpen. After Han picked up his 4th and 5th stolen bases of the day to get to 3rd base, the floodgates opened for the Panthers. A Strmecki home run was followed by back-to-back-to-back doubles from Andrew Hennings ’20, Alec Ritch ’22, and Hayden Smith ’20 to make the score 5-1 without an out recorded in the top half of the 9th. At this point Coach Woods made another change, bringing Wessman in from first base to pitch, and he got two quick outs before allowing an RBI single to Gray Goolsby ’20, adding to the Panther lead. Wessman was finally able to retire the side, catching Brooks Carroll ’20 looking to end the inning. Goldstein allowed a one-out single to George Schmidt ’20, but was able to secure the win for Middlebury by striking out the final two hitters.
Final Score: Middlebury 6-1
Wesleyan @ Amherst (Amherst, MA)
Two teams perennially in contention; Amherst and Wesleyan both find themselves right in the mix again this year in a crowded West Division. The Mammoths suffer the loss of their top two starting pitchers from last season in Andrew Ferrero ’19 and Davis Brown ’19, along with closer Mike Dow ’19. They don’t lose much from their lineup, aside from breakout star Chase Henley ’19 and former Little League World Series hero Nick Nardone ’19. This leaves their pitching largely in question, however they bring back impressive lefty Andrew Nagel ’21 who will start game one. Wesleyan, on the other hand, loses key bats Andrew Keith ’19 and Danny Rose ’19, but not a ton of pitching. Former ace Mike McCaffrey ’19 sputtered out at the end of his career and relief man Ryan Earle ’19 didn’t really impress in his final season either. An important note is that Wesleyan lost LHP Kelvin Sosa ’21 after he left the school in the first semester for undisclosed reasons*. This game is sure to have great impact on playoff position in the west at the end of the year.
*While the reasons may be undisclosed, there are some pretty nasty rumors out there so it does not appear that Sosa left the school on good terms.
Game Recap
Jonny Corning ’20 (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)
While Amherst sent lefty Andrew Nagel ’21 to the hill, Wesleyan countered with funky right-hander Pat Clare who decided to put on the Cardinal uniform for his 5th year with the program. Wesleyan got on the board early in this one as Andrew Kauf ’20 crushed an 0-2 pitch into the left-center gap to score Adam Geibel ’22 from 1st, making it 1-0 Cardinals. Clare set down the Amherst side in order in the first, but doubles from Stephen Burke ’21 and Severino Simeone ’20, followed by a single from Will Murphy ’20 made the score 2-1 in favor of the Mammoths after 2 innings. Tanner Fulkerson ’20 led off the top of the 3rd with a single followed by a walk from Ryan Molinari ’23 put two runners on with nobody out. A throwing error by SS Stephen Burke ’21 allowed a run to score and put runners at 2nd and 3rd, still with no outs in the inning. Nagel then induced a weak pop up for the first out and followed that by walking Kauf to load the bases. A one-hopper by Wes Fritch ’22 was snagged at 2nd base by Daniel Qin ’22 and turned into a 4-6-3 double play to end the frame, keeping the score tied at 2. After two scoreless innings, Jonny Corning ’20 broke the tie in the top of the 6th with a solo shot deep to straightaway left, chasing Nagel from the game with just one out in the inning. Based on the recommendation from first-year assistant coach Kyle Bonicki, Coach Pyne turned to one of his senior captains Zach Horwitz ’20 to escape further trouble. A walk followed by a strikeout and a single from Fulkerson put runners on the corners with two outs, bringing up the top of the Cardinal lineup. A huge break for Amherst came at this point when Fulkerson tried to advance on a ball in the dirt but Seve Simeone ’20 picked it up and gunned down the runner at 2nd to get out of the jam.
Coach Woodworth – not known for his game management skills – decided to make a change and bring in Joe Mescall ’21 to pitch the 6th despite Clare having set down the last 8 hitters in order. Mescall immediately let up a bomb to Joseph Palmo ’21, proving that Coach Woody absolutely made the right decision with the pitching change. This was followed a few hitters later by a pinch-hit, 2-out, 2-run homer from Topher Brown ’20, making the score 5-3 in favor of the Mammoths. After a scoreless 7th inning, Coach Woodworth made another mind-boggling decision by pinch-hitting for Andrew Kauf ’20 – likely the team’s best hitter – in the top of the 8th. Miraculously, pinch-hitter/right-handed pitcher Nolan Webb ’20 delivered with a single to leadoff the inning. A double by Wes Fritch ’22 and a sac-fly from Jonny Corning ’20 brought the Cardinals within 1 with a man on 2nd and one out in the frame. Coach Pyne decided to hand the ball to sophomore Sachin Nambiar ’22 to relieve Horwitz, who did a nice job keeping Wesleyan at bay for 2+ innings. Nambiar allowed a seeing-eye single to Jake Alonzo ’20, plating Fritch and tying the game at 5 mid-way through the 8th. Alonzo was asked to relieve Mescall in the bottom half of the 8th and set down the side in order, sending the game to the 9th even at 5 apiece.
Things got a little crazy in the 9th as Ryan Molinari ’23 reached on an error and advanced to 2nd on a sac bunt. Alex Cappitelli ’20 then hit a soft line drive into right-center field that Kai Terada-Herzer ’21 laid out for and appeared to come up with a miraculous catch, however the umpires claimed that the ball hit the ground first and thus it was ruled a trap. Molinari had taken off on contact believing that there were two outs, so at first it looked like Amherst might have come up with an inning-ending double play. Because the ball touched the ground, however, Molinari was able to score with ease, giving Wesleyan a crucial 6-5 lead. Pinch-hitter Nolan Webb ‘20 delivered yet again, placing a ball perfectly down the right field line, scoring Cappitelli from first and scampering to 2nd for a double. Nambiar set down the side after this, but the damage was done. Alonzo retired the Amherst side in order in the bottom of the 9th, giving the Cardinals a wild victory in this one.
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 35th 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:
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 3rd 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.
It was an interesting day of games as Tufts and Trinity actually fared the same – falling in their first game but turning around and defeating the same team they played on Friday to secure a place in the regional championship. Coming out of the losers bracket is never easy, but these two teams have made it this far for a reason. Let’s take a brief look at what the matchups look like on championship Sunday:
Tufts vs. SUNY Cortland, 10am @ SUNY Cortland
The Jumbos will likely send junior Spencer Langdon ’20 to the mound, much like they did in the fourth game of the NESCAC Tournament, which they ended up winning. Although he did throw two innings out of the bullpen in their first game, I’m not sure that Coach Casey trusts anyone else with the ball in his hands for an elimination game. The Red Dragons will almost surely counter with senior Jake Casey ’19, who has put together a solid season – a 5-0 record along with a 3.00 ERA in 39 innings. The key for Tufts in this game will be keeping the Cortland bats quiet. The Red Dragons came out very hot in their first matchup with the Jumbos, putting up 10 runs in the first 5 innings. The Tufts bats came around eventually and put up 5 runs behind a Casey Santos-Ocampo 3-run home run in the 9th. If they can get the bats going earlier and put up one or two zeroes early on, it will be a very different game. The tricky thing here is that the Jumbos actually need two consecutive victories against SUNY Cortland to secure the regional championship, so it’s definitely an uphill battle. The good news is Coach Casey is no stranger to uphill battles.
Prediction: Tufts 6, SUNY Cortland 4
Trinity vs. Babson, 2:30pm @ Trinity
At this point it’s actually a bit of a mystery who the Bantams will have take the hill against the Beavers. Trinity has already used their top 5 pitchers in terms of innings pitched for at least 3 innings each in the regional. This would lead me to believe that they’ll either send out Max Barsamian ’21 or Alex Herbst ’20. Barsamian clearly has better numbers, but he hasn’t pitched in a game in over two weeks so I have to wonder whether he got injured. Either way, the pitching will be a bit thin and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a committee of guys (headline by none other than Erik Mohl ’19) to give Babson a number of different looks. Babson will run out junior Michael Nocchi ’20, who has amassed a 2.86 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 44 innings pitched. The Beavers definitely aren’t short on pitching, so like Tufts, Trinity will have to bring the bats if they want to walk away victorious. In their elimination game against Salve Regina, outfielder Matt Koperniak ’20 had a career day, going 5-for-5 with 2 home runs and a double, along with 3 RBIs. He clearly isn’t ready to go home yet, so hopefully his teammates will follow his lead and swing their way to the super regionals. They, too, have to sweep a doubleheader to advance, so it will be a tall task for the boys from Hartford.
Well, not much has changed since yesterday as far as our NESCAC teams are concerned. As such, this will be a preview covering mostly their opponents, SUNY Cortland and Babson for Tufts and Trinity, respectively, as well as their potential game plans.
The Competition:
SUNY Cortland (32-11-1, 18-0)—While the Red Dragons were undefeated in conference during the regular season, they got bounced in a double-elimination conference tournament against teams that they didn’t lose to all year. This perennial D3 powerhouse had a tough strength of schedule, ranked #43 in the country and was 5-8-1 against other regionally ranked teams. They had an easy first round game against MAC Commonwealth conference champs, Alvernia, knocking them off 7-3. Cortland, like Tufts, relies on their offense to propel them to victory. With all but one starter hitting above .300, their team .308 average is deceivingly low due to poor play off the bench. They have 33 dingers as a team which is more than any NESCAC team and will be on their home turf and the home team. They threw their ace, Matt Valin, yesterday in the opening contest, so they are likely to run their #2, Zack Durant, against the Jumbos. Durant has had an impressive season with a 2.95 ERA and almost a 9 K/9. Because of how bad Cortland’s conference is but how strong their non-conference schedule is, it makes for a stark difference between competition start to start for pitchers. He lasted just one inning against Trinity (TX) in his first outing, got lit up by Johns Hopkins, and by the best team in Cortland’s conference, SUNY Oswego. He dealt against bad teams like Plattsburgh and Fredonia, but Tufts has a far more comparable lineup to the teams that ended Durant’s outings early.
What to Expect:
Aidan Tucker will take the ball for the Jumbos as they look to move to the regional championship game. Tucker will not stifle the Cortland hitters like he did against some of the poor NESCAC east teams and we can expect this one to be a high scoring shootout. Tufts will meet a comparable counterpart in the Red Dragons here, and this one will come down to which bullpen is better and which team executes better offensively.
Prediction: Tufts 8, Cortland 6
Trinity vs. Babson, 2:30 PM @ Trinity
The Competition:
Babson (34-7, 15-2)—The Beavers also lost in their conference tournament, losing the NEWMAC crown on the final day to MIT. They actually forced a do-or-die game by come back from down three runs in the tenth to hit a walk-off grand slam with two outs, but couldn’t get it done the next day. Babson was the second best team in the New-England region behind Southern Maine (who was upset by New England College in their first game yesterday) and had the #27 strength of schedule in 2019 and a 12-5 record against other regionally ranked opponents. They are the #1 seed in this regional despite not being the host and will not be nearly as easy of a game as Salve Regina was for the Bantams. Their .303 team average and 25 homeruns are also comparable to Trinity’s numbers, however, they are far less aggressive on the bases. They started Tyler Bell yesterday, a pitcher with great numbers but only two starts before their game against Keystone. That means that their ace, Michael Genaro, will toe the rubber today and that is tough news for Trinity as he boasts a 1.87 ERA, averages 7 1/3 IP per start, and has walked just six hitters all season.
What to expect:
Freshman Cameron Crowley will start for the Bantams against Babson’s best and might struggle against such impressive competition. Genaro will be the best arm that the Bantams have seen in quite some time and they may be stifled all day and not get many baserunners against a more disciplined team. I expect this to be a low scoring game and for one or two plays to really define this contest. Trinity has seen good teams all season, so the Beavers aren’t overly terrifying, however I can’t see them putting more than three runs across the board in the first six innings. Crowley needs to put up his A-game for the Bantams to compete and Erik Mohl will need to hold a tight lead if given the opportunity.
Tufts vs. Penn St-Harrisburg; Friday, May 17, 2:00pm @ SUNY Cortland
Another year, another trophy headed to Medford. The Jumbos have done it again, but this time with a slightly different formula. In the past we’ve seen dominant Tufts pitching carry them to a title, and although they do have their guy in RJ Hall ’19, it was the hitting that really stood out this year. Offensively, Tufts led the NESCAC in hits, doubles, home runs, runs scored, runs batted in, walks, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. The pitching numbers were solid, but it’s no secret that Tufts is back in the regional because of their bats.
How They Got Here
3 of the last 4 NESCAC crowns belong to the Tufts Jumbos, so it really isn’t a surprise that they’re back here yet again. What’s interesting (as I mentioned before) is the way that they did it. Of the 9 guys that start in their lineup, 7 of them are hitting over .300 with the other 2 hitting .289 and .294, respectively. My first thought when I see numbers like this is that Tufts must be playing a pretty easy schedule, because even for a conference champion these are pretty jaw-dropping numbers. Turns out I’m right – despite a very impressive record, the Jumbos were not receiving any credit for most of the year in either the regional or national rankings due to their weak strength of schedule. Well, they responded by winning the NESCAC Tournament behind Kyle Cortese’s record-breaking 5 homer performance and they’ll look to continue their run into the always-tough SUNY Cortland regional.
What’s Next
The key for Tufts moving forward in tournament play is going to be pitching depth. They’ve got their guy in RJ Hall ’19, who recently took home the NESCAC Pitcher of the Year with an astounding 1.31 ERA in 55 innings pitched. In fact, Hall has pitched in 9 games this season (8 starts) and Tufts won all 9 of those games. It’s clear that when Hall takes the mound the game has a very different feeling – the question is what they’ll do after that. They have good arms in Aidan Tucker ’22, Spencer Langdon ’20, and Brent Greeley ’20 who all have starting experience, but they also need someone strong at the back end of games. Coach Casey has been here time and time again, so I would imagine that he already has every inning mapped out to a T.
Penn St-Harrisburg
Harrisburg received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after falling in the Capital Athletic Conference championship series to no. 1 nationally ranked Christopher Newport. A 32-win team is no joke whether they won their conference or not, especially when they’ve hit 68 home runs as a team. In fact, the top 5 hitters in the Harrisburg lineup all have equal or more home runs than the NESCAC league-leader (Kyle Cortese, 7). They’re paced by CAC player of the year Bret Williams ’20, who led the league with 83 hits (17 of which were home runs), finishing with a .430 batting average. The tricky thing with this team is that they aren’t solely reliant on Williams to produce in their lineup. The Nittany Lions are loaded with guys who flat out rake – Miguel Torres ’19 (.399 BA, 7 HR), Chase Smith ’21 (.319 BA, 9 HR), Travis Van Houten ’20 (.391, 11 HR), Zach Koroneos (.267 BA, 12 HR), and Ryan McSorley ’21 (.331, 5 HR), just to name a few. A team ERA of 5.67 is less than impressive, but with offensive production like this it doesn’t seem to really matter.
Matchup Preview
Travis Van Houten ’20 vs. RJ Hall ’19
Van Houten’s numbers don’t jump off the page, but he is clearly the go-to guy for Harrisburg. His 4.91 ERA in 73.1 innings is nothing special, but having 75 strikeouts on the season indicates that this guy has some pretty good stuff. The only question that presents itself is whether or not Harrisburg would want to use their starting third baseman to pitch in the opening game of the tournament. Van Houten is one of the team’s top hitters as well, so I’m interested to see if they’re comfortable using him with a sore arm at third base for the rest of the tournament, or if they’ll decide to go with someone else in game one to give Van Houten an extra game. They threw him in game one of their conference championship series last weekend, so it doesn’t appear that they’re too worried about his impact in the field the day after he pitches.
Hall, on the other hand, has had a pretty dominant year. 8 earned runs in 55 innings is ridiculous, and logically this garnered him NESCAC Pitcher of the Year honors. As I mentioned before, Tufts is yet to lose a game in which Hall pitches, so there is clearly something special going on every time he takes the mound. While this may be true, only one of these wins was by fewer than 4 runs and in that game Hall earned a no-decision. There’s no question that this guy knows how to pitch, but can he grind out a one-run victory in an NCAA Tournament game? Stay tuned to find out…
Trinity vs. Salve Regina; Friday, May 17, 2:30 PM @ DiBenedetto Field
Trinity somehow (via a great strength of schedule and many impressive non-conference wins) snuck into the NCAA tournament after missing the NESCAC tournament which is unusual. They showed this year that they are certainly capable of facing NCAA caliber teams and winning, shown by an extensive 10+ wins against regionally ranked opponents. They aren’t overly impressive in any statistical category other than stolen bases where their total of 129 is second to just Middlebury in the NESCAC who led the nation in 2019. A .291 team average is pretty middle of the pack as is their 3.99 team ERA. It’s not overly surprising that Trinity finished with such a good record given these metrics, but how did they beat so many good teams since nothing really stands out?
How they got here:
Trinity’s 10-5 record against regionally ranked opponents and #44 strength of schedule nationally led to their #4 ranking in the New England region granting them an at-large berth. With this regional ranking, there were a definite lock to get this bid, so it came as no surprise when they got the call this Monday. Their most impressive wins this year were against Southern Maine and Wheaton (MA) so let’s take a look at the winning formula from those contests that the Bantams will need this weekend. Andrew DeRoche ’20 took the ball against the Southern Maine Huskies, throwing 3.1 innings and was relieved by Erik Mohl ’19 who tossed the next 3.2 innings. It’s clear that Johnny Stamatis ’19 and Matt Koperniak ’20 are the key catalysts for this lineup as they swipe tons of bags, have power, and hit for average. Stamatis had 2 RBI against the Huskies and Koperniak added an RBI against Wheaton. Cameron Crowley ’22 threw against Wheaton, tossing 5.2 innings of three-run ball and Mohl collected the save. The Bantams also won 7-3 and 9-1 against Salve during the season and what was the common denominator? Erik Mohl. While Andrew DeRoche started in one of those games, Mohl relieved in both and has shown that he is an innings eater.
What’s Next:
Mohl must continue to have such a versatile and consistent role for the Bantams for them to continue in the playoffs. Mohl’s ability to reliably eat innings, bridging the starting pitchers to the back of the bullpen is crucial and the diversifying factor for the Bantam team. While they swipe bags and have a few real weapons in their lineup, every single other team in the NCAA tournament does too. The Trinity lineup is nothing special. However, coupled with sufficient starting pitching depth is the NESCAC’s version of Andrew Miller in Mohl who, after being Nothing But NESCAC’s 2018 preseason East Pitcher of the Year, had a tough 2018 season, but is really bouncing back in 2019. The lefty has thrown 45 innings in 21 appearances in the 2019 season. 21 appearances is absurd. Don’t be surprised to see Mohl throw in every single game this weekend. Pairing the lefty Mohl with Crowley, DeRoche, Jimmy Fahey ’22, and Will Simeone ’22, the Bantams will showcase an unusually deep pitching arsenal that makes them competitive in every game they play.
Salve Regina Seahawks:
Salve Regina earned the CCC tournament’s automatic bid after winning the last 2/3 games in their championship series against Roger Williams. They like to run a little bit (66 steals) and have more pop than Trinity with Sr. OF Zack Smith ’19 leading the team with 9 round-trippers. Their team average of .297 is respectable and extremely comparable to Trinity’s profile as the Seahawks have the #49 D3 strength of schedule per d3baseball.com’s metrics. They also bolster a strong starting rotation with three arms with 40+ innings while two of them, Michael Matthews ’21 and Patrick Mayback ’20, have over 13 K/9. For reference, not a single NESCAC starting pitcher with over 40 innings had over a 9 K/9. Where they falter is in their bullpen as they do not have any primary relievers with under a 4.8 ERA. What’s likely to happen is that some of their midweek starters (Tom Beliveau ’20 and Michael Viveiros ’21) will be converted to relievers for the weekend of games. And while Trinity is 2-0 on the season series against the Seahawks, one of those games was on a Tuesday which essentially nixes that contest from comparison for the postseason since the starting pitchers are not close to what we will see today and the second game was ‘staffed’ by Salve, meaning they did not throw a starter for more than two innings.
Matchup Preview:
Will Ginsberg ’19 vs Andrew DeRoche ’20
Salve should not start Ginsberg in this game, but I’d bet that they do anyways. Coaches always put their seniors on the mound in game one for their experience, competitiveness, etc, but this is a safe and ill-sited decision in this case. Ginsberg leads the team in innings but has allowed 71 hits in 67 innings and struck out just 52 (6.95 K/9). They should throw Patrick Mayback but their second option should be Michael Matthews due to their swing and miss arsenals.
For the Bantams, DeRoche is likely to start despite Crowley’s All-NESCAC selection and 8-0 record. Crowley’s record is deceiving as are all win-loss records as he has had unsustainable success levels (24 walks and 24 K’s in 51 innings is a bad FIP…) whereas DeRoche has been a mainstay all season and has been extremely consistent going deep into outings. Crowley, albeit, has been dominant of late, closing the year off with 26 innings of two-run baseball, but I’d still go with DeRoche in game one and save Crowley for game two of the weekend and try to jump into the championship game.
I don’t think this will be a heavy offensive affair, however, Trinity will scrap their way to several runs. Barring a power surge from Salve, Trinity’s experience this season and track record winning close games should give them a surefire edge to open the weekend.
Game #1: (2) Bates vs (1) Williams – Friday @ 2:30 PM
The first game of this year’s NESCAC playoffs features the #2 seed in the East, Bates, taking on the #1 from the West, Williams. Williams was able to edge themselves to the top of the West, taking the #1 seed from Middlebury based on head-to-head record. Williams was able to capture this title through defeating Wesleyan in the final game of their series last weekend. A Kellen Hatheway 2-run home run in the top of the 9th broke the even score and eventually sent Williams on to the tournament. Bates is probably the biggest surprise in this field. Trinity was ranked better than them all season, and even had received national votes, but after taking 2 of three games from the Bantams at home, Bates went on to sweep both of their CBB rivals and secure themselves a playoff spot, 1 game ahead of Trinity.
Williams: LHP Jack Bohen ’19 (5-0, 2.24 ERA, 44.2IP)
Williams will likely feature senior left hander Jack Bohen on the mound to face the Bobcats. Bohen has had an absolute career-year this season, lowering his ERA from 4.60 last year down to 2.24 this year. Bohen is coming off of what was most likely the best, and most important, game of his career to date. In a must-win series Bohen came out and tossed 8 innings, giving up no earned runs and walking just 2. It is clear to see in that stat book that Bohen is a pitch-to-contact hitter, because in those 8 innings of work he had just one strikeout. It is not always about the punchout and Bohen has been proving that this year. He has all the momentum he needs and I’m sure that he will not be looking to take his first loss of the season in this game. Bates will counter Bohen with right Nolan Collins, a junior from California. Collins had a breakout sophomore season last year in which he secured the #1 spot in the rotation. Since then he has done nothing but improve and help propel Bates to the playoffs. Aside from a bad start against Tufts, that most starters would’ve been happy with against the Jumbos, Collins has provided his team with more than enough opportunity to win in every game he has started, and for the most part they have won. Versus the common opponents that Bohen and Collins started against, Colby and Wesleyan, they have fairly similar numbers, perhaps Bohen having a slight edge. Both of these pitchers are in the top tier of NESCAC talent. It might be a struggle for both teams to get into an offensive rhythm, but it is the playoffs and anything can happen.
Key Offensive Talent
Bates
Christian Beal ’21
You can’t talk about the Bates lineup without talking about Christian Beal ’21. Beal paces Bates with his 49 hits (4th in NESCAC), .371 AVG (4th in NESCAC), 9 doubles, 2 triples and 11 stolen bases. He is the spark plug for Bates and when he plays well, they play well. Bates are 10-5 in games which Beal collects 2 or more hits, and the fact that there are 15 games shows how impactful he has been. Supporting Beal is catcher Jack Arend ’20 who is hitting .370 with 23 RBI. Arend also leads the NESCAC in walks with 33, putting his OBP at .548, also tops in the conference. Arend’s uncanny ability to draw the walk is a valuable weapon, as can be seen by his 21 runs scored, 2nd best on the team. Justin White ’19, Bryan Gotti ’22 and Jon Lindgren ’20 have also been important pieces in the lineup, all three of them are hitting over .300. Bates has a couple of high quality offensive weapons with the support of several impactful bats. While this may have been enough against teams like Colby and Bowdoin, against teams like Williams, Bates may have to exceed expectations just to keep up.
Williams
Williams has one of the most potent offenses in the NESCAC. As a team, they lead the NESCAC in triples with 17, are second in the NESCAC with a .308 team average and are also second in hits with 340. One of William’s offensive starts that is much to thank for these stats is Eric Pappas ’21. Pappas is tied for the league lead in hits and reaches base nearly half the time with his .493 OBP. When a player almost has double as many hits as games, it is a good sign that they’re having a solid year. This is true of not only Pappas, but also his teammate Doug Schaffer ’19. Along with his 53 hits, Schaffer is 2nd in the NESCAC in doubles with 12 and leads the NESCAC in batting average (.433) and slugging (.633). Perhaps more impressive than all of these stats, Schafer leads the NESCAC is RBI with 46, 14 more than the next closest player. Schafer has an extremely strong case for Player of the Year and an invaluable asset for the Ephs. Erik Mini ’21 has provided some well-timed offense this year with his 3 home runs and 27 RBI. Kellen Hatheway ’19 has only started ⅔ of Williams’ contests but he had made the most of his time, hitting .407 and blasting the home run that sent Williams to the playoffs. Williams has proved throughout the year that they are one of the most potent offenses in the NESCAC and it will be tough for any starter to keep them completely quiet.
Prediction: (W1) Williams defeats (E2) Bates
Game #2: (2) Middlebury vs (1) Tufts – Friday @ 6 PM
After the conclusion of Bates versus Williams, Midd and Tufts will take the field for their first tastes of the 2019 postseason. Middlebury returns to the playoffs this year after narrowly missing out last season. They had basically the same scenario last year as they did this year, beat Amherst in a series and they’re in. While last year they fell short, they were able to redeem themselves this season and secure their playoff spot. Now they have to take on Tufts, who is looking for redemption after falling short of the NESCAC title last season. Tufts has had fairly smooth sailing in-conference this season, winning every series and sweeping Bowdoin and Colby.
Morris and Hall have both been four-year starters for their respective programs, and were the only two pitchers to be named 1st Team All-NESCAC last season, with Morris taking Pitcher of the Year honors as well. It is safe to say that these two are among the most experienced and talented players in the NESCAC this season, and they will need to leave it all on the line Friday night to outduel their counterpart. In all but one of his starts this season Morris has gone at least 5 innings and given up 3 or less runs. In his last two starts Morris has left it all out on the line for his team, going all 9 in both starts. Morris is one of, if not the most, decorated pitchers in the history of the Middlebury program but is yet to capture that elusive NESCAC title. This will be one of the biggest games of Morris’ career and he has proved throughout that career that he won’t give in until the last pitch. Morris will need to maintain that ferocity in order to compete with RJ Hall, who has been extremely effective at keeping opponents off this scoreboard this season. Similar to Morris, Hall has recorded two complete games in his last two contests (although they were both 7 inning games). While Morris may have more career innings pitched than Hall, Hall has far and away more playoff experience than Morris. In Hall’s 5 playoff appearances, 4 starts, he has pitched a total of 35 innings and has a record of 2-2 with one save. Meanwhile Morris has just 2 starts, totalling 13 ⅓ IP and a 1-1 record. It is also important to note that Hall’s playoff ERA is 1.29 while Morris’ is 4.05. Perhaps experience in these high-stress playoff situations will prove vital and become a big advantage for Tufts, who has a roster chalk full of playoff experiences. It is also important to note that this matchup has already occured this year and it is evidence of just how closely these two starters matchup. In the previous game Tufts won on an 8th inning walk-off 4-3. Both Morris and Hall went for 6 innings and gave up three runs. Their statline was near identical. Based upon how close that result was, there is no clear edge here. It’s anybody’s game.
Key Offensive Players:
Middlebury
Middlebury’s offense has managed to score twice as many runs as its opponents this year, showing their dominance on both sides of the ball. This is thanks to the fact that their offense is so well-rounded and has valuable weapons up and down it. 8 Middlebury hitters have already collected 20 or more hits, with three more (Justin Han, Brooks Carroll and Henry Strmecki) have 35 or more. Similarly, 9 different Panthers have gone deep this year with three of them (Henry Strmecki ’21, Kevin Woodring ’20, and Alec Ritch ’22) have left the yard multiple times. From those statistic you could probably guess that Henry Strmecki is a vital part of the Midd offense, and you would be right. Strmecki is 2nd on the team in hits (35), batting average (.330) and leads the team in runs (34), RBI (24) and leads the NESCAC in home runs with 5. Justin Han ’20 has also been impressive for Midd, leading the team in hist with 36, doubles with 8 and stolen bases with 22. Stealing bags is where Midd excels and they will steal early and often. They have stolen 142 bags while they’ve had just 36 stolen against them. They are running with an 88.2% success rate compared to opponents 80%. 14 Middlebury players have recorded steals with 6 of them stealing 12 or more. Middlebury runs a fast, high-potency offense that is more than a challenge to contain, but if anyone were to be up to that challenge it would be RJ Hall and the Jumbos.
Tufts
Not enough can be said to describe how much better Tufts’ hitting is than basically every other team in the NESCAC East. In-conference they are hitting .319 and the next closest in the East is Bates with .283. They also have the most hits (128), triples (3), home runs (7), RBI (72), OBP (.414) and slugging (.442). Tufts has just been flat out better than all of their NESCAC opponents. While these numbers are real and hold value, it is important to note the level of competition in the East versus the West. The East was so top-heavy this year that it allowed the far and away best team, Tufts, to gain inflated statistics compared to NESCAC West teams. They gain this advantage because the level of competition is much more even in the West so it is much more difficult to gain the dominant statistics that many Tufts players have. That being said, they are still most likely the best offense in the NESCAC. 6 different Jumbos have multiple home runs and 6 of their starters are hitting at or well above .300. Elias Varinos ’20 leads the the team in hits with 45 and walks with 23. Casey Santos-Ocampo ’19 paces the team in dingers with 4 and freshman Peter DeMaria ’22 leads the NESCAC in doubles with 15. Tufts has no soft spots in their lineup and pitchers need to be mentally aware of that going in. You can’t feed a fastball to the 9 hitter because he can take you yard too. I’m yet to be convinced that anyone can truly outclass Tufts’ offense, so Midd will have to show us something special Friday.
In this game Tufts holds the clear advantage. They will be upset that they lost their initial game and take their anger out on an already down Bates team. Brent Greeley ’20 would most likely start the second game for the Jumbos and he has been solid this year, holding a 3-2 record and 2.99 ERA. Bates would send out Justin Foley ’19, who has a 6-2 record with a 3.59 ERA. These two did not match up head to head in the regular season but both recorded wins against each othersrespective club. In all reality, Tufts is the far more talented and experienced club and would be unlucky to win their first game and have no chance of letting the first two slip by when they’ve lost just 2 conference games all year.
Prediction: (E1) Tufts defeats (E2) Bates, (E2) Bates is eliminated
(1) Williams vs. (2) Middlebury – Saturday @ 2 PM
Sam Rohrer ’22
This matchup will likely feature Middlebury senior Colin Waters ’19 and Williams freshman Sam Rohrer ’22. Waters has the experience over the rookie Rohrer, but Waters has struggled this year while Rohrer has impressed many in his freshman campaign. Last time against Midd Rohrer went 7 strong innings and only gave up one run to get the win. Against Williams Waters went 6 innings and gave up 4 runs in a loss. Well the numbers and this years past tell us that Rohrer and Williams have the clear advantage, a playoff atmosphere and a underdog win against Tufts might propel Midd to championship Sunday.
Prediction: (W1) Williams defeats (W2) Middlebury
(1) Tufts vs. (2) Middlebury – Saturday 45 minutes after Williams vs. Midd
Tufts an Midd meet once again here in a rematch of the first round. This game is an elimination one so everything is one the line for both teams. This is where arm health and depth really comes into play. Midd likely will send freshman Alex Price ’22 to the mound here who has been lights out the last few weeks and is certainly a candidate for freshman of the year along with several of the Tufts first year hitters. Their conference leading ERA will be put to the test as will their waning arm health (Starter Michael Farinelli ’21 hasn’t pitched in weeks), however, they certainly are up to the task. For the Jumbos Hall could certainly appear but their bullpen is very deep, although not as talented as Midd’s, so they have lots of semi-qualified candidates. This game is an absolute free-for-all but I think the Jumbos have a winning tradition, mentality and expectation and will find a way to make the game theirs.
Game 6 @ 10:30 AM, Game 7 30 minutes after game 6 (if necessary)
In this championship scenario, Tufts will need to defeat Williams twice to take the crown while the Ephs just have to take one of the possible two games to be named NESCAC champions. One thing that Williams would have going for them is that they have played 1 less game than the Jumbos, saving important arms. Tufts’ bullpen will have already been overused at this point and one more game let alone two would take a huge toll. That being said, three games in three days is still a lot so while Williams will be in better shape they are not at 100% by any means. These two offenses are probably the best in the NESCAC and they will be facing some very tired pitching staffs. I would expect that Tufts would be able to get to Williams in the first game of the series, but they would have basically spent the lasts of their pitching. This would allow Williams to take the advantage in the final game of the playoffs an come out victorious.
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.
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.
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.
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)
