Alex Shafer – Nothing But NESCAC

Next Year Starts Now: Way Too Early 2019 NESCAC Baseball Power Rankings

2019 NESCAC Baseball Preseason Power Rankings:

After it was all said and done, Amherst showed everyone why you can’t count them out. Facing elimination against Middlebury, Amherst won some close ballgames to survive and advance, combining clutch pitching and hitting all the way to a NESCAC title. As the Harry Roberson and Max Steinhorn era comes to a close at Amherst, it was nice from a personal perspective that these guys won it all. With those guys leaving, however, it is tough to think that Amherst will be in the same position next year. While coaches Brian Hamm and John Casey will never put out a losing team onto the field, a product of superior coaching, recruiting, and pedigree, they have a tough task to replace their best hitters. Casey arguably has a harder task, needing to replace the meat of his lineup, but will likely have some hot shot recruits coming in to fill that void. As these guys graduate and move on to the real world, teams filled with underclassmen will start to rise. Middlebury, and Wesleyan of the west division were filled with strong underclassmen, while Trinity looks to be the most promising out of the East.

1). Wesleyan:

With sometimes inconsistent hitting, Wesleyan’s NESCAC success will rely on the control and success of their pitching staff.

Wesleyan had to play a perfect game against Tufts to stay alive in the tournament and they revealed some weaknesses in their pitching staff as a result. Despite some stellar offensive numbers (.298 team AVG), the Cards struggled against quality pitching down the stretch. At times they looked overmatched in the NESCAC tournament, seeing their true advantage of starting pitching fail to execute when it counted. Mike McCaffrey and Kelvin Sosa, two of the most talented pitchers in the league, went 5.1 innings, allowing 11 runs and 13 BBs in the NESCAC tournament, leading to an early exit. They have the offensive depth and starting pitching to go a long way, but they need to compete better in big games and show that their bullpen can keep the score close if their starters don’t got deep into outings. The Cards are young, though and just might have the talent to go all the way. Alex Capitelli, Danny Rose, Kelvin Sosa, and Mike McCaffrey are just a few of the names the Cardinals are returning.

2). Middlebury:

Colin Waters is a wild card for 2019, putting up solid numbers as a sophomore and coming on only at the end of this year. Not playing football could turn him into one of NESCAC’s best arms.

Middlebury came close to making the playoffs, but a weak start to the season made any road to the postseason a long shot if not impossible. Getting swept by Wesleyan in one of the early serieses gave Midd absolutely no momentum and a 2-4 record at the halfway point. The squad stopped underachieving around three-quarters into the year, but by then, it was too late. They were hampered all year by injuries too as highly touted recruit Michael Farinelli and starting pitcher Spencer Shores both went down with Tommy John surgery after the preseason. Shores, a hard throwing righty with jerky mechanics and a wipeout slider, saw tons of success at the beginning of 2017 and if he can get healthy, the Panthers should have a formidable pitching staff. Anchoring that pitching staff is Colby Morris, one of the NESCAC’s top arms and Colin Waters who really came on at the end of the year, dominating Union in a 5-3 victory and shutting down Amherst in relief. 1B Kevin Woodring (1st Team All-NESCAC Nose Tackle for the football team) went down with a knee injury against Williams and did not return the rest of the way, and has the potential to lead the league in HR. They also have the NESCAC defensive POY, Brooks Carroll at SS, First-Team All-NESCAC 2B Justin Han, and a breakout hitter in Hayden Smith. The ceiling is high for this team, but as always the question will be: Will they put it all together?

3). Trinity:

Trinity has solid starting pitching and their offensive is anchored by the powerful Koperniak.

Trinity must be kicking themselves after such a heartbreaking change of events at the end of the regular season. The Bantams started off the season so strong, winning the series against Tufts and Bowdoin and sweeping Colby, setting themselves up for an early playoff clinch with a 7-2 record. With Tufts underachieving, Bates not hitting, and the rest of the east not playing well all together, it seemed like a playoff spot for Trin was locked up. Losing three tight games in a row to Bates, however, killed the Bantams season. The potential returns, though: no weekend starter for Trin was a senior, so they’ll be back. Alex Shafer dominated all year and is in the conversation for pitcher of the year, Erik Mohl had a down year but could return to his All-NESCAC form. C Alex Rodriguez needs to step up though, seeing his stellar freshman numbers collapse in his sophomore campaign. Hopefully a second stint in the NECBL will help him find that talent once again. Matt Koperniak broke out and garnered both All-NESCAC and All-Region honors and will be their on field leader in 2019. With their new field, good coaching, and likely some talented recruits coming in, the Bantams will be an exciting team to watch come next spring.

4). Tufts:

Tufts didn’t surprise anybody by winning the East division regular season title, proving our preseason rankings correct. Although they made it to the tournament, they lacked pitching dominance like they have enjoyed in their previous eras, seeing their #2 and #3 starters combine for a paltry 4.05 K/9. Despite sub-3.00 ERAs from both of these players, Brent Greeley and Spencer Langdon, their strikeout numbers reveal that they can’t generate swings and misses and rely on good defense and a bad BABIP (batting average on balls in play) from opponents. Well, it might not get much better, as their corner infielders Tommy O’Hara and Nick Falkson graduated. Their seniors represented a 4x First Team All-NESCAC honoree in 3B Tommy O’Hara, the 2018 NESCAC POY Malcolm Nachmanoff, and the 2017 NESCAC POY Nick Falkson which is tough for even the legendary coach John Casey to replace. RJ Hall will lead the staff to a number of wins, but they might not have the offense to dominate like they usually do. One thing to count on is that they will lead the league in hit by pitches by about 50.

5). Williams:

Williams had a tough season without their ace Johnny Lamont. He’s an elite pitcher, although even he wouldn’t have been able to solve all of the Ephs’ pitching problems. Williams simply lacked ‘stuff’ on the mound this year and their offense wasn’t deep enough to make up for it. Kyle Dean will likely move back to the bullpen next year where he saw success as a freshman, and Lamont should help balance out the staff. Jack Bohen will need to be more consistent for his team to have a chance to win NESCAC weekend games. Kellen Hatheway and Jack Roberts had talent sure enough, but got off to slow starts and never got back to the All-NESCAC level that they were at in the past. Hatheway will surely figure it out (unless he gets an internship this summer) and is still an elite DIII defender, with arguably the most range in the conference. Losing is never fun, and the Ephs’ playoff drought is getting longer and longer, so they will assuredly come back next year with a new sense of energy especially with their ace returning.

6). Amherst:

Nick Nardone is one of the lone powerful bats remaining in Amherst’s lineup.

What a run it was for the Amherst Mammoths. They won 5 straight to head to the New York Regional, and while they exited after a quick 0-2 performance, they lost both games by one run, competing and showing that they deserved to be there. Ultimately their offensive depth was an issue as Max Steinhorn, Ariel Kenney, and Harry Roberson were far more dangerous than their other hitters, but they had the best all around team in the conference. Their pitching, both starting and relief, performed when they needed it to, and some unlikely offensive heroes stepped up in big spots. Bolstering the lineup in 2019 will be first year standout Joseph Palmo, whose wide batting stance is surprisingly balance and consistent, offering a contact heavy and line drive approach. He, along with Severino Simeone and Nick Nardone, should lead the Mammoth team who desperately needs to retool after losing some of their program’s all time best players. Andrew Ferrero finally pitched up to his potential too, and with Zach and Davis Brown, they could easily keep most of their NESCAC opponents at bay to compete for another title.

7). Bates:

Bates, underwhelming in most statistical categories, somehow got into the playoffs again. I don’t know what’s in the water up in Lewiston, but once you make the playoffs, nobody could care less about your stats. What it came down to was doing what Middlebury couldn’t–winning with their season on the line and coming from behind to take tight ballgames. A .237 team average is one of the worst in the ‘Cac, but the Bobcats beat out other teams with better team averages to see their season continue. What was especially huge was how they saw a future ace emerge as Nolan Collins threw the ball extremely well in tight spots. The sophomore posted a 2.75 ERA, and was the go to pitcher for Bobcats in must win games, knocking off Tufts in their final series to clinch a trip to Hartford. No hitter posted above a .267 average with most hitters barely hitting their weight though and that is a recurring issue. It will be tough for the Bobcats to get in again with that hitting, but Zach Avila was a breakout player who could see continued success in the NESCAC along with second year starting catcher and All-NESCAC honoree Jack Arend. I counted them out before, so it’s hard to predict what they’ll do next year. All I have to say is it ain’t over until all 12 games are played.

8). Bowdoin:

Bowdoin either needs to have a stellar recruiting class coming in or Lopez needs to be the ace that the Polar Bears were missing in 2018.

The Bowdoin Polar Bears’ end of year record was solid at 7-5, but they lost out on a playoff bid in tiebreaking fashion to Bates. I’m sure that they want to get revenge on Bates for making the playoffs two years in a row, seeing their season end exceptionally early. Like in the west, Bowdoin has a lot of young guys in All-NESCAC honoree Eric Mah and Connor Lee who led the team in hitting. Those two will put up another good year at the plate in 2019, as the team will be bolstered by all around athlete Brandon Lopez. Lopez started off the season terribly and looked as if his velocity dropped from previous years, but turned it around back to back gems against Colby (not a huge confidence booster) and Southern Maine. The game against Southern Maine really gives the Polar Bears some momentum moving forward as the ranked Huskies dominated all the other NESCAC teams they played (Bates, Colby, Amherst). Brett Osterholtz and Colby Lewis will need to step up to make the starting staff more formidable, but if they do, look for Bowdoin to compete for a playoff bid again next year.

9). Hamilton:

Hamilton Baseball’s 2021 class showed a lot of potential, leading to an exciting offseason for the young program.

Hamilton, as usual, is competitive at times with the league’s best but also finds a way to come up short. The West division is no cake walk with perennial winners Wesleyan and Amherst, but Hamilton showed to both teams that they should be respected. They won the series against Wesleyan and took one game from Amherst after losing the first two in heartbreaking fashion. The team is young, and didn’t return too many starters, putting out a product much better than most expected. Matt Zaffino raked all year, garnering the NESCAC Rookie of the Year honors—ending the season with a .359 average. If they can figure it out in close games, Hamilton could potentially make the playoffs next year. They need to keep games close to give the ball to their lights out closer Ian Nish, and have to improve on their defense and offensive execution.

10). Colby

Colby had a tough year and there’s no way around that with a 1-11 NESCAC season. It doesn’t look like it’ll get much better next year either. The Mules’ best hitter and my former classmate Matt Treveloni is graduating (congrats, Trev), and the east is far more variable than the West. Tufts is always a good team, however they didn’t dominate like they have in the past few years and aren’t likely to improve without their three best hitters. The other teams in the East–Bates, Bowdoin, and Trinity are likely to improve though, and the Mules will have a tough task ahead of them without any cake-walk serieses. If pitchers throw strikes for the Mules next year (and they find a new starting pitching staff or it Taimu Ito returns to this 2017 form), they could be 4-8 in conference, but to be better, they’ll need to find some more offense.

It was a great year. Teams that seem to always get the job done, Amherst and Tufts, made it to the finals and two great coached teams playing each other is every baseball fan’s dream. In the end, Amherst proved to everyone why the game always requires twenty-seven outs, cranking out stellar performances in must win games like it was easy. The highlight of the regular season was the way that the East division came down to a three team tiebreaker, showing that no matter how many games are played, everything still seems to come down to the wire. Thank you to all the players and coaches that make the season so enjoyable! See you next spring.

-Andrew

Time For Hardware: Regular Season NESCAC Baseball Awards

While the baseball season might be over, the awards season is just beginning. Not to be too self promoting here, but our awards are certainly less biased than the real NESCAC awards and should be taken more seriously. As it goes with the MLB awards, they are based on regular season results, not the postseason, and categorized based on league. Here’s to the best ballplayers in the ‘CAC…

West Player of the Year:

Ariel Kenney had a stand out season to finish off a great career.

OF Ariel Kenney ‘18 (Amherst) Chula Vista, CA: Kenney put a monster season this year en route to Amherst clinching of the #1 seed in the NESCAC West. Coming in at 3rd in the conference with his .383 AVG and 5th with his 4 big flys, Kenney was the heart of an Amherst offense that put up the 2nd most runs in the league. A few of Kenney’s impressive performances this season include a game versus Eastern Connecticut St. in which he went 4-5 with a homerun and a 2-2 stint with 3 RBI and a walk against Williams. Kenney’s 16 extra-base hits were third in the conference, helping boosting him to a .600 SLG%. Amherst will look to ride their MVP all the way to a NESCAC ‘ship, starting with Bates in NESCAC playoffs this weekend.

East Player of the Year AND Combat Silver Slugger POY:

Stony Brook transfer, Malcolm Nachmanoff, had by far the best season of any NESCAC player.

OF Malcolm Nachmanoff ‘18 (Tufts) Boston, MA: Another year, another Jumbo winning Player of the Year. That being said, there is absolutely no doubt that Nachmanoff deserves to take home the hardware after an incredible, breakout Senior spring. Nachmanoff lead the conference in Batting Average (.432), Homeruns (7), Slugging (.775), Doubles (15), Total Bases (86) and Extra-Base Hits (23). He was the NESCAC leader in 6 categories which is nothing less than absolute dominance. Nachmanoff transferred to Tufts after his sophomore season at D1 Stony Brook and proceeded to have a fairly rough Junior year for the Jumbos in which he only hit .182. He was able to find that D1 talent this season and prove that he is not just one, but several steps above the rest of the competition. Nachmanoff’s next challenge is to lead the Jumbos to his second ‘ship in 2 years and their first challenge will be the Wesleyan Cardinals.

West Cy Young:

P Colby Morris ‘19 (Middlebury) Ross, CA: Yes folks, the time has come. NBN is going to give our editor the credit he deserves. As much as we all love to make fun of Colby, his numbers are far too good to ignore. Morris was absolutely lights out all year long, leading the conference in Complete Games (4), Wins (5), Innings (63 ⅓) and Strikeouts (52). Along with all those feats, Morris was second in the conference with a jaw-dropping 1.71 ERA. Though, what made Morris’ effort so special this season is the way that he turned it on during conference play. In-conference he was 3-1, including 3 complete games, with 23 Ks and an ERA of 0.93. Despite the fact that Midd will be missing out on the playoffs this year after a tough series loss against Amherst, Morris did absolutely everything in his power to give them the opportunity to get there. Midd’s youthful core this season and Morris’ dominance should translate to a very exciting 2019 in Vermont.

East Cy Young:

RJ Hall has been there and done that in his three years at Tufts and is a tough matchup for any team in the playoffs.

P R.J. Hall ‘19 (Tufts) Marietta, GA: The East Cy Young was a particularly difficult award to pick because there were many good candidates, and almost all of them play for Tufts. Hall takes the cake because he proved himself to be the Jumbo’s most relied upon arm and ace throughout the season. Hall has a solid 5-2 record on the year, contributing immensely to Tufts’ 1st place finish in the East. His 47 strikeouts were far and away the most of anyone on the Jumbo’s staff and was 4th in the NESCAC. Hall notched 3 key conference wins over all 3 Maine schools (Colby, Bowdoin and Bates), including a complete game shutout against Bowdoin. Hall is the face of a three-headed monster for Tufts which will look to continue their success all the way to a three-peat of the NESCAC championship this weekend.

Reliever of the Year:

P Jake Shapiro ‘18 (Bates) Sandy, UT: It seemed as if every time Shapiro entered the game for the Bobcats, it was over. In his 14 appearances this season Shapiro maintained a .98 ERA and amassed 6 saves which were 2nd best in the ‘CAC. 5 of Shapiro’s 6 saves came in conference games, tied for the most of any pitcher this season. The reason behind Shapiro’s success was his ability to put hitters away via the strikeout. Shapiro has been punching out batters left and right and it shows in his 12.27 K/9. #2 Bates will face #1 Amherst this Friday in the first round of the NESCAC playoffs and you can be sure that if they have a lead Shapiro will be there man to finish it off.

Breakout Player of the Year:

P Spencer Langdon ‘20 (Tufts) Westlake, TX: After not seeing a single inning of work his Freshman year, Tufts hurler Spencer Langdon broke onto the scene in the NESCAC this year. He lead the NESCAC in ERA with a staggering 1.66 and holds a perfect 4-0 record heading into the playoffs. The majority of Langdon’s success came in NESCAC play in which he went 3-0 and had an even better ERA of 1.35. The Jumbos managed to win every single game that Langdon started this season, helping them to another first place finish in the NESCAC East. Tufts gave Langdon his first career start in their opening series against Trinity, after his impressive preseason relief stints, and never looked back. Langdon cemented his place as the best #3 starter in the conference this season and certainly as a candidate for POY. Tufts will use their hidden gem this weekend in NESCAC playoffs where Langdon will look to go 2/2 on NESCAC ‘ships.

Rookie of the Year:

P Kelvin Sosa ‘21 (Wesleyan) Bronx, NY: Amongst a 2021 class that was full of talent, Sosa proved to be the best. Earning himself the 2-spot in the rotation in just his first season, Sosa took full advantage of the opportunity he was given. His 2.54 ERA was the 5th best in the NESCAC and his 49 Ks were 3rd best. Some of his highlights this season include 6 ⅔ scoreless innings against Midd where he racked up 11 Ks and a 9 inning, complete game shutout against Williams that notched him 7 Ks. Sosa was a key piece in Wesleyan’s playoff run and will be getting his first taste of NESCAC playoffs this year. While Wesleyan’s next test is #1 seed in the East, Tufts, it is almost certain that Sosa will get the ball in game 2 of the playoffs.

2018 NESCAC 1st Team (Does not include award winners above)

C Chase Pratt ‘20 (Wesleyan) Rye, NY

IF Matt Koperniak ‘20 (Trinity) Adams, MA

IF Max Steinhorn ‘18 (Amherst) Washington, DC

IF Tommy O’Hara ‘18 (Tufts) Glenview, IL

IF Matt Zaffino ‘21 (Hamilton) New Canaan, CT

IF Justin Han ‘20 (Middlebury) Vienna, VA

OF Matt Treveloni ‘18 (Colby) Ashland, MA

OF Alex Capitelli ‘20 (Wesleyan) North Caldwell, NJ

OF Matt Jeye ‘18 (Wesleyan) Holliston, MA

P Brent Greeley ‘20 (Tufts) West Chester, PA

P Alex Shafer ‘20 (Trinity) Baltimore, MD

P Sam Schneider ‘18 (Amherst) San Diego, CA

Pitchers Are People Too; NESCAC Probable Starters Weekend Preview

Pitchers are People Too

The hall of fame football coach, commentator, and player John Madden once said, “They’re either going to run the ball here or their going to pass it.” Even though this quote isn’t relevant to the article, I just wanted to include it to show how much we miss Madden in the booth. Madden’s best statement is the following: “Usually the team that scores the most points wins the game.” The same mentality holds true in baseball. The team that scores the most runs wins. However, winning a ballgame encapsulates so many more characteristics than just scoring runs. You hear in basketball and football that defense wins championships. The 2000 Ravens, 2016 Broncos, and those mid-2000’s Pistons’ teams are all examples of great defenses carrying teams to championships. Having a dominant starting pitcher, setup man, and closer are pertinent to championship teams. Remember Madison Bumgarner coming into game 7 mid game against the Royals in the 2014 World Series, and absolutely shutting them down? He was on short rest, but still blanked the Royals. NESCAC hitting has been most of the talk all season, but I want to focus on the guys who constantly keep their teams in games when the well runs dry in the hitting department. Here are some of my conversations with the league’s top pitchers.

Colby Morris, Middlebury College:

3-4, 1.77 ERA, 37 K’s, Roster picture evaluation: chin up, chain out, confident.

AM: How do you plan to beat Bowdoin this weekend?

CM: To be honest, I haven’t looked too much at Bowdoin yet and am focussed on mid-week games and bullpens first. As far as the game plan goes, however, I’m just going to stick to what I’ve been doing–mixing it up and locating which is kind of what I do on the mound.

AM: What’s the mentality you take to the mound when you’re not getting run support?

CM: I try not to think too much about run support when I’m pitching. Obviously if we have a big inning offensively, my focus coming back out is to pitch to contact. In a tight game though, whether we are up or down doesn’t really matter to me as I’m just trying to stop everybody from scoring to keep the score where it is.

AM: What has been your best pitch this season and why?

CM: Strike three. In general my offspeed is just sharper than it was last year and with better location I have been able to get more K’s. While I usually pitch to contact (as seen with some low K/9’s my first two years), it has been big preventing big innings with some K’s.

My conclusion: Colby’s followed up a stellar sophomore campaign with an arguably better junior year. The win loss record is due to Midd’s underachievement as a lineup; you can’t put any of that on Colby with his ERA. Midd’s in a bind with Amherst and Wesleyan dominating the west, so every series is a must win for them.

Alex Shafer, Trinity College:

4-3; 1.74 ERA (NESCAC); .197 opponent avg. (NESCAC); Roster picture evaluation: nice guy to shoot the breeze with, crazy maniac on the mound. Loose tie.

AM: How do you plan to beat Bates this weekend?

AS: The game plan is always to give the team a chance to win, by reducing or eliminating the amount of runs that Bates scores.

AM: What’s the mentality you take to the mound when you’re not getting run support?

AS: My mentality is always the same. my game is built around keeping the fielders engaged with soft contact. handing them easy ground or fly balls keeps them in the game, which in turn means they may take more focused at bats. So if i wasn’t getting run support, i just try to be as effective as possible. I try to throw the least amount of pitches in order to get my fielders their at bats.

AM: What has been your best pitch this season and why?

AS: I think my best pitch is whatever keeps the batters off balance. Some batters are excellent at waiting on off speed, but struggle against well located fastballs. Some batters try to ambush fast balls, so i work them with off speed. My favorite pitch is my changeup, and the pitch calling partnership between me and my catcher means we are rarely unprepared for a batter’s tendencies.

My conclusion: Trin is having a very impressive season (7-2 NESCAC). If they can take at least two against Bates this weekend, there’s no way they don’t make a solid run in the playoffs. Shafer’s mentality of getting ground balls in tough spots is why Trinity has been so successful. It allows Shafer’s pitch count to be low, so he can stay out there for at least two thirds to three quarters of the game.

Mike McCaffrey, Wesleyan University:

1-0 (NESCAC); 1.54 ERA (NESCAC), 12.34 K/game; Roster picture evaluation: pretty swag, officially sponsored by Nike, looks like a kid who would take your candy (see below).

AM: How do you plan to beat Amherst this weekend?

MM: Every time we play Amherst the game seems to come down to one play or one pitch, so just focusing on winning each pitch.

AM: What’s the mentality you take to the mound when you’re not getting run support?

MM: I’m going to attack hitters and control what I can control, everything else seems to take care of itself.

AM: What has been your best pitch this season and why?

MM: I don’t know if I could choose one

My conclusion: He clearly went to the same college as Bill Belichick with these answers, and I love it. McCaffrey along with Kelvin Sosa have been two dominant southpaws at the top of Wesleyan’s rotation. As I said in my season preview, this is the biggest series of the year for both teams. They will likely meet again in the playoffs. Amherst won’t give Wes any free runs, so expect close games in this series with McCaffrey leading the charge.

Gavin Schaefer-Hood, Hamilton College:

3-3, 3.81 ERA, 27 K’s, roster picture evaluation: looks like the kid McCaffrey took candy from; still a beast on the mound this year; probably got a 98 on a midterm right before this was taken.

AM: How do you plan to beat Williams this weekend?

GSH: Being a freshman I don’t know much about Williams so I’ll be relying a lot on the game plan our coaches put together for us. They definitely seem to have some talent at the plate hitting both for average and with some power so I’ll just be trying to compete and prevent any big innings.

AM: What’s the mentality you take to the mound when you’re not getting run support?

GSH: I don’t think my mentality on the mound changes at all up one run or up 10. I’m just trying to execute each pitch and rely on my defense to make plays. I know my teammates will find ways to push runs across – they did it enough against me in the fall and early spring practices – so I just try to do my part and keep guys off the bases.

AM: What has been your best pitch this season and why?

GSH: I’d love to answer this one but we still have two league teams that I’ve never seen and that have never seen me so I’d love to keep as much of an element of surprise as I can before facing them. Lets just say the knuckleball.

My conclusion: Gavin had to take a role that most freshman don’t take as a key starting pitcher for Hamilton. He has rose to the challenge. He stunned Wesleyan last weekend with only one earned run through seven innings. Wesleyan’s lineup is nothing to joke about, but he made the Cards anemic at the plate.

Brooks Parker, Colby College:

1-3; 9.00 ERA; 11 Ks; 2017 Stats: 0-6, 3.31 ERA, 40 K’s; Roster picture evaluation: This guy doesn’t hide in the bushes in Fortnite.

AM: How do you plan to beat Tufts this weekend?

BP: Tufts is a very good baseball team and it will take a strong team effort on both sides of the ball to win against them. On the offensive side, we need to put more pressure on the defense and force them to make plays. Our pitchers need to throw strikes, keep the ball down and minimize hard hit balls. We can’t afford to give up free bases by walking batters as Tufts will take advantage of those opportunities. I’m confident in our defensive ability to make the plays behind our pitchers.

AM: What’s the mentality you take to the mound when you’re not getting run support?

BP: When I’m not getting run support I try to stay focused on what I can do to help the team win. For me, my mentality is very similar whether we’re up by a lot of down by a lot. I just try to make my pitches, hit my spots and keep the game close to give us an opportunity to win the game. I know that if I do my part on the mound, the runs will eventually come. Our team has some great hitters and although we’ve been slumping in conference games this season, I’m confident that we will find a way to score runs if our pitchers and defense can keep us in the game.

AM: What has been your best pitch this season and why?

BP: I’d say my best pitch this season has been my curveball. When everything’s working, my best pitch is my changeup, but I’ve had some trouble locating that pitch this season, which is something I’ve been working on. I love going to my curveball early in the count because most batters will not swing at it unless they have 2 strikes on them. I can generally locate my curveball very well and it allows me to get ahead in the count to come back with a fastball or changeup just out of the zone to hopefully get a swing and miss or softly hit ball.

My conclusion: Colby hasn’t been good all season; the road doesn’t get any easier this weekend against Tufts. I know there have been injuries and sickness up in Waterville, but the Mules have to figure it out at this 1-5 record. It all starts with solid pitching. With Brooks’ ERA coupled with his 0 wins, it’s clear that he hasn’t gotten the run support he needs. I love his answer to question two because it’s clear that he’s mature enough to bring a positive attitude to the mound inning to inning when the Mules’ bats are silent. That’s the attitude of a winner. If Colby can take two from Tufts, they really hurt Tufts’ chances at a playoff bid. I’m sure the Mules would love that.

Everybody Knows that Betting is Tough; NESCAC Baseball Top 5 Surprises of 2018

You might notice that some of our preseason predictions are a bit off. We foresaw some things and whiffed on some others. Here are the things we swung and missed on and why they matter so far this season:

Tufts’ In-Conference Woes: Does their Record Accurately Reflect their Potential?

In NBN’s preview of the Eastern Division last month, the question wasn’t “Which two teams are making the playoffs?”, but rather “Which team is going to finish below Tufts?” Halfway through their conference schedule, a different narrative is being presented. The Jumbos currently sit at a 3-3 in-conference record, and are heading into their 3rd weekend of NESCAC play. Tufts faced a tough Bantams squad for their first NESCAC series, but nobody expected that they would be on the short end of 2/3 games. The first two games of this series were close ball games but, both victories went to the Bantams. Tufts was able to salvage the third game of the series but nevertheless, the Jumbos are not used to losing series, especially on their own turf. Although Tufts was able to win their next series against Bowdoin, 2 games to 1, they were handed their third loss, one more loss than NBN predicted they would have all season long. So what is going wrong for the Jumbos? Are there key pieces who haven’t gotten it going? Or is it just dumb luck that their opponents have been able to get the better of them?

RJ Hall has cemented himself as one of the league’s best pitchers.

Nick Falkson ‘18, was my pick for Eastern Division MVP and he’s just not quite living up to the hype right now. Despite the fact that he is leading the conference in homeruns (4), his .269 BA shows an inconsistency of hard contact. His average has gone down over .100 from last season and perhaps this could help explain some of Tufts’ troubles, as their senior leader is not all he was cut out to be. On the mound, Tuft’s 1-2 punch of Brent Greeley ‘20 and R.J. Hall ‘19 have been lights out. Greeley is 3rd in the conference with a 1.85 ERA and Hall is 2nd in the conference with 3 wins. Out of the ‘pen Spencer Langdon ‘20 is leading the conference in ERA (1.08) and has a clean 2-0 record. Looking at Tuft’s stats, there doesn’t seem to be too much going wrong. So how did they end up 3-3? They happened to run into a red hot Trinity, who were barely able to take 2 of 3 from the Jumbos. Secondly, Bowdoin’s only win against Tufts was an extremely close 4-3 game in which the Jumbos had the tying run on base and just barely couldn’t get the job done. My intuition says that the talent is still there for the Jumbos and they certainly will not be missing out on the playoffs this year. I would predict an electric playoff series between 2-Seed Tufts and 1-Seed Amherst, with the Jumbos hungry for yet another ‘ship.

The whole Tufts staff, including its two first year starters, is pushing back towards the playoffs.

Trinity’s Improved Staff

Trinity’s staff carried them to a series win against the previously untouchable Jumbos.

Offense was never going to be an issue for the Bantam’s this year. As predicted, they have been getting it done at the plate, in-conference they are boasting a team AVG of .304 (2nd in NESCAC), 33 XBH (1st), 4 HR (1st), 56 RBI (1st) and 21 SB (1st). To be fair they have played 9 games while almost all other teams (with the exception of Bowdoin) have only played 5 or 6, but the numbers are impressive regardless. Trinity’s question was whether their pitching staff has the ability to keep them in games. Last year the Bantams finished 7th in team ERA (4.68) and were dead last in home runs allowed (16) and K/9 (5.94). This year Trinity’s staff has really stepped it up, lowering their in-conference ERA to a modest 3.65, raising their K/9 to 8.57 (2nd in NESCAC) and leading the NESCAC with 68Ks. The combination of Trinity’s potent offense and rejuvenated mound presence have lead the Bantams to a conference-best 7 wins. Much of Trinity’s success on the mound is thanks to starters Erik Mohl ‘19 and Alex Shafer ‘20. These two starters for the Bantams have combined for 5 of the team’s 7 conference wins. In 2 of Shafer’s 3 starts in the ‘CAC, he has gone the distance for a CG. In the one start he didn’t toss the whole game, he pitched 6 ⅔ innings of a 7 inning game. It’s safe to say that this guy is an absolute workhorse for the Bantams and his ability to limit bullpen use has been extremely helpful to their success this year. Schafer looks to have a real shot at NESCAC Pitcher of the Year as he is second in the league in innings pitched (37 ⅓), tied for first in complete games (2) and wins (4) and is 4th in ERA (2.17). Experience has clearly aided the Bantam’s staff this year as they have returned every single pitcher from last year. With the addition of Max Barsamian ‘21 and Justin Olson ‘21, Trinity has taken advantage of their ability to grow and mature as a staff over the last year and the results show it. With the Bantams leading the conference in many major statistical categories, both offensively and defensively, it seems as if they are on a crash course to a NESCAC championship as nobody has shown the ability to slow them down yet.

Midd’s Early Struggles

Hayden Smith is one of the few brights spots in 2018 for the Panthers.

To say that the Panther’s started out on a high note is a complete understatement. After a whopping 20-1 opening day victory over Williams, it seemed as if Midd was on the fast-track to another NESCAC championship appearance. After splitting the double header the next day, things still seemed to be going according to plan as the Panthers headed back home to snowy Vermont with a respectable 2-1 conference record. The next weekend would turn out to be one that Midd fans wish they could forget. Wesleyan managed to take all 3 games from Midd, pushing the Panthers from being playoff-likely, to being tied for last in the division with the Williams team they had clobbered the previous weekend. As NBN predicted in our preview of the West Division, it was not likely that their order would be as consistent as 2017, which was evident after struggling against Wes’ pitching. Additionally, the Panther staff wasn’t getting it done either, allowing 23 runs over the 3 game series. On the season, Midd is next to last in the league in batting average (.252) and total bases (208). Additionally, they are 8th in conference in ERA (5.46), which is not a great combination for a successful team. The road to repeat for Midd looks tough this year, as their remaining NESCAC opponents are a Hamilton squad, who just took 2 out of 3 games from the same Wesleyan club that swept the Panthers, and a red hot Amherst who currently leads the West Division. A sweep, or even two, might be necessary for Middlebury to find themselves back in the playoffs this year. This will be an especially tough ask when one of their starters (Colin Waters ‘19) has an ERA over 10 and the rest of their ‘pen hasn’t fared too well either. Also considering the fact that only 2 starters, Justin Han ‘20 and Hayden Smith ’20, are hitting over .300, things are gonna have to change for the Panthers really quickly in order for them to be playoff contenders once again.

Age is Just a Number: Freshman Getting it Done at the Dish

Everyone knows that the jump from high school to college baseball can be extremely difficult adjustment for some. Clearly nobody told these Freshman that, as they have been tearing it up at the plate for their respective teams.

Joseph Palmo ‘21 (Amherst) Austin, TX: Palmo, along with his fellow Mammoths, have started off their 2018 campaign on a hot streak. The Texas native has started out his college career on a high note, hitting at a .350/.412/.450 clip. Not only is it a feat in and of itself to be a starter as a Freshman, but Palmo takes full advantage of the opportunity of the playing time he’s given. Palmo has the 3rd highest batting average among a group of extremely talented starters for Amherst. His consistency at the plate has helped the Mammoths to a 4-1 start in conference play and I would expect to be hearing Palmo’s name a lot for the next 3 years.

Eric Pappas ‘21 (Williams) Providence, RI: While there has not been a lot of success to point to in Williamstown, as the Ephs currently have a 5-14 (2-4 in NESCAC) record, Pappas provides hope for a struggling Williams squad. With an outrageous .415 batting average, Pappas currently sits in 3rd place in the NESCAC. Pappas is constantly putting the ball in play, resulting in only striking out a mere 2 times on the season. Maybe Pappas’ older teammates could take a page out of his book; as a team Williams is striking out in about 20% of their ABs compares to Pappas’ 5%. Perhaps some youthful inspiration from Pappas could help turn around the Ephs’ season, but at the moment that probably won’t be enough.

Andrew Russell ‘21 (Colby) Massapequa, NY: Russell is yet another thriving Freshman on a struggling squad. While the Mules are currently last in the NESCAC with their 4-15 (1-5 in NESCAC) record, that hasn’t slowed down Russell’s bat. Russell is 3rd on the team with his .311 AVG and is one of 5 Mules to go yard this season. Earning the starting shortstop job as a Freshman means that he will have 3 more years to bring Colby to their first NESCAC playoffs because, barring a miracle, they will miss out on postseason play yet again this year.

Matt Zaffino ‘21 (Hamilton) New Canaan, CT and Jarrett Lee ‘21 (Hamilton) Medfield, MA: Sitting in 3rd place in the West Division, Hamilton’s success this year has been a surprise to most. We predicted that Hamilton would come last in the NESCAC this season, going 2-10 in conference. The Continentals have already met that win total, boasting a 12-11 (2-3 in NESCAC) record. A major part of their unprecedented success this year has been the contributions by these 2 key freshman. Lee has an excellent season thus far, sporting a .349 BA and .950 OPS. Lee leads the team in stolen bases (6) and is last in strikeouts (6). Zaffino is looking like the leading offensive candidate for NESCAC Rookie of the Year so far. He leads the Continentals in AVG (.394), walks (15), RBI (19), 2B (6), 3B (4) and HR (3).This kid is legit and the conference has taken notice. When making pre-season predictions the biggest wildcard is always the performance of first year players. Zaffino and Lee are also leading Hamilton in most offensive categories making it clear why they were overlooked heading into 2018. Although they’re currently 1 ½ games outside of 2nd place, the Continentals have the chance to ride their newfound fountain of youth all the way to the playoffs.

Wesleyan’s Strikeout Factory

Heading into the 2018 season there was no debate that Wesleyan would have a strong pitching staff, seeing as Mike McCaffrey ‘19 and Alec Olmstead ‘20 would be returning. Both of these pitchers are known for being able to not only get ahead in the count but consistently putting away hitters via the strikeout. With the support of newcomer Kelvin Sosa ‘21, who currently is racking up 11.06 K/9, the Cardinals currently rank 1st in the NESCAC and 25th in the nation in K/9 at 9.8. Wesleyan is one of only two NESCAC teams to break the top 100 in this category nationally (Colby ranks 82nd at 7.9 K/9), and it is in very large part thanks to this trio of starters. McCaffrey and Olmstead each hold K/9s of 11.73 and 10.93, respectively, to go along with Sosa’s stellar strikeout rate. Being able to get over 33% of their outs via strikeout has allowed the Cardinals to post a +39 run differential on the season en route to their 15-8 (4-2 in NESCAC) record. No team in the NESCAC has ever finished the season with a K/9 of over 9.0 so the Cardinals have the chance to make it into the record books. Sitting a half game back of 1st place Amherst, Wesleyan will look to their staff to keep putting Ks up on the board in order to continue their success.

The Snow is Starting to Thaw: NESCAC Baseball Spring Break Recap

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.

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.