As we all know, sports come down to much more than stats and analytics. In baseball especially, teams are more and more reliant these days on metrics and all sorts of things their computers tell them. Well, today we’re telling the story untold. Being a college baseball player really boils down to one thing: your roster pic. People can go any direction with their roster pic and it really is important. The message you choose to send is a big deal and it says a lot about you. Take a look at Middlebury skier Pate Campbell’s photo for instance:
This is a big time roster pic. I feel like I’ve known Pate Campbell my entire life after seeing this picture, and that right there is exactly the point. It’s a good thing this article focuses on just baseball players, because Campbell’s might possibly be the greatest roster pic I’ve ever seen. Naturally, we had to figure out which players had the best pictures across the league because that tells us more than stats ever could. After sifting through literally every single picture of every player on every team, one player was selected from each squad with the most outrageous pic, then ranked 1-10. This ranking is absolutely open for discussion because personal preference really affects the way each picture is perceived.
10. Justin Olson ’21 (Trinity)
Trinity is the only team besides Hamilton who takes their pictures without the team hat on, and I have to say it really paid off here. We’re fortunate enough to get a great look at a terrific head of properly coiffed, searing red hair. What happens if you combine that with an inviting smile and dreamy eyes? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Justin Olson.
9. Ian Kinney ’18 (Tufts)
This one isn’t anything too crazy, but Kinney gives us a nice beard, a cheesy mustache, and a psycho stare that tells us he’s a relief pitcher before the program even has to. If you really want to dig deep, you’ll see that Kinney has added the beard to his repertoire since last year’s picture, which I must say is a great touch.
8. Sam Schneider ’18 (Amherst)
Schneider’s pic is interesting because my guess is that most people wouldn’t have even put him as high as 8. Well that goofy smile and teen wolf hair poking out from his shirt makes me think otherwise. I don’t like that Amherst wears purple hats with a purple background in their pictures though. It’s just too much purple.
7. Arlyn Lopez ’21 (Hamilton)
I liked Ian Kinney’s psycho stare, but I like Arlyn Lopez’s hardo stare even more. As a freshman you really have to go one of two ways: intimidating or completely goofy. Evidently, Lopez chose the former and we’re blessed to see this work of art. The chin piece is trimmed nicely and he looks ready to go. Well done.
6. Gray Goolsby ’20 (Middlebury)
The only reason Goolsby finds his way this high up the list is because of how long it took to figure out if he actually has a mustache or not. I think he does. This roster pic doesn’t tell us much about Gray Goolsby, but there’s a subtlety in his eyes that makes me think there’s something soft underneath that tough exterior that he may not be letting on. Also, that kind of grit reminds me of Lt. Aldo Raine which tells us all that he means business.
5. Connor Speed ’18 (Bates)
The crazy eyes. The mustache not quite connecting to the beard. The blank stare. Each of these help leave a bread crumb trail of insanity. Once you see the unorthodox, pseudo-submarine delivery that Speed offers, the picture is complete. This kid was born to be a pitcher and a pitcher he is – with a killer roster pic.
4. David Redfield ’21 (Wesleyan)
Wow. Here’s a guy that I would pay to see without his hat on. That kind of luscious, red hair is once in a generation. The fact that it covers almost the entire back of his neck while still providing a subtle curl is almost majestic. His stern look offers a nice contrast to the flowing locks, making this a nearly perfect effort at a freshman roster pic. The best part: His last name is Redfield! Talk about an electric nickname, Red.
3. Brandon Lopez ’19 (Bowdoin)
This pic oozes swagger almost as much as Lopez’s presence on the field. The facial hair that almost isn’t there but kind of sort of is perfectly complements the popped chains and bat on his shoulder. You can tell just from the picture that he isn’t here to mess around. Lopez nailed it with this one.
2. Adam Regensburg ’18 (Williams)
Sadly there weren’t very many killer mustaches to choose from. Luckily, Regensburg crushes this one out of the park. I’m a huge fan of the mustache with the 5 o’clock shadow look, so this hits home a bit. This is another guy who has undergone some serious changes since his earlier days – see his freshman football roster pic for some legitimate progress.
1. Cameron Garfield ’21 and Jackson Ward ’19 (Colby)
There was just no way to pick one winner from these two gems. Garfield’s working man beard reflects on his background from notoriously blue-collar Phillips Andover Academy. This confusing yet powerful facial hair is bold, but he pulls it off in a way I’ve certainly never seen before. Props to him. Then we have Ward whose ‘stache alone would’ve earned him a top 10 spot on this list. Throw in the lacrosse flow and hilarious smirk and he makes his way to the top.
NESCAC baseball is full steam ahead, despite what this weather is telling us. This past weekend we got to smell the sweet fresh cut grass, the ear ringing BBCOR aluminum bats, and baseballs snapping leather. NESCAC baseball, as always, is giving us upset alerts. Tufts, the most dominant team in 2017, has already dropped two conference games, just one off of last season’s total. On the filp side, as expected, Amherst is off to a hot start. Most teams, however, are in the middle of the pack only a week in. This second weekend is crucial for those teams who want to distance themselves from average. Here’s the weekend preview:
Bowdoin @ Trinity:
I wrote to the NESCAC universe in my season preview that Trinity is a team to take very seriously. I said that they potentially figured out how to optimize their pitching. Taking two out of three games over Tufts isn’t just good; it’s remarkable. Tufts is like the 2014 and 2015 Wesleyan teams: they were dominant the past two seasons. The ‘Bos graduated quality starting pitching, and it showed. The mark of a good ball club is winning close games. Trin took both games by three runs or less. The Bantams simply didn’t have the run support in the game they lost. I normally pick out a player that was the difference maker; however, there’s one team stat that illustrates how talented the Bantams are: they rank first in the conference in walks. Walks increase pitch count, make fielders lose focus, and put unneeded stress on the pen. If the Bantams can keep drawing walks, they’re going to be tough to stop.
Bowdoin is also 2-1 in conference. They took two games against Bates this past weekend. Wins are wins in the end, but Bates is no Tufts. Brandon Lopez is a jack of all trades for the Polar Bears. He’s both a pitcher and utility player. He has a .250 average so far and a 4.41 ERA. These are solid stats, but they’re nowhere near Lopez’s potential. He’s a freak athlete, both football and baseball, and played a major role for the Polar Bears last year. He’s a crucial piece if the Polar Bears want to make a playoff run. They’re first in the league in stolen bases, which is a dynamic aspect to the team. Lopez can fly. If he gets on base more, the team will be even more scary on the bases.
Series prediction: Bowdoin 1, Trinity 2
Colby @ Bates:
I’ll be blunt here. Both teams probably won’t make the playoffs. Even though the season is early, I don’t either team has the depth to beat the elite of the NESCAC. I do have a bias towards Colby. Two of my high school teammates, Matt Treveloni and Will Cohen, are Mules. Trev is already on track to be in the discussion of NESCAC player of the year and is hitting .469 with 11 RBIs–leading the team by far (a figure that should fall back to earth against better competition). Trev’s the key player for the Mules as a leader in the lineup, and a guy with scary range in the outfield. Cohen has pitched decently so far. He will need to pick if the Mules want to make a deep run this season.
Bates is picking up where they left off last season: without much momentum. Bates still isn’t hitting. They are only hitting .201. They’ve only scored nine runs in three games. That’s simply not enough in NESCAC baseball. Bates needs to figure at the plate if they want to have a record over .500. The pitching has been decent and Connor Russell is their ace with a 3.95 ERA but even he hasn’t been blowing guys away. It has to be frustrating for him without any support from their lineup.
Series Prediction: Colby 2, Bates 1
Williams lacks pitching, but range in the infield and lots of backpicks from C Alex Panstares ’19 might keep them in a ballgame or two. (Photo courtesy of David Goldstein)
Amherst vs Williams
The Amherst vs Williams rivalry is one of the most storied rivalries in college. Both schools are on opposite poles, however. Amherst is on the rise. Coach Hamm has figured it out once again. Amherst can mash. They’re first in the league in homers and second RBIs. Ariel Kenney is hitting .400 with two homers on the season. Harry Roberson was one player that I said would be Amherst’s best hitter. Kenney is absolutely crushing right now, and looks like he won’t slow down. The pitching staff is doing its job too as Andrew Ferrero holds a 0.96 ERA. That’s insane in his significant sample size of over 18 innings, but he was used out of the pen last weekend rather than as a starter. Amherst is strong top down without any glaring weaknesses.
Williams was lucky to go 1-2 last weekend against Middlebury. Midd’s a strong team, and Williams appears to be weak in multiple areas. The greatest area of concern for the Ephs is starting pitching. They have no depth. The team has a 7.21 ERA, which isn’t great to put it lightly. George Carroll has a 2.81 ERA which looks great on the surface, but he has zero strikeouts in 16 innings, showing that his numbers likely are not sustainable. That tells me that he doesn’t have an electric fastball. That’s a real shame because the Ephs’ lineup is solid. They’re hitting .271 as a team, but with a 7.21 ERA, that’s not nearly high enough to compensate for a lack of quality pitching. Williams has a long way to go, so if they pick up at most one win against Amherst, that’s a win.
Series Prediction: Amherst 3, Williams 0
Middlebury @ Wesleyan
This is my series of the week. Wesleyan has shown that they’re an all around solid team. Kelvin Sosa, a freshman pitcher, has a Kershaw like delivery that doesn’t allow hitters to consistently time up their stride. He doesn’t throw hard necessarily, but his southpaw late movement is really strong. He has a 1.62 ERA with 20 k’s on the season so far. To put it bluntly, he’s nasty. Jonny Corning is showing that he’s an elite player. I personally think he has all five tools. He’s not physically imposing, but he has pop. Look for him to be on the all conference team this year or in the years to come.
While Wesleyan has a young lefty arm up in their rotation, Middlebury’s Will Oppenheim ’21 is making a name for himself, too. (Photo courtesy of David Goldstein)
Midd comes into the series with some regrets. They should’ve taken all three games against Williams last weekend. Colby Morris, my editor, is going to be key in this series. Wes can hit, and Colby can pitch. Colby isn’t making me write this about him, which is going to be made clear in the next few sentences. He has to face a deep Wesleyan lineup. Even though the Cards’ strength is obviously 1-4 in the lineup, 1-9 will not give up easily. You rarely see three pitch strikeouts against the Cards. They string together quality at bats game in and game out. I’m not saying Colby will get shelled, but he can’t try to work around guys like Ryan Earle and Chase Pratt. He has to get out of three innings below sixty pitches. If Colby has a few early innings less than ten pitches, Middlebury will win the opener, and probably the series. Game one holds all the momentum.
If Wesleyan wins game one, I don’t think Middlebury can win the next two with Olmstead or Sosa on the bump for the cards
Editor’s Note: All of the NESCAC spring break trips are now over and conference play has started for eight of 10 teams. While it might be easy to predict some weekend results, others become muddled after looking at teams’ overall records. Depending on the region of spring break trips (Florida, Arizona, the Mid-Atlantic, or California) there are vastly different strengths of schedules, leading to either inflated or deflated stats. Generally, California has the strongest teams, while all of the other regions have extremely weak competition. For a more in depth look at strength of schedule, check out this site which provides a ranking and strength of schedule assessment for ever D3 baseball team in the country: http://www.boydsworld.com/baseball/isr/d3_isr.html.
Amherst:
Trip Location: Florida
Strength of Schedule Assessment: Weak
Despite a stretch of losses in the middle, Amherst (9-5, 2-0) came out of their preseason contests boasting a respectable 7-5 record. While their offense did its job, hitting .279 as a team and scoring 5.9 runs per game, their pitching is really what carried their success. Andrew Ferrero ‘19 has been the Mammoths’ best pitcher so far, only allowing 2 runs in 18.2 IP on the young season, however, mostly out of the bullpen. Also impressive was Zach Horwitz ‘20 who holds a 1.64 ERA after 11 innings on the bump. Offensively, Amherst was led by Ariel Kenney ‘18 who hit .364 and had a sky-high OPS of 1.157 as a result of two home runs on their trip down south. The Mammoths have set a solid tone for their club for the rest of the season and if key pieces like Harry Roberson ‘18 start to find a groove, Amherst could be title contenders.
Bates:
Trip Location: California
Strength of Schedule Assessment: Strong
Bates (4-9, 1-2) started out their 2018 campaign slowly, dropping six straight games in California. Although they started off on a bad note, both for themselves and for the NESCAC, the Bobcats were able to pick themselves up a little bit once they got back to the East Coast, taking 3 of their next 4 games. A 3-7 record going into NESCAC play is nothing to brag about, but maybe Bates can use some of their recent success to jumpstart them in conference play. With a team ERA of 6.12 and team batting average of .195 going into the opening weekend, there weren’t a whole lot of individuals who stood out as noteworthy after their early trip to SoCal. One bright spot may be Dan Trulli ‘19 who hit .262 over their 10 games and dropped Bates’ only bomb all preseason long. While Bates did play poorly, they traveled to California on February 18th, just three days after official practices started, so we will give them a break here as they couldn’t have been adequately prepared to compete.
Bowdoin:
Spring Break Location: Florida
Strength of Schedule Assessment: Medium
Bowdoin (8-7, 2-1) exits their preseason going an average 6-6. While they had a few lopsided victories (10-1 and 10-2 over Keuka), they also had lopsided losses (16-3 against #3 Rowan). Bowdoin really came into their own over their last 6 games, going 5-1 and holding opposing offenses to only 2.5 runs per game. While their staff as a whole has a very unimpressive ERA of 5.82, Seamus Keenan ‘20 sets the pace for the Polar Bears with a 1.42 ERA and 13K through his first 12 ⅔ IP. The offense has been led by Joe Gentile ‘18 and Jack Wilhoite ‘19 who are each hitting .405 and .406, respectively. While Bowdoin does have 4 guys hitting over .340, nobody in the rest of their lineup is able to crack .260, creating a stark contrast between the middle of their order and the rest. Bowdoin’s keys to success this season will be to lower that team ERA, and get everyone involved up and down the lineup.
Colby:
Spring Break Location: Florida
Strength of Schedule Assessment: Weak
After a huge 13-4 victory over Keuka on opening day, the Mules (2-8, 0-0) have looked stagnant. Going 1-6 since that win is not the look that Colby needed going into NESCAC play. Their only other win after Keuka comes against Waterville rival Thomas College, which is not a particularly impressive win to say the least. Captain Matt Treveloni ‘18 has had a stand out spring so far hitting .440, with the majority of his knocks being for extra bases. Will Phillips ‘20 has also been lighting it up for the Mules at the plate hitting .444. On the other side of the equation, Colby has been giving up an average of 6.6 runs per game, and the offense can’t keep pace with that so far. One success the Mules have had on the mound so far has been Frank Driscoll ‘21, who allowed no earned runs and recorded 8 Ks in the first start of his college career, earning the win over Thomas. The clear problem the Mules have right now is not their ability to put runs on the board, but rather keep them off of it. As their younger pitchers gain more experience, perhaps the Mules can take an opportunity to climb in the standings from their last place finish in 2017.
Hamilton:
Spring Break Location: Florida
Strength of Schedule Assessment: Weak
Hamilton’s (6-9, 0-2) preseason has been an absolute rollercoaster ride. Dropping their first 7 contests, the Continental’s trajectory seemed to be on a crash course for disaster. That is until their bats caught fire and proceeded to win them their next 6 games in a row. Talk about getting hot at the right time, Hamilton is coming into conference play riding a huge wave of momentum, even though they couldn’t finish out a game against Amherst on opening weekend. A large chunk of their success so far has come from freshman duo Jarrett Lee ‘21 and Matt Zaffino ‘21 who both look to be in the early running for NESCAC Rookie of the Year. Zaffino’s 10 extra base hits, three big flys, .405 AVG. and absurd .892 SLG% pace the Continentals through this past weekend. Hamilton’s freshman heavy lineup continues with Gavin Schaefer-Hood ‘21 who leads the Continentals with 16 ⅓ IP saw his 3.77 ERA balloon to 6.06 after a rough outing against Amherst. While Hamilton would not appear to be in the running for a NESCAC crown this season, I would expect them to find a lot more success this season than last with lots of help from their newfound fountain of youth.
Andrew Corcoran ’18 and the Panthers take big swings and will try to continue their suddenly hot offensive streak into Middletown this weekend.
Middlebury:
Spring Break Location: California
Strength of Schedule Assessment: Strong
While Midd (6-9, 2-1) boasts a weak 4-8 non-conference record, their strength of schedule may be to blame. Unlike their competitors who venture down to Florida or Arizona for the duration of their spring break games, Midd throws themselves right into the fire. They played in both Georgia and Southern California to face quality competition on their turf. The Panther’s 3-3 record on their SoCal trip in comparison to Bates’ 0-6 shows the caliber of players that Middlebury has. While their offense has been lackluster, hitting .223 as a team before playing Williams, Justin Han ‘20 has been a diamond in the rough hitting .347 with 12 RBI for the Panthers. On the mound, NBN editor and Middlebury ace Colby Morris ‘19 has been getting the job done, already amassing 28 ⅔ IP on the young season and maintaining a stellar 2.08 ERA befoer facing Williams, which ismuch improved from his first two seasons. While Midd is slated to be a major contender for the NESCAC championship this spring, it is still clear that they have issues that need addressing both offensively and defensively in order to compete at the level they are expected to.
Trinity:
Spring Break Location: South Carolina
Strength of Schedule Assessment: Medium
Strength of Schedule Assessment: Trinity’s (6-8, 2-1) spring so far has been quite below-average. Their 2-4 record in South Carolina screams “meh” and the fact that they have already had 5 home games, a luxury most all NESCAC teams have not enjoyed, hasn’t seemed to serve them too well. With a vital series win against Tufts, the Bantams showed that they put themselves in a good position, however, to outplay the Jumbos. One guy who has been getting it done for the Bantams has been Matt Koperniak ‘20 who leads Trinity in AVG (.404) and extra base hits (6). On the bump, Trinity’s starting rotation has been fantastic. Their top 3 arms Erik Mohl ‘19, Alex Shafer ‘20, and Justin Olson ‘21 have each started at least 2 games and still maintain sub 3 ERAs. This makes Trinity’s problems all to clear, their offense in which nobody buy Koperniak is hitting over .300 and their bullpen which has been blowing games that their starters are setting up for them quite nicely. Although their preseason wasn’t too promising, it looks as if their starting pitching could carry the Bantams to the playoffs due to a down year in pitching for the rest of the conference.
Trinity’s starting pitching carried them to a series win over Tufts and should lead them to the playoffs.
Tufts:
Spring Break Location: Virginia
Strength of Schedule Assessment: Weak
Unsurprisingly, Tufts (7-6, 1-2) is one of the only NESCAC teams to exit spring break with a winning record at 6-4. The Jumbos can flat out rake, with a team AVG of .301 and scoring 11.1 runs per game exiting spring break. The blue and brown machine seems unstoppable, but their stats are not all that they appear to be. During their classic trip to Virginia, they played an unchallenging schedule, looking to leave ranked like in 2016 and 2017. Their 6-4 record, while respectable, is an illusion. They usually exit VA with at most one loss and showed that their pitching staff is much weaker than any could’ve imagined. While RJ Hall and Brent Greeley are off to hot starts with sub-3 ERAs, Tufts lacks the bullpen depth to dominate the NESCAC. As a result, their team ERA is an abysmal 5.85. and they failed to take home a series win against Trinity who didn’t even make the NESCAC playoffs in 2017. Malcolm Nachmanoff ‘18 , Nick Falkson ‘18, and John Moschella ‘19 bolster a strong lineup that should continually allow the Jumbos to compete, even if not at their usual dominant level. Tufts, as always, is favored to win it all this year but they will not be able to do it without some vast improvement in their pen. That being said, I am looking forward to some weekend slugfests between the Jumbos and their NESCAC opponents that could very well result in some football-esque scores.
Wesleyan:
Spring Break Location: Arizona
Strength of Schedule Assessment: Weak
The Cardinals (10-6, 0-0) can be crowned spring training champs of the NESCAC despite a weak strength of schedule. A dominant 9-4 performance shows that Wesleyan is firing on all cylinders to start of the 2018 season. With a team batting average of .314, everyone is eating for the Cardinals. They have an incredible 7 starters hitting over .300 and Chase Pratt’s ‘20 statline of 412/.553/.735 is scary good but down from.520/.618/.920 before last weekend, showing that the Tucson fields aided his bat. Tanner Fulkerson ‘20 has started his season red hot too, hitting .393 with a conference leading 24 RBI. There are almost too many names to mention for Wesleyan so let’s just say that Ryan Earle ‘19, Alex Cappitelli ‘20 and Matt Jeye ‘18 also rake. Although when it comes to pitching, Wesleyan looks like any other NESCAC team with their 5.53 team ERA. Mike McCaffrey ‘19 has had a solid showing so far as the Cardinal ace, with a 3.86 ERA and 12.12 K/9 before a rough start against a great Endicott team which inflated his numbers. His strikeouts are impressive but 27 hits in 21.1 innings and a current 5.48 ERA isn’t dominant. When it comes to offense, I recommend that Wesleyan doesn’t change a thing. On the bump there are certainly problems to be resolved. Nevertheless, McCaffrey, Alec Olmstead, and Kelvin Sosa make up a solid rotation lots of Ks and lots of BBs. The impressive showing the Cardinals put up in Arizona shows that, perhaps, they can go deep into the playoff race this year, but they will likely fall significantly back to earth in the Northeast.
Williams:
Spring Break Location: California
Strength of Schedule Assessment: Strong
All I can say about the Ephs (2-10, 1-2) preseason so far is yikes. If a 1-8 non-conference record isn’t enough to sound an alarm, maybe the fact that they had a 10 game losing streak before beating Midd 5-3 in game three of their opening series. Although they were able to pick up a win on opening day against historically bad Cal Tech, I’m not convinced that Williams’ 1-8 record in SoCal is too much better than Bates’ 0-6. To be fair to the Ephs, they have had several close losses, losing 5-4 to La Verne, 2-1 to Whittier and once again 9-8 to Whittier. It is clear that Williams is missing just some little pieces to turn themselves from a 1-8 club into a NESCAC contender. One piece that has been working for them is Erik Mini ‘21 who starts off his college career hitting .306 with a .611 SLG% and team leading 2 HR. On the mound there is not much to mention for Williams with their team ERA at 7.21. Williams needs to treat their preseason like MLB Spring Training and ignore the numbers. Their series in California against Midd was their first real test of the season and they showed that their pitching is a huge issue. They allowed 29 runs in three games to Midd (20 in game one), and unless they figure something else out, they won’t be able to win 2/3 games in any NESCAC series.
The Bobcats enter the 2018 season as a team that could finish, realistically, anywhere from 1st to last in the East division. They finished second last year at 7-5, but limped into the NESCAC tournament, winning their first 7 games but losing their last 5, wrapping up the year by losing both of their postseason games to Middlebury and Amherst, respectively. If you include their “non-conference” games against Williams, they dropped their final 9 games against NESCAC opponents. Bates stayed in games with their pitching (3.51 ERA, 2nd in the league) and their defense (league-best .966 FPCT) but combined to hit for an abysmal .234 as a team, with a .294 slugging percentage, both comfortably last in the NESCAC. They return two of their top three pitchers in innings pitched in seniors Connor Speed and Connor Russell, who will be tasked with keeping this team in games until they can figure out how to hit. They also return their three leading hitters in Will Sylvia ’20 (.287), Dan Trulli ’19 (.282), and Jack Arend ’20 (.271). Much of their success will be determined by whether those three underclassmen can take the jump up and become difference makers, but they need to get off to a good start. Their opening NESCAC series against Bowdoin is my series to watch for them because after finishing their season the way they did, they’re going to need to find the confidence earlier rather than later in the league schedule. They boast the best defense in the league, which is generally something that is not hard to replicate, and if their pitching can be in the sub 4 ERA range, even the slightest improvements to their hitting could make a difference.
Bates needs to wake up the bats this season as they were last in the league in offense in 2017.
Bowdoin:
Head Coach: Mike Connolly, 19th Season, 352-290-1 Career Record
P Max Vogel-Freedman ’19 (41.2 IP, 2-3, 4.10 ERA, 7.34 K/9)
P Colby Lewis ’20 (32.0 IP, 4-3, 3.94 ERA)
Biggest Series: March 31st vs. Bates
Everything Else:
Dropping all three to Bates to open league play last season put the Polar Bears behind the 8 ball and although they were able to get to 6-6, it was too little too late to have a chance to make some postseason noise. But their season this year will mostly come down to how they perform against Bates, and the parallels between the two are quite strong. Like their in-state rivals, the success of their season will be determined by how many guys can take the jump up this year—for them both on the mound and at the dish. All-NESCAC selection Brandon Lopez is only a junior and will hope to continue to do his best Shohei Otanei impersonation, but he’s going to need some help. Colby Lewis ’20 and Max Vogel-Freedman ’19 combined to log nearly 73 innings pitched last season, but they’re going to need one of them to step up and perform as a consistent number 2. They have guys like Jack Wilhoite ’20 (.268 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI) and Sawyer Billings ’18 (.313 AVG, 14 RBI) to set the table with Lopez at the plate, but they’re going to need some depth at the bottom of the order and an improvement from their .259 average as a team last year (9th in the NESCAC) if they want to see consistent success this year. Their opening series vs. Bates might as well be the NESCAC quarterfinals, and they’re probably going to need to take 2 out of 3 if they want to make the playoffs. They would be much better off playing those games in April, as it would give them more time to sort out their order and rotation, but they’re going to be tested early instead. They’re going to win most of the games that Lopez pitches in and they need the same to be true when Lewis and Vogel-Freedman take the mound. If they can do that, they have the talent to play into May, but they need to show it in March first.
Colby:
Head Coach: Dale Plummer, 12th Season
Projected NESCAC Record: 3-9
Key Losses:
OF Ryder Arsenault (.285 AVG, 1 HR, 13 RBI)
C Andrew Della Volpe (.286 AVG, 6 XBH, 11 RBI)
Returning Starters:
OF Matt Treveloni ’18 (.333 AVG, 39 H, 6 SB)
OF Matt Garcia ’18 (.259 AVG, 2 HR, 14 RBI)
INF Tyler Mulberry ’19 (.304, 10 2B, 17 RBI)
INF Jackson Ward ’19 (.239, 22 H, 10 RBI)
3B William Wessman ’20 (.209 AVG, 7 RBI)
P Taimu Ito ’20 (50.2 IP, 2-3, 2.84 ERA)
P Brooks Parker ’19 (49.0 IP, 7.35 K/9, 3.31 ERA)
P Emery Dinsmore ’20 (33.2 IP, 2-3, 4.01 ERA)
Biggest Series: April 13th-14th vs. Trinity
Everything Else: The Mules return in 2018 looking to improve on their 3-9 record from last year. For Colby it starts in the field. Their pitching staff’s 4.22 ERA was 4th best in the league, but their fielding percentage was dead last at .949, no thanks in part to their league leading 65 errors. When you put those two things together it should be no surprise that although they allowed 205 runs (second last), only 133 of them were earned. The pitching was really good all year, especially when you consider their three-headed monster was comprised of two freshmen in Taimu Ito and Emery Dinsmore, and a sophomore, Brooks Parker. That trio will now be one junior and two sophomores, and we all know what a difference the jump from freshman to sophomore year can make in this league. But they have to cut down on the errors, and they have to find a way to hit. The bottom three in the league in hitting looked a whole lot like the 2017 football standings: Colby, Bowdoin, and Bates. All three of these teams have other strengths, but they need to hit. Colby’s ability to go three deep in their rotation will give them to compete in all three weekend games. Hopefully Ito can take the jump into the top tier of NESCAC pitching, because they’re going to need someone that can match up with the aces in this league, and he’s my pick for most likely candidate. Parker and Dinsmore bringing up the rear means there shouldn’t be a lot of 0-3 weekends as long as they cut down on the mistakes in the field. It’s going to be an uphill battle in the league for Colby this year, but they have room to improve and there’s no reason to think they shouldn’t.
One of the key necessities for the Mules is improved defense.
Trinity:
Head Coach: Bryan Adamski, 5th year, 69-72 Career Record
Projected NESCAC Record: 9-3
Key Losses:
INF Nick DiBenedetto (.354 AVG, 1 HR, 30 RBI)
Returning Starters:
C Alex Rodriguez ’20 (.342 AVG, 11 XBH, 23 RBI)
INF Ben Reinsch ’19 (.282 AVG, .401 OBP, 35 H)
INF/OF Matt Koperniak ’20 (.310 AVG, 1 HR, 20 RBI)
INF Cooper Mooney ’18 (.300 AVG, 1 HR, 29 RBI)
1B Johnny Stamatis ‘19 (.311, 24 RBI, 33 H)
UTIL Brendan Pierce ’19 (.275 AVG, 5 HR, 18 RBI)
P Eric Mohl ’19 (53.0 IP, 7-2, 2.55 ERA)
P Alex Shafer ’20 (44.2 IP, 3-1, 4.23 ERA)
P McLane Hill ’18 (35.1 IP, 3.57 ERA, 8.92 K/9)
P Chris Speer ’18 (32.0 IP, 3-0, 0.84 ERA)
P Alex Herbst ’20 (30.2 IP, 2-1, 4.70 ERA)
Biggest Series: April 20th-21st vs. Bates
Everything Else: Well to say this team returned a lot would be a gross understatement. Of the 301.2 innings they pitched last year, they return all 301.2 of them. A senior-less pitching staff a year ago is now a pitching staff with 5 pitchers returing having logged 30 or more innings, including junior ace Eric Mohl and his 2.55 ERA, as well as senior stud reliever’s McLane Hill (8.92 K/9) and Chris Speer (0.84 ERA). The Bants and their 22-14 overall record were the second-best team in East, but a disastrous 0-3 weekend in Brunswick against Bowdoin, highlighted by a walkoff loss in 12 innings, did them in and they finished 5-7 and in 4th place. But this team was second in the league in runs scored, and return a lineup that includes co-Rookie of the year C Alex Rodriguez (.342 AVG, 23 RBI), INF/OF Matt Koperniak ’20 (.310 AVG, 1 HR, 20 RBI), Brendan Pierce ’19 (5 HR, 18 RBI), and like 4 other guys that I don’t have time to mention because there is so much good college basketball on. Another thing about this Trinity team is that they can flat out run. I mean, RUN. Their 104 stolen bases were almost 50 more than the next closest team (Hamilton), and when you combine their baserunning prowess with the bats in their lineup, they have the firepower to win every league game they play. The key for them is keeping the poor pitching performances to a minimum and giving their offense a chance to win them the game. They had a couple games against league opponents that they gave away due to some self-destruction on the mound (15 runs allowed in an inning against Tufts, anyone?), and if they don’t shoot themselves in the foot like that they have the depth both on the mound and at the plate to be contenders for a championship.
Tufts:
Head Coach: John Casey, 35th year, 699-394-4 Career Record
Projected NESCAC Record: 10-2
Key Losses:
OF Oscar Kutch (.315 AVG, 2 HR, 24 RBI)
IF Tom Petry (.289 AVG, 2 HR, 23 RBI)
OF Harry Brown (.261 AVG, 30 H, 21 RBI)
P Speros Varinos (77.1 IP, 8-1, 1.98 ERA)
P Tim Superko (54.1 IP, 6-1, 3.98 ERA)
P Rory Ziomek (14 APP, 1.04 ERA, 12.98 K/9)
Returning Starters:
3B Nick Falkson ‘18 (.373 AVG, 2 HR, 37 RBI)
INF Tommy O’Hara ’18 (.351 AVG, 4 HR, 46 RBI)
IF/OF Mike McLaughlin ’18 (.304 AVG, 2 HR, 20 RBI)
IF Casey Santos-Ocampos ’19 (.278 AVG, 1 HR, 22 RBI)
IF Will Shackleford ’19 (.368 AVG, 1 HR, 28 RBI)
OF Malcolm Nachmanoff ’18 (.182 AVG, 2 HR, 15 RBI)
P R.J. Hall ’20 (58.1 IP, 3-4, 3.39 ERA)
P Brad Marchetti ’20 (36.1 IP, 2-2, 2.97 ERA)
Biggest Series: March 30th-31st vs. Trinity
Everything Else:
The reigning NESCAC champions appear to be reloading this year. The loss of OFs Oscar Kutch (.315 AVG, 2 HR, 24 RBI), Harry Brown (.261 AVG, 30 H, 21 RBI), and IF Tom Petry (.289 AVG, 2 HR, 23 RBI) would be crippling to most teams attempting to repeat, but not the Jumbos. Tufts returns reigning player of the year Nick Falkson ’18 (.373 AG, 2 HR, 37 RBI) and I would like his chances to win that award again, if not for the additional return of IF Tommy O’Hara, who managed to hit .351 to go along with 4 HR and 46 RBI last year. He has a legitimate gripe over being snubbed for POY, but it went to his teammate instead. This lineup is loaded up and down with guys who can hit for both power and contact, and if Falkson, O’Hara, and co. manage to all improve on their numbers from last year then the rest of the league is in way bigger trouble than they already were. The loss of pitcher of the year Speros Varinos (77.1 IP, 8-1, 1.98 ERA), and number 2 Tim Superko (54.1 IP, 6-1, 3.98 ERA) mean that their pitching staff will certainly not be as dominant as they were last year, but RJ Hall and Brad Marchetti (94.2 IP combined) will be forced to take the step up and anchor this rotation in just their sophomore seasons. The top end starting pitching will decline, as will the depth in the lineup, but as long as the batting order features the names Falkson and O’Hara, I think Tufts should be just fine. Trinity appears ready to give them a run for their money, but the Jumbos are still the class of this division, and it will stay that way unless otherwise noted.
Editor’s Note: As the new editor of NBN, I will try to be much less biased than Pete (sorry, Panther fans, and you’re welcome, Amherst fans). This not only pertains to my own articles, which will be on hiatus during baseball season, but also all of NBN’s articles. And I’ll start this era of free speech with Andrew’s well written and well researched season preview which doesn’t exactly provide such a great outlook for my Panthers.
Don’t let the blizzard fool you, northerners. Spring is coming. Barbeques, darties with friends, ‘studying’ outside, and a nice seventy-five degrees. And the men of NESCAC baseball will be trotting out to their respective positions; catchers will shake blue’s hand; pitchers will kick around the dirt around the mound to their liking; outfielders will play catch with each other before the catcher throws down to second. The batter will nod to the umpire, and the catcher will lay down a finger. The pitcher will nod, take a large inhale, and deliver a pitch. Indeed, baseball is here. The NESCAC is a competitive as ever. The East division has been dominated by Tufts for some time, but the West always seems to have new representatives in the playoffs each year. Here is a preview of NESCAC west baseball:
The Amherst vs Wesleyan baseball rivalry is as storied as they come in the annals of history. The 2015 NESCAC championship game may still haunt some current Amherst players. Like Al Pacino said in “Any Given Sunday,” “Life is a game of inches.” Marco Barrata’s diving catch to keep the game tied, Andrew Yin’s hit and run RBI double to tie the game, and Guy Davidson’s nuke down the left field line to seal it all were key plays that came down to inches. Amherst was so close to another NESCAC championship then, but the team just couldn’t defeat the Cards. Nevertheless, 2015 is a long time ago, but the rivalry is still there. Both teams will be above .500 for sure in conference play. Each game of the three game series is crucial. One loss could be devastating to one team’s playoff hopes. If you love a good rivalry and close games, definitely tune into this series.
Everything Else:
I had a chance to ask a few questions to senior and Belmont Hill grad, Harry Roberson:
AM: What are your goals for yourself and the team this season?
HR: Our goal every year starting out is to be the best version of our team that we can be. Ultimately, we want to win a NESCAC championship. I know that’s something that as a senior class we haven’t accomplished yet so that is definitely an overarching goal for our team this season. May is a couple months away though so day-to-day we’re just looking to improve and build upon each practice. We’re excited to go down to Florida and see how we stack up against other teams.
AM: Which teams will be the toughest to knock off?
HR: Our entire side of the NESCAC is pretty strong. Obviously Wesleyan is always a tough series, we have a great rivalry with them that’s a ton of fun to compete in. Amherst-Williams is one of the oldest rivalries in sports so that series means a lot as well. Middlebury kind of came out of nowhere last year so that will be a great challenge for us too. Coach Leonard has done a great job with that program. And then Hamilton is a dangerous team too so there’s no time for let downs on the West side so we’re really looking forward to the opportunity to get out there and play against these guys.
AM: In one word, describe the team.
HR: Family
Amherst will always put an incredibly competitive product on the field year in and year out. However, losing a big bat like Yanni Thanopoulos hurts. He was one of Amherst’s go to guys during his entire career. Look for a guy like Severino Tocci to play a bigger role. He transitioned to catching last year, and actually started. He’s got a powerful bat from the right-handed batter’s box. I can see him being Amherst’s x-factor on the offensive end. I’m predicting that Amherst will make the playoffs again because they’re such a well-coached team. With the leadership and talent that Roberson has, and the development of younger players, I can see Amherst being a force to be reckoned with deep in the NESCAC tournament once again.
Wesleyan:
Head Coach: Mark Woodworth (17th season)
Projected NESCAC record: 9-3
Key losses:
IF Ellis Schaefer (.289 avg, 14 RBI)
IF Will O’Sullivan (.328 avg, 24 RBI)
P Asher Young (2-2, 5.33 ERA)
P Dylan Millehouse (0-1, 6.10 ERA)
C/P Nick Miceli (.237 avg, 18 RBI, 2-2, 3.55 ERA)
P Ethan Rode (3-4, 4.78 ERA)
Returning starters:
IF Jake Alonzo (.091 avg, 4 RBI)
IF Johnny Corning (.258 avg, 4 RBI)
IF/OF AJ Ferrara (.229 avg, 6 RBI)
IF/P Alec Olmstead (.245 avg, 3 RBI)
OF Matt Jeye (.285 avg, 29 RBI)
Biggest series: Middlebury (April 7th-8th):
Wesleyan will have a great season if the Cards can get past Midd with at least two wins. The Cards’ other biggest series is against Amherst later in April, but it’s crucial for Wesleyan to get off to a hot start. Midd came out of nowhere last year to win the west. Wesleyan can run the table in the west this season if the squad has a winning record against Midd. That’s tough to ask, but it’s possible.
Everything else:
I spoke with senior captain Matt Jeye who was a member of the 2015 NESCAC championship team and was named to the DIII players to watch list:
AM: Obviously you played on some great teams in your underclassmen years. How does this team compare to those championship teams?
MJ: This team is gritty. We don’t have any preseason All-Americans, but we’re a tough group who put in a lot of hours focusing on the little things. This is the most dedicated group I’ve ever been around and I’m excited to see how much our younger guys grew in a year.
AM: What are some of the strengths of this year’s team? Do you think any younger guys will have a serious impact?
MJ: I think one major strength is our communication. This is one of the closest teams I’ve ever been a part of and I think that shows when you see us out on the field picking each other up and talking throughout every pitch. I’d personally run into Tilted Towers (Fortnite reference) with nothing but impulse grenades to save any one of them.
We have a lot of younger guys this year that got to play a lot last year so we are counting on them a lot. We have a good mix of experience and new faces and I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people.
AM: Are there any teams that you’re especially looking forward to playing?
MJ: I’m always looking forward to playing purple, whether it be Amherst or Williams. It’s a different atmosphere against those guys. Everyone wants to get ahead and then rub it in so emotions are always high.
First off, Matt’s Fortnite reference makes me want to run through a brick wall for this squad. Wesleyan has been in transition ever since that 2015 season, in my opinion. To lose guys like Guy Davidson, Andrew Yin, Nick Cooney, Jonathan Dennett, Sam Goodwin-Boyd, Gavin Pittore, Donnie Cimino, and Marco Barrata all within a year can devastate a team. However, that’s college sports; there’s turnover. The fact that Wesleyan wasn’t sub .500 these past two years is something to be proud of because they’re such a young team. Now it comes down to pitching. There are a lot of young wings, but I’m not entirely sure that they’ll be able to go the full season without getting shelled a few times. The lineup may not be as scary as 2015’s, but it needs to provide run support for these pitchers. Rest assured, I don’t think Wes will have much trouble scoring runs.
Middlebury:
Coach: Mike Leonard (second season)
Projected Record: 7-5
Key losses:
C Ryan Rizzo (.301 avg, 11 RBI)
IF Jason Lock (.354 avg, 31 RBI)
Returning starters:
MIF Brooks Carroll (.274 avg, 16 RBI)
MIF Justin Han (.319 avg, 20 RBI)
OF Sam Graf (.323 avg, 30 RBI)
IF Andrew Hennings (.393 avg, 9 RBI)
IF Kevin Woodring (.281 avg, 13 RBI)
OF Alan Guild (.288 avg, 12 RBI)
Biggest series: Wesleyan (April 7th-8th):
I’m projecting Middlebury to have a sophomore slump of sorts. Coach Mike Leonard, in his first season with the Panthers last year, fostered a fairytale journey for his team. The NESCAC west had been so competitive in previous years that Midd always seemed to be left out of the conversation with the likes of Amherst and Williams. Leonard and the young squad showed everyone how dangerous the Panthers are. On paper, Middlebury could go 10-2 or 11-1 if the frosh from last year keep swinging the stick. However, I can’t see 1-9 all having great years at the plate like they did last year. Wesleyan is a big series. Midd’s first test is their first road NESCAC series in enemy territory. Both teams will put up runs, but if Middlebury can sweep or win two, then I think they can really win the NESCAC crown.
Justin Han ’20 is one of many Midd hitters that will need to prove that they can replicate last year’s performance.
Everything else:
I corresponded with pitcher (and colleague) Colby Morris. He was a stud last year on the bump, and I’m interested to see if he can still keep hitters off balance this year:
AM: How does this team compare to last year’s team? In what ways have you guys improved/regressed? What are some of the strengths of this year’s team? Do you think any younger guys will have a serious impact early on? Are there any teams that you’re especially looking forward to playing?
CM: The biggest similarity to last year is in our starting lineup, returning six of eight position players. We also have a similar team chemistry, which was electric last season and probably pissed off every opponent. We are a power centered offensive team with the same rotation as last year, but a deeper bullpen. It definitely hurt to lose Ryan Rizzo and Jason Lock, but that just means some of us upperclassmen need to step up in their place. We have a stronger bullpen with a lot of good young arms, and should compete better in mid-week games because of that. Our strengths would be offensive and defensive depth as we have so many lineups we can roll out to put a competitive team on the field. I think that Henry Strmecki will have a big impact either in RF or in CF and should be a powerful leadoff hitter, and the same goes with some of our frosh pitchers, although not exactly sure yet which ones will make the biggest contributions. I’m definitely locking in on that Williams weekend…we got swept by them last year and want revenge.
Midd should be the most interesting team to follow this year. The Panthers almost won it all last year, but came up just short. They didn’t lose many seniors; their lineup is stacked with talented sophomores and juniors. If Colby’s right about improved relief pitching, Middlebury can take jump over that hump to be a championship team. However, they must start out strong against Williams. For if they don’t, it’s very possible that they fall into a sophomore slump.
Williams:
Coach: Bill Barrale (11th season)
Projected Record: 4-8
Key losses:
OF Jack Cloud (.375 avg, 16 RBI)
IF Jackson Parese (.255 avg, 12 RBI)
IF Nate Michalski (.216 avg, 14 RBI)
P Luke Rodino (3-1, 4.02 ERA)
P Johnny Lamont (injury) (4-1, 1.80 ERA)
Returning starters:
IF Kellen Hatheway (.362 avg, 25 RBI)
IF Jack Roberts (.368 avg, 27 RBI)
OF Adam Regensburg (.295 avg, 28 RBI)
IF Doug Schaffer (.218 avg, 13 RBI)
C Adam Dulsky (.262, 9 RBI)
Key Series: vs. Amherst (4/6-4/7)
Amherst vs. Williams is one of the most historic rivalries in sports. A Wesleyan student myself, I love to say that all three schools are in the Little Three, but I have to admit, Amherst vs Williams is a whole separate rivalry (that doesn’t mean that my obsession to defeat both schools doesn’t exist; it does). Williams needs to break out of mediocrity. To be quite honest, I don’t see them doing that this year. The Ephs best pitcher, Johnny Lamont, is gone for the whole season due to Tommy John. In this early series, however, if they can take all three or even two games against their arch rival Amherst, then I think Williams can gain some momentum, and possibly make the playoffs. It all starts with this series.
Everything else:
I talked to Williams pitcher and Groton School alumnus Johnny Lamont on what he thinks his squad can do without him this season:
AM: What are your goals for yourself and the team this season?
JL: Our goal is to win the NESCAC championship, and that isn’t some lofty goal we don’t expect to achieve. We felt that we underperformed last year, but a lot of the talent we had last year is back, and we’ve learned from those moments where we played ourselves out of the playoffs. I’ve pitched against our lineup in squad scrimmages and practice, and it is the best lineup I’ve faced at any level in any league. The staff is gonna do our job, get our guys back on offense, and then it gets real fun to watch.
AM: Which teams will be the toughest to knock off?
JL: We learned from last year that every team in the NESCAC deserves respect, even if we are the most talented team. We swept Midd, and then they went to the championship game. We outplayed Wesleyan, but lost that series. The only thing that we’re focused on this season is how we play, and if we play up to our potential, we’ll win the West no matter who the opponents are.
AM: In one word, describe the team.
JL: Hungry for that W. (Not sure if he understood the question).
Johnny was one of the best pitchers in the NESCAC last year; he was one of the major reasons why Williams got to six wins. As a teammate and competitor, it’s incredibly hard to sit out. You feel a sense of helplessness. However, it gives you a new perspective on your team. Instead of focusing on individual goals, guys like Johnny can use a wider lense of how the team operates. While I don’t think Williams will make much noise next year, expect Johnny and the Ephs in 2019 to be a powerhouse in the West because not only will Johnny have regained his strength that made him a freshman sensation, but he will have the mental toughness to know what it’s like to fight through an injury
Kellen Hathaway ’19 is one of the top hitters in the league and will need to lead the Ephs along with Jack Roberts ’18.
Hamilton:
Coach: Tim Byrnes (11th season)
Projected Record: 2-10
Key losses:
OF Ryan Wolfsberg (.400 avg, 23 RBI)
C Brett Mele (.284 avg, 27 RBI)
IF/P Andrew Haser (.320 avg, 20 RBI)
OF Kenny Collins (.313 avg, 12 RBI)
IF Chris Collins (.346 avg, 9 RBI)
OF Robert Morris (.282 avg, 6 RBI)
P Finlay O’Hara (3-2, 2.60 ERA)
Returning starters:
IF Dean Rosenberg (.227 avg, 8 RBI)
IF Jordan Northup (.266 avg, 9 RBI)
P Max Jones (0-4, 4.43 ERA)
Key series: Wesleyan (April 13th-14th):
Hamilton has always had trouble with Wesleyan. Last year there was a game at Wesleyan were Hamilton thoroughly outplayed the Cards. Somehow, the Cards took it to extras, and Ryan Earle hit a walkoff single. Hamilton played so well, but they got sloppy down the stretch in the field. If Hamilton wants to breakout of being in the middle of the pack in the West, they must beat the leaders like Wesleyan.
Everything else:
I asked senior Dean Rosenberg a few questions about the team and the season:
AM: What are your goals for yourself and the team this season?
DR: We have a super young team after losing a lot of upperclassman who were big contributors for us last year. Our goal this year is to work hard, compete every day, and improve every practice and throughout the season. Personally,
I want to continue to improve as a leader and as a ball player and enjoy my last season playing the game I love.
AM: Which teams will be the toughest to knock off?
DR: The NESCAC is an extremely competitive conference, every conference weekend is a grind. We learned last year that everybody can beat everybody, so I wouldn’t necessarily say any team is the team to beat in the West.
AM: In one word, describe the team.
DR: Together
Like Dean says, the team is very young this year. Hamilton has proved over the past few seasons that there’s no talent game between them and the other NESCAC teams. What separates the likes of Tufts, Amherst, and Wesleyan from Hamilton is winning close games down the stretch. There are only twelve conference games a year, so each one is crucial. There’s no doubt that the Conts will compete their tails off this year, but they’ve lost so many bats that I think it will be hard for them to match the output of the other West teams. They can and will compete every day, however.
Editor’s Note: Here’s to all of the NESCAC baseball players who didn’t come here to play school. Heading into the baseball season, we wanted to give an update on which players played in competitive summer leagues and the standouts from each league from nearly all of the teams (Sorry, Colby Mules, we literally found no information on your players in summerball, so I guess you did go there to play school). We would also like to welcome a new writer, Max Stamler of the Middlebury D1 Alpine Ski Team, to our writing team.
As Baseball season nears its time to continue to make predictions for the upcoming season. We have already previewed NBN’s preseason choices for player and pitcher of the year but we also wanted to highlight some big-time summer-ball seasons that players from all around the ‘cac had. They will be looking to continue their success from the summer season to having big time impacts for their squads this spring.
Wesleyan LHP Mike McCaffrey
Wesleyan’s Mike McCaffrey earned an All-Star selection in the FCBL.
McCaffrey played this summer for the Brocton Rox of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL). He appeared in 8 games and posted a 2-2 record with a 1.46 ERA. This performance earned him a spot in the FCBL All-Star game stacked with mostly Division 1 players. McCaffrey’s success pitching this past summer in a highly competitive league should give him the confidence he needs to make that next step in this seasons NESCAC play as he looks to lead Wesleyan into the playoffs in a strong West division.
Trinity C Alex Rodriguez
The reigning NESCAC Co-Rookie of the year turned in a strong summer league season in the NECBL, one of the top leagues in the nation. Rodriguez batted .342, had a slugging percentage of .465 and knocked in 23 runs on his way to leading the Valley Blue Sox to the NECBL title, the first ever for the franchise. After breaking out in his first season, he looks to lead a Bantam team to home field advantage in their new stadium for the NESCAC playoffs after they narrowly missed the postseason in 2017.
Hamilton C Craig Sandford
Another NESCAC catcher with a successful summer season was Craig Sandford of Hamilton, playing for the Sherrill Silversmiths of the New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL). Sandford appeared in 30 games hitting .354 with 12 RBI’s and 3 homeruns while earning a spot in the All-Star game. Sandford should see the bulk of the playing time and be a leader for a Continental team that is rebuilding following the loss of the majority of their starting lineups.
Williams 2B Jack Roberts
Roberts played for his hometown Martha’s Vineyard Sharks of the FCBL this past summer and the his team was definitely happy he chose to stay home. Roberts appeared in 47 games, hitting .374 with 28 RBI’s and 3 home runs. He was perhaps the biggest NESCAC contributor over the summer, and his 65 hits and 174 AB’s were both team highs. Not surprisingly, Roberts performance was rewarded with a selection in the All-Star game alongside many Division 1 players. He was statistically the best player on a team loaded with guys from Vanderbilt, UConn, Kansas, and Notre Dame and will be the cornerstone for the Ephs along with SS Kellen Hatheway.
Bates LHP Connor Russell
One of Bates only players to participate in summer ball, Russell started 5 games for the Seacoast Mavericks in the FCBL wining 1 of those appearances with a 4.15 ERA. He played this past summer alongside Middlebury RHPs Conor Himstead and Colby Morris and might just face them in the playoffs again in 2018. Russell and the Bobcats are already off to a tough start this season, going 0-6 during their trip to California and need to get their bats hot to compete. Russell is more of a pitch to contact, veteran style pitcher and will find a way to get outs this year no matter the level of offensive support he gets.
Tufts 1B/3B Nick Falkson
Falkson appeared in 43 games for the North Shore Navigators of the FCBL at 3B hitting .273 with 19 RBI’s. He also drew 21 walks over the summer which ranked third on the team. Falkson returns to a Tuft’s team looking to defend the NESCAC title and make a run deep into NCAA tournament in his final year as a Jumbo. After playing 3B this summer, the Jumbos might have a competition at the hot corner as senior 3B Tommy O’Hara has started there for three straight years but saw limited time there over the summer for the Brockton Rox.
Tufts’ Nick Falkson looks to improve on his 2017 POY season after a strong summer in the FCBL.
Amherst SS Harry Roberson
Roberson joined the Nashua Silver Knights of the FCBL partway through the summer after a brief stint in the famed Cape Cod League and proved to be a key contributor in their lineup for the second half of the summer. In 30 games, Roberson hit .308 with 7 doubles and 17 RBI’s. In the last 9 games of the year, Roberson hit just below .500 as the Silver Knights won 6 of their last 9 to win the FCBL championship. Roberson looks to keep this form heading into his final collegiate season and has an outside shot to keep playing after college.
Middlebury CF Sam Graf
Unlike many of his NESCAC peers, Graf traveled outside of the Northeast for his summer season where he played for the Suffolk Fightin’ Crabs of the new short season Virginia Beach Collegiate League. Graf slugged .520 and had 23 RBI’s, both of which ranked him in the top 5 in the league and earned him a spot in the All-Star Game. Graf, coming off a semester in Chile swinging sticks instead of bats (for more information on his semester check out https://cbscout.net/2018/02/18/the-journey-colby-morris-sam-graf/), looks to lead a Middlebury squad into the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006.
Bowdoin RHP/OF Jack Wilhoite
Wilhoite led the North Shore Storm of the North Shore Baseball League (NSBL) into the playoffs over the past summer hitting .304 with 14 RBI’s in 19 games while also pitching in 4 games. In just 12 innings pitched, Wilhoite struck out an impressive 16 batters. The Polar Bear’s dynamic player looks to have a bigger impact this spring after just throwing 10.1 innings in 2017. He did strike out 22 hitters last season though, so he is the favorite to close games this year.
Graf, a big fan of Josh Donaldson’s swing path, loves to hit dingers.
While the weather continues to push back against the boys of spring, baseball is inevitably around the corner. MLB spring training is underway and soon NESCAC baseballs will be popping against catchers’ gloves and flying over fences. Former Middlebury Baseball Head of Analytics, Dylan Mortimer, recently interviewed CF Sam Graf ’19 on his approach to hitting offseason throwing, and the impact of Midd’s new HitTrax technology on the program.
Dylan: So as a college baseball player, with what’s available to you, what kind of stats do you look at during the season to evaluate your performance?
Sam: Honestly, I try as hard as I can not to look at stats during the season, but I think in terms of performance, at the end of the season, OPS is one of the best ones. I always try to keep a running tally of how many times I’ve walked and struck out, because I always want more walks than strikeouts. Other than that, on a day to day basis, I’m mostly paying attention to how often I’m hitting the ball hard and having quality at bats.
Dylan: After an at bat, regardless of the outcome, do you ‘pat yourself on the back’ for having a productive at bat in terms of moving the runner or other team-oriented outcomes?
Sam: Yeah, a little bit. No matter what the situation is I’m trying to hit the ball hard. If there’s a runner on third with less than two outs I’m looking to drive the ball first and foremost and a lot of times that’ll lead to a sac fly anyways.
Dylan: How would you describe your general approach? Are you looking to just hit line drives, or pull the ball, or go opposite field? Are you ever looking to just crank one over the fence or do you try to let the power come naturally out of good contact?
Sam: When I get up to the plate I try and really limit the thinking as much as I can and focus more on the feel of things. I focus on the pitcher’s release point, I’ve been timing up the pitcher’s fastball in the on-deck circle and in the dugout. At the college level you’re going to see a lot of fastballs, especially early in the count. I’m also not really thinking about where I’m trying to hit the ball I’m really just thinking about driving it and my lower half and not about my hands at all. Sometimes I think about going to the right-center gap but my best hit balls are generally pulled, but having that mindset allows me to have a better path to the ball, even though I’m driving it pull side.
Dylan: Do you have a unique batting practice routine? I know the beginning of your guys’ routine is to lay some bunts down and do some situational hitting but after that what is your process? I ask because I read a Fangraphs article about Freddie Freeman trying to hit line drives at the shortstop’s head which would translate to driving the ball to center and pulled to right field. Do you do anything kind of unique like that?
Sam: My first round is always going to be an opposite field round where I’m trying to hit the ball the other way and let it get a little deeper to time it up. With that I feel it sort of helps eliminate the hands out of my swing like I was talking about earlier. And that’s just kind of my individual feel. We usually get two rounds and my last round is just a game mentality round. So I sort of pretend its an in game situation and I try to pick up the ball out of the pitchers release point and try and hit the ball hard to the right center gap, although it never really goes exactly in that direction.
Dylan: So you guys installed the HitTrax stuff last year. I was wondering how you’ve used that and if you’ve thought more about launch angle at all, which has been a huge trend in major league baseball.
Editor’s Note: HitTrax is a new hitting technology which measures exit velocity and launch angle of the ball off of the bat. It allows hitters to see how they can maximize the distance on balls they put in play and projects how far their batting practice ball travel in the air. It’s pretty neat and follows a Josh Donaldson and Justin Turner-type hitting philosophy.
Sam: Yeah, we do use HitTrax almost every practice and its really cool that it can measure the launch angle and exit velocity. What’s been important for me is knowing how hard I’m hitting the ball and also to see if I’m in the launch angle range between like 10 and 25 degrees which is kind of the ideal range. Even if you’re not barreling it up but you get that launch angle it’ll still probably drop beyond the infielders for a hit. Christian Yelich is a guy who hits the ball really hard but hasn’t had the success people think he will have because his launch angle hasn’t been great. I think Mike Moustakas is another guy like that. So a swing change to a more elevated path could really help those guys out.
Dylan: So have you done anything to change your swing since using HitTrax or has it more validated your current swing path?
Sam: Last year I will say that I didn’t make a whole lot of major changes but I tried to kind of feel a lot of different things and every day come in with the intention to hit the ball in the air and HitTrax helped me see where certain balls were going to land and helped me know which swing feels would lead to more hits. I think that really showed between freshman and sophomore years. I was a much better hitter sophomore year in terms of slugging and I was more patient also because you can see the zones on HitTrax. My flyball to groundball ratio was also totally different from freshman to sophomore year. Freshman year I wasn’t really trying to hit the ball in the air as much.
Graf is on first in this photo, and as great hitters say, singles are mistakes, so why is he smiling?
Dylan: What were the details on that one tank you hit in one of the preseason scrimmages?
Sam: Oh yeah! HitTrax said I hit it 96 mph off of the bat and it went over 400 feet because it was at the perfect angle of around 20 or 25 degrees.
Dylan: So talking more about your improvements from freshman to sophomore year, I was looking at your stats and you walked only 4 times freshman year and the next year you walked 17 times in a couple of less plate appearances than you had freshman year. So aside from being more patient in general did you change anything significant?
Sam: So I made a really conscious effort to say I wasn’t going to chase as many pitches. HitTrax helps with that goal because it shows me where pitches are in the strike zone and if I shouldn’t have swung at something. Other than that I think I improved just because I was determined to be more selective.
Dylan: So another thing I saw in your stats was that freshman year you had one outfield assist and last year you had five. I also remember that freshman year most people would agree you had the best arm in the outfield or maybe of position players on the team. Are people running on you more or are you just more relaxed when you’re making throws.
Sam: I think a lot of that, especially with a smaller sample size of games, probably came down to luck. Part of it is also probably because I played mostly left field last year.
Dylan: I remember freshman year, against Wesleyan I think, a guy hit single he was trying to stretch into a double and you caught it off of a bounce. He had no shot against you getting to second but you just wound up and threw the ball straight into the ground. Do you remember that?
Sam: *Laughing* Yes, I remember that. Yeah, that was not great. I forgot that you traveled with us freshman year so you saw that.
Dylan: That was awesome because everyone was so excited to see you hose that guy.
Sam: It was really cold that day.
Dylan: Can you talk about your offseason program for your arm care and what your goals are with it?
Sam: The number one goal, especially as I get older, is just to stay healthy. I’ve done a good job the last two years working with the driveline baseball protocols. I started doing that my junior year of high school I think and it’s been huge in keeping my arm healthy. I started doing bands before and after throwing and last year I started foam rolling a lot more and doing lots of soft tissue work. Coming back from studying abroad was interesting because at first I was throwing terribly but I knew that I had to listen to my arm and not push through and now I’m doing much better.
Dylan: Are you playing summer baseball this year or are you more looking for an internship?
Sam: Yeah, I’m more looking at an internship right now. My parents have supported me through quite a few summers of baseball and they’d like to see me do an internship. Playing summer ball also doesn’t really allow me to get as strong as I could be so that’s something I’m interested in exploring while doing an internship.
Dylan: Could you think of the best advice you’ve ever gotten from a coach?
Sam: Off the top of my head one of the things that had the biggest impact on me was in middle school my coach asked our team what we individually thought about at the plate. A lot of people said things like don’t strikeout, hit the ball on the ground, or move the runner. He told us the only thing we should be thinking about at the plate is hitting the ball hard and clearing your mind of everything else. Early on I used to always think too much. Now I even do meditation to practice clearing my mind for when I go up to the plate and only have to think about hitting the ball hard.
Dylan: What about the worst advice?
Sam: As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized that not everyone knows what they’re talking about. So I’ve weeded through a lot of stuff like swinging down on the baseball and trying to hit groundballs. If you look at my high school stats it’s even funnier than the split between freshman and sophomore year. I hit .500 both years in high school but I think over that span I probably had only like five doubles, and no homeruns. Part of that was definitely coaches telling me to just get the ball on the ground.
#18 Middlebury (19-6, 7-3, Lost in Quarterfinals to Wesleyan)
After some short-but-very-real sweating over whether or not the Panthers would even get an NCAA bid, Middlebury now faces a long road trip to scenic Willimantic, Connecticut. Willimantic is the hometown of Former US Senator Chris Dodd, and, more relevantly for this tournament, the Eastern Connecticut Warriors. As most NESCAC fans probably know, Middlebury ended the season on a three game losing streak, including a loss in the NESCAC quarterfinals to Wesleyan. This was pretty incongruous with the rest of their season, which was a huge success. Middlebury was 19-3 heading into the final weekend, and climbed as high as fifth in the national rankings. There’s no reason that Middlebury can’t reach those heights again.
How They Got Here:
For most of the season, Middlebury was the consensus best team in the league, thanks in large part to recently crowned All-League Jack Daly ’18. Daly carried a ridiculous (and it turns out, unsustainable) burden on both sides of the ball for Middlebury, leading the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals. But Middlebury’s ideal offense have come when Daly is able to sit back, pick his spots to drive and create shots for others. The Panthers’ best win of the year was at home over now #5 Williams. In that game, guards Hilal Dahleh ’19 and Joey Leighton ’20 combined for 32 points, allowing Daly to play a game more suited to his skill set. He finished with just seven points, but had 11 assists and four steals. Middlebury led the Ephs by double digits for pretty much the entire game, before Bobby Casey ’19 spearheaded a furious final minute comeback. Middlebury is at their best when they can get contributions from players other than Daly and Matt Folger ’20, and for much of the season, they did just that.
Middlebury needs role players like joey Leighton ’20 to hit some shots in order to take pressure off of the stars.
How They Lose:
This may seem obvious based on the previous paragraph, but Middlebury loses when they don’t get any secondary contributions. Daly is not a shooter, therefore teams, especially elite NESCAC defenses, have had success packing the paint and forcing him to finish over size. The obvious solution to that would be for him to kick it out to shooters, forcing the defense to spread out and giving him more open lanes to the basket, and the big men more room to finish. Unfortunately, for those who watch Middlebury consistently (like me) it feels like Middlebury hasn’t hit a three point shot in about a month. The Panthers have struggled shooting the ball to such an extent that it shouldn’t even really be called “struggling” anymore; they just aren’t a good shooting team. This was the problem in all three of the losses that ended their regular season prematurely. Middlebury couldn’t hit any shots, therefore teams could lock in on Daly and make him finish difficult layups. He had 20 against Wesleyan in the quarterfinals, but many of them were very difficult shots and he was blocked several times at the end of the game.
Unfortunately, there are no real solutions here for the Panthers other than “somebody hit some shots.” After a long slump, Folger seems to have come around a little bit towards the end of league play, but Middlebury still needs more. Leighton and Dahleh are the chief candidates; they have to view the NCAA tournament as a new season and come out aggressive. There have been too many games of late where one of them misses their first shot and then hesitates the rest of the game. First years Jack Farrell ’21 and Griffin Kornaker ’21 also must be factors, at least as ball handlers to take some pressure off Daly. Middlebury has the tools to make an NCAA run. They showed it over their first 22 games of this season. But they can’t do that if they can’t score.
The Competition:
Lebanon Valley (18-9, 10-6, Conference Champs)
Sam Light ’18 (Courtesy of Lebanon Valley Athletics)
Middlebury’s Friday opponent, the Dutchmen earned their NCAA berth by way of a thrilling 70-68 win in the MAC Commonwealth Championship game. Lebanon Valley is led by senior guard Sam Light ’18, who led his conference in scoring with 23.3 PPG and poured in 35 in the championship game. Light is a gunner, shooting a ridiculous 47.6% from three on the season. Second on the team in scoring is Andy Orr ’18, a forward who pours in 18 points a game along with 9.9 rebounds. Other than those two, the Dutchmen are very thing, with no one else scoring more than 8 points per game. As a team they shoot well from three at 36.5%, but are exploitable on the boards, only out-rebounding their opponents by three per game (low for a conference champion.) On paper, this seems like a good matchup for Middlebury. The Panthers defend guards very well (ask Bobby Casey,) so Light should see a heavy dose of Daly and Farrell. And Middlebury crashes the offensive glass hard, and has a definite size advantage in this game (Orr is the only player in the rotation over 6’4″.) Middlebury should be able to win this one playing their game.
This is the team that makes this a tough draw for the Panthers. The home team in this round of the tournament, the Warriors are tenth in the country and ended the season third in the regional rankings, sandwiched right between Wesleyan (2) and Hamilton (4) and have been a popular NESCAC non conference opponent in recent years. This season they went 3-0 against NESCAC teams, although those teams were Connecticut College, Trinity and Amherst before Amherst got good. The Warriors are a transition-minded team. They shoot very well from three, making nearly 10 per game on 37.5% shooting, and they pick nearly ten steals per game as well, which translate into fast break baskets.
Tarchee Brown ’18 is one of the best players in the region.
Like Middlebury, they rely a great deal on their star guard. Tarchee Brown ’18 was the Player of the Year in the Little East Conference, averaging over 19 points per game with 9 rebounds and 4 assists. He is the kind of Player that Middlebury has trouble with, as his length and athleticism make it hard for Daly to match him, but his quickness makes Folger not the right call either. Eastern Connecticut also boasts their conference’s Defensive Player of the Year in G Carlos Gonzalez ’20. Gonzalez averaged over 3 steals per game, as well as 5 assists. The Warriors lack size and depth in the middle, however. Their tallest starter F Leonal Hyatt ’19 at 6’6″, 210, and they only have one forward who is in the rotation off the bench. Should they match up, this is an area for Middlebury to exploit on an otherwise dominant team.
Johnson and Wales (19-9, 13-3, Conference Champs)
Brian Hogan-Gary ’19 (Courtesy of Johnson and Wales Athletics)
Annnnnnd in this corner, from the GNAC, we have the Johnson and Wales Wildcats. The Wildcats have a balanced scoring attack; all five of their starters average at least 10 points. They are led by G Brian Hogan-Gary ’19, who averaged 17.5 points per game on over 50% shooting. He also came with two assists of having a quadrouple-double against Anna Maria, putting 17 points, 10 rebound and 10 steals(!) to go along with 8 assists. The rest of the team follows Hogan-Gary’s lead. They win with a combination of timely shooting and tenacious defense, making up for a lack of serious outside threats. Their only player who shoots more than 35% from three in G Jarrell Martin ’18, who shoots exactly 35% (although they have shot better in league play than their overall numbers.) Like many non-NESCAC conference teams, they are very undersized, with no players over 6’5′. They should run into the buzzsaw that is Eastern Connecticut at home. But it’s March now, and in March, anything can happen.
Surprise, surprise. Amherst won the NESCAC for the second year in a row. Tufts knocked off potent Bowdoin to meet Amherst in the finals. Tufts lost to Amherst only by four points, which is actually an incredible feat. Earlier in the season, Amherst steamrolled them. Like I said in previous articles, Tufts knows how to play Amherst. The results haven’t gone Tufts’ way, but they always play a tough game every time they match up with Amherst. Amherst received the automatic bid by clinching the NESCAC crown, and Bowdoin and Tufts obtained at-large bids. Here’s a preview of the NCAA DIII first round match ups:
Westfield State vs Tufts
This shouldn’t be a tough game for the Jumbos. The ‘Bos have a far superior record and a significantly harder schedule than Westfield State. Tufts, however, has to avoid to tendency to overlook Westfield. Obviously they’re coming off an impressive weekend with an upset win over Bowdoin followed up by a nearly historic victory over Amherst. Junior guard Jac Knapp still is the core for the Jumbos. Her offensive statistics don’t jump off the paper, but she is logs by far the most minutes of any Jumbo. Her time on the floor is probably one of the highest in the country (33.6 min/g). This statistic represents a couple interesting aspects to it. First, her coach trusts her so much that she’s willing to play her at a rate that’s unprecedented. Coach wants her to be out there at all critical moments. She trusts that the offense and defense will always be executed by Knapp.
Jac Knapp ’20 does a little bit of everything for the Jumbos.
The defining statistic that in this game for me is the strength of schedule. Like I said in previous articles, NESCAC schools play a significantly harder schedule than non-NESCAC schools. It’s not that they play many more games, but that their opponents on a weekly basis are far stronger. Westfield lost to both Wesleyan and Trinity by double digits earlier in the season. Wesleyan and Trinity aren’t even in the tournament. This won’t be a rollover win for the ‘Bos, but Westfield shouldn’t pose much of a threat.
Tufts: 60-45
Becker vs Amherst
Cam Hendricks ’20 is a dangerous outside shooter, giving the Mammoths yet another weapon.
This game should be even easier for Amherst than Tufts’ game against Westfield. Amherst is all confidence as a result of this past weekend. Even though they only defeated Tufts in the championship by four points, I think it was really beneficial for Amherst to play a close game. Obviously the NESCAC crown is important, but for teams like Amherst, a national championship always outweighs a NESCAC championship. Amherst will likely have to play a close game in the coming weeks, so the mental toughness they showed to grind out a win against Tufts illustrates that they can do much more than blowout teams. Staying consistent with the minutes theme, sophomore G/F Cam Hendricks is logging the most minutes for Amherst. While she certainly doesn’t score at a proficiency like Hannah Fox or Madeline Eck, her coach trusts her out on the floor; her coach believes that she’s a difference maker. As a fan, I’m very curious to see how Hendricks is used down the stretch in critical games. Her coach put faith in her in the NESCAC playoffs and regular season, so I don’t see why anything would change. For the record, Becker lost to Colby–merely a mediocre NESCAC team— by THIRTY-SIX points in the regular season. They don’t have a chance.
Amherst: 70-28
Husson vs Bowdoin
Out of all the games involving NESCAC teams this weekend, this game is the only one that I could see being remotely close. I’m not going to even give credit to Husson here. Bowdoin has to be mentally down on themselves. They blew an opportunity to beat Amherst. They thought they could simply push over Tufts like they did earlier in the season. Bowdoin, however, got smacked by the Jumbos–losing by twelve points. The Polar Bears were held to forty-eight points, which is some of their lowest scoring all season. I could have seen Bowdoin beating Amherst in the NESCAC championship because they played them tight earlier in the year. If Bowdoin wants to be serious contenders again, they must blow out Husson. They need to repossess their offensive swagger. That starts with senior guard Kate Kerrigan. She has been the ignitor all year for the Polar Bears, and was just named Player of the Year AND Defensive Player of the Year in the NESCAC. She’s a senior team leader, and must convey to the rest of their team that they can’t take any opponent lightly the rest of the way. For if they do, they will never get a date with destiny. Husson lost to Bates during the regular season by over ten points. THEY LOST TO BATES, the worst team in the ‘Cac. I’m not doubting Bowdoin here, but they must not doubt themselves either.
Kate Kerrigan ’18 is the most dangerous player in the league, and is the key to Bowdoin’s title chances.
These newly crowned NESCAC champs just got one of the few things that escaped them in 2017. They are hosting the opening two rounds of the NCAA tournament in Williamstown, MA against Bridgewater State and either Ramapo or Moravian. The #8 Ephs are in control of their own fate here as a home crowd and favorable schedule could lead them right back to where they were last year; namely, the Final Four. The road hasn’t been easy, but with the guidance of Coach Kevin App and the recent return of NESCAC Player of the Week G Mike Greenman, the Ephs are in better shape than they have been the last few weeks heading into the big dance.
How They Got Here:
Williams has had their ups and downs, including F Kyle Scadlock’s torn ACL, a lengthy absence from starting G Mike Greenman, and a host of players entering and leaving the starting lineup. While they Ephs never really stumbled along the way, they certainly had doubters throughout the season. Four of their five losses came to NESCAC teams, and two were against Tufts and Amherst which is surprising given the rest of their track record. They have had some shooting streakiness as G Bobby Casey has had some ups and downs, hitting a hot streak recently while G Cole Teal may have just gotten over the hump of an ice cold streak. They also saw the emergence of a star this season in F James Heskett, who was recently named NESCAC Player of the Year. He averages 19.5 PPG, although his presence as more of a back court player with his side takes away from Williams’ rebounding chops. Their leading rebounder is C Matt Karpowicz who comes off the bench to average 5.5 REB/G. Between their core of F Heskett, G Casey, G Teal, G Greenman, and C Kempton/Karpowicz, they still have depth and are well rounded on perimeter defense, distribution, and shooting.
Matt Karpowicz ’20 has been a powerful inside presence for the Ephs, and was arguably the MVP of the championship game, putting up 14 points on 6-8 shooting.
How They Lose
While Heskett and Casey have been great all season, they have their share of streakiness which leaves Williams vulnerable. In their 69-63 loss to Tufts, their four deep shooting threats (all of their starters but the centers) went just 4-26 from beyond the arc. Even in their championship win over Wesleyan, Heskett went 1-10 from deep and the Ephs were outrebounded 47-40. These were two things that hurt them in their regular season loss to Middlebury as well. The Panthers dominated the boards and were able to lock up Heskett and Casey until the last two minutes, when the Ephs made a furious run. Had Wesleyan been just a little better offensively, Williams would have been in trouble. Great coaching, athleticism, and experience should take the Ephs over their early round opponents here, but in their worst games, these teams at their best can compete with them. They need to distribute the shooting if one of their starters hits a dry streak and they will likely find a hot hand. And, as usual, Karpowicz and Kempton have their work cut out for them on the glass.
The Competition
Bridgewater State University Bears (18-9, 9-3)
Williams’s Friday Opponent, the MASCAT champions earned an automatic bid to the big dance after playing a season free from NESCAC opponents. The Bears have three common opponents with Williams and in those games they are 6-1 against those teams. Bridgewater lost to Salem St. 88-73, an opponent that Williams beat easily 80-68. They aren’t ranked nationally or regionally and relied on their conference championship to qualify for the NCAA tournament. They don’t have too much size, with their two biggest starters listed at 6’7,” which is advantageous to a Williams team lacking the size to rebound. They are balanced overall in terms of production, with four starters averaging over 12 PPG, three averaging over 4 REB/G, and five averaging over 2 assists per contest. However, lacking any real strength of schedule, they should be overmatched by a superior Eph team.
Rayshon Ward ’20 is one of three Bridgewater St players who average over 15 PPG.
Moravian College Greyhounds (20-7, 10-4)
The Greyhounds also were recently crowned conference champions, earning the auto-bid from the Landmark conference, losing seven games along the way, but only one to a regionally ranked opponent. They played Hamilton in their preseason and lost by just four points during a dominant run from the Continentals. The fact that they competed closely with this squad shows that at their best, they would at least give Williams a run for their money. Now, six other losses to worse opponents than Williams lost to all season certainly lowers their chances of knocking off the Ephs, and the rest of their body of work is underwhelming. They shoot a respectable 37.8% from three point range, but that is the best statistic they own. They only have one player above 4 REB/G and had nine players start games this year without any injuries. This means they couldn’t exactly find the winning formula, and as a result relied on the conference championship to get to the tournament. They are a shooting team, averaging 86 PPG, and would need to be red hot all game long to run with the Ephs.
Ramapo College Roadrunners (21-6, 15-3)
The Roadrunners are ranked second in the Atlantic region and have been ranked as high as sixth nationally during the season, but find themselves currently outside of the top-25. It’s tough to see how they fell out of the national rankings on the surface, but they look much weaker given a closer look at their strength of schedule. Unlike the NESCAC, where as many as six of the teams saw national rankings throughout the season and those six were all regionally ranked, Ramapo faced just one ranked opponent all year. That game came against formerly #14 and currently unranked Ohio Wesleyan University on December 28th where the final score was 98-69 in favor of OWU. This crushing defeat surely contributed from the fall from grace for Ramapo as with just six losses, they appear to be much stronger on the surface. They have just two players averaging double digit PPG, two over 5 REB/G, and drain their threes just 32% of the time. They shouldn’t be able to keep up with a far superior Williams team and they round out what looks to be a weak regional, favoring the Ephs who have a great shot to reach the Sweet-16 for the second year in a row.
