Doug Schaffer – Nothing But NESCAC

Chasing Rings: NESCAC Baseball Playoff Preview

Friday, May 10 – Sunday, May 12

Colby College – Waterville, ME

Game #1: (2) Bates vs (1) Williams – Friday @ 2:30 PM

The first game of this year’s NESCAC playoffs features the #2 seed in the East, Bates, taking on the #1 from the West, Williams. Williams was able to edge themselves to the top of the West, taking the #1 seed from Middlebury based on head-to-head record. Williams was able to capture this title through defeating Wesleyan in the final game of their series last weekend. A Kellen Hatheway 2-run home run in the top of the 9th broke the even score and eventually sent Williams on to the tournament. Bates is probably the biggest surprise in this field. Trinity was ranked better than them all season, and even had received national votes, but after taking 2 of three games from the Bantams at home, Bates went on to sweep both of their CBB rivals and secure themselves a playoff spot, 1 game ahead of Trinity.

Likely Starters:

Bates: RHP Nolan Collins ’20 (7-1, 2.44 ERA, 52K, 59IP)

Williams: LHP Jack Bohen ’19 (5-0, 2.24 ERA, 44.2IP)

Williams will likely feature senior left hander Jack Bohen on the mound to face the Bobcats. Bohen has had an absolute career-year this season, lowering his ERA from 4.60 last year down to 2.24 this year. Bohen is coming off of what was most likely the best, and most important, game of his career to date. In a must-win series Bohen came out and tossed 8 innings, giving up no earned runs and walking just 2. It is clear to see in that stat book that Bohen is a pitch-to-contact hitter, because in those 8 innings of work he had just one strikeout. It is not always about the punchout and Bohen has been proving that this year. He has all the momentum he needs and I’m sure that he will not be looking to take his first loss of the season in this game. Bates will counter Bohen with right Nolan Collins, a junior from California. Collins had a breakout sophomore season last year in which he secured the #1 spot in the rotation. Since then he has done nothing but improve and help propel Bates to the playoffs. Aside from a bad start against Tufts, that most starters would’ve been happy with against the Jumbos, Collins has provided his team with more than enough opportunity to win in every game he has started, and for the most part they have won. Versus the common opponents that Bohen and Collins started against, Colby and Wesleyan, they have fairly similar numbers, perhaps Bohen having a slight edge. Both of these pitchers are in the top tier of NESCAC talent. It might be a struggle for both teams to get into an offensive rhythm, but it is the playoffs and anything can happen.

Key Offensive Talent

Bates

You can’t talk about the Bates lineup without talking about Christian Beal ’21. Beal paces Bates with his 49 hits (4th in NESCAC), .371 AVG (4th in NESCAC), 9 doubles, 2 triples and 11 stolen bases. He is the spark plug for Bates and when he plays well, they play well. Bates are 10-5 in games which Beal collects 2 or more hits, and the fact that there are 15 games shows how impactful he has been. Supporting Beal is catcher Jack Arend ’20 who is hitting .370 with 23 RBI. Arend also leads the NESCAC in walks with 33, putting his OBP at .548, also tops in the conference. Arend’s uncanny ability to draw the walk is a valuable weapon, as can be seen by his 21 runs scored, 2nd best on the team. Justin White ’19, Bryan Gotti ’22 and Jon Lindgren ’20 have also been important pieces in the lineup, all three of them are hitting over .300. Bates has a couple of high quality offensive weapons with the support of several impactful bats. While this may have been enough against teams like Colby and Bowdoin, against teams like Williams, Bates may have to exceed expectations just to keep up.

Williams

Williams has one of the most potent offenses in the NESCAC. As a team, they lead the NESCAC in triples with 17, are second in the NESCAC with a .308 team average and are also second in hits with 340. One of William’s offensive starts that is much to thank for these stats is Eric Pappas ’21. Pappas is tied for the league lead in hits and reaches base nearly half the time with his .493 OBP. When a player almost has double as many hits as games, it is a good sign that they’re having a solid year. This is true of not only Pappas, but also his teammate Doug Schaffer ’19. Along with his 53 hits, Schaffer is 2nd in the NESCAC in doubles with 12 and leads the NESCAC in batting average (.433) and slugging (.633). Perhaps more impressive than all of these stats, Schafer leads the NESCAC is RBI with 46, 14 more than the next closest player. Schafer has an extremely strong case for Player of the Year and an invaluable asset for the Ephs. Erik Mini ’21 has provided some well-timed offense this year with his 3 home runs and 27 RBI. Kellen Hatheway ’19 has only started ⅔ of Williams’ contests but he had made the most of his time, hitting .407 and blasting the home run that sent Williams to the playoffs. Williams has proved throughout the year that they are one of the most potent offenses in the NESCAC and it will be tough for any starter to keep them completely quiet.

Prediction: (W1) Williams defeats (E2) Bates

Game #2: (2) Middlebury vs (1) Tufts – Friday @ 6 PM

After the conclusion of Bates versus Williams, Midd and Tufts will take the field for their first tastes of the 2019 postseason. Middlebury returns to the playoffs this year after narrowly missing out last season. They had basically the same scenario last year as they did this year, beat Amherst in a series and they’re in. While last year they fell short, they were able to redeem themselves this season and secure their playoff spot. Now they have to take on Tufts, who is looking for redemption after falling short of the NESCAC title last season. Tufts has had fairly smooth sailing in-conference this season, winning every series and sweeping Bowdoin and Colby.

Likely Starters:

Middlebury: RHP Colby Morris ’19 (5-2, 2.80 ERA, 50K, 61IP)

Tufts: RHP RJ Hall ’19 (6-0, 1.57 ERA, 3CG)

Morris and Hall have both been four-year starters for their respective programs, and were the only two pitchers to be named 1st Team All-NESCAC last season, with Morris taking Pitcher of the Year honors as well. It is safe to say that these two are among the most experienced and talented players in the NESCAC this season, and they will need to leave it all on the line Friday night to outduel their counterpart. In all but one of his starts this season Morris has gone at least 5 innings and given up 3 or less runs. In his last two starts Morris has left it all out on the line for his team, going all 9 in both starts. Morris is one of, if not the most, decorated pitchers in the history of the Middlebury program but is yet to capture that elusive NESCAC title. This will be one of the biggest games of Morris’ career and he has proved throughout that career that he won’t give in until the last pitch. Morris will need to maintain that ferocity in order to compete with RJ Hall, who has been extremely effective at keeping opponents off this scoreboard this season. Similar to Morris, Hall has recorded two complete games in his last two contests (although they were both 7 inning games). While Morris may have more career innings pitched than Hall, Hall has far and away more playoff experience than Morris. In Hall’s 5 playoff appearances, 4 starts, he has pitched a total of 35 innings and has a record of 2-2 with one save. Meanwhile Morris has just 2 starts, totalling 13 ⅓ IP and a 1-1 record. It is also important to note that Hall’s playoff ERA is 1.29 while Morris’ is 4.05. Perhaps experience in these high-stress playoff situations will prove vital and become a big advantage for Tufts, who has a roster chalk full of playoff experiences. It is also important to note that this matchup has already occured this year and it is evidence of just how closely these two starters matchup. In the previous game Tufts won on an 8th inning walk-off 4-3. Both Morris and Hall went for 6 innings and gave up three runs. Their statline was near identical. Based upon how close that result was, there is no clear edge here. It’s anybody’s game.

Key Offensive Players:

Middlebury

Middlebury’s offense has managed to score twice as many runs as its opponents this year, showing their dominance on both sides of the ball. This is thanks to the fact that their offense is so well-rounded and has valuable weapons up and down it. 8 Middlebury hitters have already collected 20 or more hits, with three more (Justin Han, Brooks Carroll and Henry Strmecki) have 35 or more. Similarly, 9 different Panthers have gone deep this year with three of them (Henry Strmecki ’21, Kevin Woodring ’20, and Alec Ritch ’22) have left the yard multiple times. From those statistic you could probably guess that Henry Strmecki is a vital part of the Midd offense, and you would be right. Strmecki is 2nd on the team in hits (35), batting average (.330) and leads the team in runs (34), RBI (24) and leads the NESCAC in home runs with 5. Justin Han ’20 has also been impressive for Midd, leading the team in hist with 36, doubles with 8 and stolen bases with 22. Stealing bags is where Midd excels and they will steal early and often. They have stolen 142 bags while they’ve had just 36 stolen against them. They are running with an 88.2% success rate compared to opponents 80%. 14 Middlebury players have recorded steals with 6 of them stealing 12 or more. Middlebury runs a fast, high-potency offense that is more than a challenge to contain, but if anyone were to be up to that challenge it would be RJ Hall and the Jumbos.

Tufts

Not enough can be said to describe how much better Tufts’ hitting is than basically every other team in the NESCAC East. In-conference they are hitting .319 and the next closest in the East is Bates with .283. They also have the most hits (128), triples (3), home runs (7), RBI (72), OBP (.414) and slugging (.442). Tufts has just been flat out better than all of their NESCAC opponents. While these numbers are real and hold value, it is important to note the level of competition in the East versus the West. The East was so top-heavy this year that it allowed the far and away best team, Tufts, to gain inflated statistics compared to NESCAC West teams. They gain this advantage because the level of competition is much more even in the West so it is much more difficult to gain the dominant statistics that many Tufts players have. That being said, they are still most likely the best offense in the NESCAC. 6 different Jumbos have multiple home runs and 6 of their starters are hitting at or well above .300. Elias Varinos ’20 leads the the team in hits with 45 and walks with 23. Casey Santos-Ocampo ’19 paces the team in dingers with 4 and freshman Peter DeMaria ’22 leads the NESCAC in doubles with 15. Tufts has no soft spots in their lineup and pitchers need to be mentally aware of that going in. You can’t feed a fastball to the 9 hitter because he can take you yard too. I’m yet to be convinced that anyone can truly outclass Tufts’ offense, so Midd will have to show us something special Friday.

Prediction: *Upset Alert* (W2) Midd beats (E1) Tufts

After Friday Predictions:

(2) Bates vs. (1) Tufts – Saturday @ 10:30am

In this game Tufts holds the clear advantage. They will be upset that they lost their initial game and take their anger out on an already down Bates team. Brent Greeley ’20 would most likely start the second game for the Jumbos and he has been solid this year, holding a 3-2 record and 2.99 ERA. Bates would send out Justin Foley ’19, who has a 6-2 record with a 3.59 ERA. These two did not match up head to head in the regular season but both recorded wins against each othersrespective club. In all reality, Tufts is the far more talented and experienced club and would be unlucky to win their first game and have no chance of letting the first two slip by when they’ve lost just 2 conference games all year.

Prediction: (E1) Tufts defeats (E2) Bates, (E2) Bates is eliminated

(1) Williams vs. (2) Middlebury – Saturday @ 2 PM

This matchup will likely feature Middlebury senior Colin Waters ’19 and Williams freshman Sam Rohrer ’22. Waters has the experience over the rookie Rohrer, but Waters has struggled this year while Rohrer has impressed many in his freshman campaign. Last time against Midd Rohrer went 7 strong innings and only gave up one run to get the win. Against Williams Waters went 6 innings and gave up 4 runs in a loss. Well the numbers and this years past tell us that Rohrer and Williams have the clear advantage, a playoff atmosphere and a underdog win against Tufts might propel Midd to championship Sunday.

Prediction: (W1) Williams defeats (W2) Middlebury

(1) Tufts vs. (2) Middlebury – Saturday 45 minutes after Williams vs. Midd

Tufts an Midd meet once again here in a rematch of the first round. This game is an elimination one so everything is one the line for both teams. This is where arm health and depth really comes into play. Midd likely will send freshman Alex Price ’22 to the mound here who has been lights out the last few weeks and is certainly a candidate for freshman of the year along with several of the Tufts first year hitters. Their conference leading ERA will be put to the test as will their waning arm health (Starter Michael Farinelli ’21 hasn’t pitched in weeks), however, they certainly are up to the task. For the Jumbos Hall could certainly appear but their bullpen is very deep, although not as talented as Midd’s, so they have lots of semi-qualified candidates. This game is an absolute free-for-all but I think the Jumbos have a winning tradition, mentality and expectation and will find a way to make the game theirs.

Prediction: (E1) Tufts defeats (W2) Midd – (W2) Midd eliminated

Championship Sunday:

(1) Williams (2-0) vs. (1) Tufts (2-1)

Game 6 @ 10:30 AM, Game 7 30 minutes after game 6 (if necessary)

In this championship scenario, Tufts will need to defeat Williams twice to take the crown while the Ephs just have to take one of the possible two games to be named NESCAC champions. One thing that Williams would have going for them is that they have played 1 less game than the Jumbos, saving important arms. Tufts’ bullpen will have already been overused at this point and one more game let alone two would take a huge toll. That being said, three games in three days is still a lot so while Williams will be in better shape they are not at 100% by any means. These two offenses are probably the best in the NESCAC and they will be facing some very tired pitching staffs. I would expect that Tufts would be able to get to Williams in the first game of the series, but they would have basically spent the lasts of their pitching. This would allow Williams to take the advantage in the final game of the playoffs an come out victorious.

Predicted Tournament Champ: Williams

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

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

West Division

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

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

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

CF4 Slugger: OF Henry Strmecki ’21, Middlebury

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

Honorable Mention: C Severino Simeone ’20 (Amherst)

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

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

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

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

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

Honorable Mention: RHP Sam Rohrer ’22 (Williams)

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

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

Honorable Mention: RHP Colby Morris ’19 (Middlebury)

MVP: 1B Doug Schaffer ’19 (Williams)

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

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

East Division

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

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

Honorable Mention: LHP Eric Mohl ’19 Trinity

CF4 Slugger: OF Matt Koperniak ’20 (Trinity)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cy Young: RHP RJ Hall ’19 (Tufts)

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

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

MVP: OF Matt Koperniak ’20 (Trinity)

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

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

Close to a Photo Finish: Stock Report 5/2

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

Stock Up

Final Weekend Drama

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

Bates’ Playoff Chances

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

JP Knight’s Clutch Gene

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

Doug Schaffer’s Player of the Year Chances

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

Stock Down

Morale in Hartford

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

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

Lots of Confusion: Power Rankings 4/22

Power Rankings 4/22

It’s hard to believe it’s the last full week of April and we’re just now getting our first Power Rankings of the 2019 NESCAC baseball season, but the last time I checked this is, in fact, an outdoor sport, and these games are, in fact, contested outdoors, in the Northeast. To be perfectly honest with you, we probably shouldn’t even have a Power Rankings yet. Three teams have played 6 league games, three teams have played 7, three teams have played 9, and one team has played 10. Yes, every team has played in the ballpark of 25 overall games, but how much can you really factor in those midweek games when every single coach in the NESCAC is saving his top wings for the league series’ over the weekend? Regardless, I’m not an excuses guy. I have been selected as the man for this task, and it will be accomplished with minimal cop outs and excuses. Let’s get weird.

1. Tufts (21-5, 6-1)

The holder of the best league winning percentage, the team at the top of a healthy amount of both offensive and defensive statistical categories, and the team that most comfortably passes the eye test. Tufts at this moment is the best team in the league. If they didn’t get rained out in Maine this past weekend they probably would’ve taken two more off of Colby, which would have pushed them to very strong 8-1 league record and put them in the pole position for the 1 seed in the NESCAC East. All year the Jumbos have shown an incredible amount of balance and depth all over the field—up and down the order, and up and down the bullpen. Their lineup card includes a staggering 7 of the top 21 batting averages in the league, and that doesn’t include OF Casey Santos-Ocampo ’19 who is slashing a measly .308/.458/.516, hitting 4 HRs and tacking on 21 RBIs. Heading up the rotation is RHP R.J. Hall ’19, leading the league with a 1.55 ERA. Prettay, prettay, good.

2. Trinity (24-5, 7-2)

Trinity and Tufts could probably be 1A and 1B, but as I previously indicated, I’m somewhat giving Tufts the tiebreaker because I think the rain prevented them from sweeping Colby and giving them the clear best record in the league. Luckily these teams haven’t played each other yet, and there is a really, really, good chance that the divisional crown comes directly down to their head-to-head series. Regardless, these two teams are currently head and shoulders above everybody else. Trinity has the best overall record in the league at 24-5, and for good measure they’re undefeated (3-0) against the NESCAC West. The Bantams haven’t gotten to this spot with the same top to bottom firepower as Tufts, but OF Matt Koperniak ’20 (.373, 4 HR, 22 RBI) has as good of a chance as anyone to win Player of the Year, and RHP Andrew DeRoche ’20 (38.1 IP, 5-1, 2.11 ERA) has just as good of a chance to win Pitcher of the Year. The Bantams are tied for the league lead in fielding percentage (.969%), and as always (although Middlebury is really trying to emulate them this year) no one runs the bases better than Trinity—104 stolen bases, twice as many as every team but one (Midd).

3. Middlebury (17-8, 3-3)

This is where things start to get a little spicy. Yes, Middlebury is technically tied for 2nd in the division, and you would certainly like for their 3-3 divisional record to not solely consist of games against Williams and Hamilton—not exactly recent league juggernauts. Yes, I prefaced these rankings with the fact that you really can’t judge these teams too heavily on non-league results. But who am I supposed to put over them? Amherst? Wesleyan? The only choice for the third spot realistically is the Middlebury Panthers. Their 17-8 record is the third best in the league behind the two teams ranked above them, and they’re the only team in the league to have
scored more than 200 runs and allowed less than 100. They have the third best overall batting average (.308) and the best team ERA by a pretty wide margin (3.07). And while I just extolled Trinity’s baserunning, something that has been a pillar of their program in recent memory, Middlebury has actually been the best in the league at swiping bases, 103-117, a whopping .880 stolen base percentage. This is a really solid team and while you’d obviously like them to have a better league record against the presumed bottom dwellers in the division, I think they’re going to show up and take both series from Amherst and Wesleyan. They’re 3-3 but they have a run differential of +18 in those games. If they either learn how to close out games or maybe if the ball just bounces their way a little more often, they’ll be fine.

4. Amherst (14-11, 5-4)

You can classify the next four teams under the “Meh” category. Yeah, they’ve had decent results and are all firmly in the hunt for the postseason, but would you really place any serious trust in them in a must win game? Regardless, I think Amherst is the best of these 4 teams, so this is where they end up. It’s been a weird year for the defending champs who I think are just yet to play to their potential. They’re 7th in batting average (.293) and 5th in team ERA (4.31), but we know the talent is there, and it’s a testament to them that they still lead the division despite their average stats. Am I talking myself out of this pick? Maybe.

5. Bates (13-12, 4-3)

For whatever it’s worth, I absolutely hate this pick. The Power Rankings are for sure supposed to be the ranking of the teams and not necessarily a forecast of their season outlook, but it is so hard to look at this Bates team and get past the fact that they somehow went 3-3 combined against the two best teams in the league, sit at 4-3, and have 5 divisional games left against Bowdoin and Colby. If they go 4-1 in those games and Tufts takes 2 out of 3 against Trinity, Bates will somehow have snuck into the playoffs over Trinity for the second consecutive year, taking the head-to-head tiebreaker at 8-4. Despite mediocre stats across the board (2nd worst offense in the league, 6 th in team ERA), the Bobcats continue to find ways to win games. They also have a legit no. 1 pitcher in Nolan Collins ’20, who leads the league in innings pitched with 47.0 and is 6th in the league with a 2.87 ERA. He also leads all starters with a 8.43 K/9—he’s not just getting lucky and pitching to contact, he has legit punchout stuff. This ranking could look really shortsighted in two weeks, but for now it’s where I feel comfortable.

6. Williams (17-7, 3-3)

It has been a really bizarre year for the Ephs. They jumped out to an awesome 12-1 start on the back of some insane come from behind wins, and while they’ve cooled off since, they’ve shown that it wasn’t exactly a fluke—most noticeably in their series win over Middlebury. To start with the positives, the two best hitters in the league both wear purple and gold this year in IF Doug Schaffer ’19 (.478, 41 RBI), and OF Erik Pappas ‘21 (.457). Personally, anytime you have two guys at the top of your order that have essentially a 50/50 chance of getting a hit, I think that is a good thing. Additionally, Williams has solved a lot of their pitching woes that plagued them for all of last year—their 4.27 ERA is 3 rd in the NESCAC, and they did much of this winning with star SS Kellen Hatheway ’19 on the disabled list, having only recently returned from injury and playing in just 14 games, but hitting .404 with 2 HR and 11 RBI in those 14 games. But I’m still not sold. The pitching numbers have been as good as they have been because their rotation has done a really good job of avoiding the bad start, allowing them to compete in every game. LHP John Lamont ’20 (19.1 IP in 5 starts, 1-2, 4.19 ERA) is yet to look like himself following Tommy John surgery, and the rest of the rotation has yet to show they have top of the line ability that can win them really big NESCAC games.

7. Wesleyan (12-13, 3-3)

It feels weird to say that the Cardinals are the 7th best team in the league but you are what your record says you are and the boys from Middletown are a sub .500 ball club right now. The pitching staff that we continue to go on and on about from a talent and consistency standpoint just refuses to show up. RHP Pat Clare ’19 has been nails out of the bullpen (7.09 K/9, 2.02 ERA), but he’s not a starter. It’s been the same song and dance with LHP Kelvin Sosa ’21, whose 7.50 K/9 would jump off the page a lot more if it wasn’t for the 25 BB that lead the league. We’ve seen the talent, we know the strikeout ability, but it just hasn’t been there on a start to start basis, and with Middlebury on the schedule next, it’s quickly turning into do or die time for Wesleyan.

8. Hamilton (14-14, 4-5)

Hamilton has definitely impressed a lot of people this year, myself included. It looks like they’re probably going to come up a little short of making the playoffs—they definitely need to sweep Williams (unlikely) to get to 7-5 and have some things bounce their way, but to even be able to write that sentence is a testament to the jump they’ve taken up. RHP Gavin Schaefer-Hood ’21 (43.0 IP, 6-1, 2.72 ERA) is a legit ace in this league and while reigning Rookie of the Year IF Matt Zaffino ’21 (.301, 14 RBI) hasn’t taken the jump up yet, they clearly still have the talent. OF Ethan Wallis ’21 (.372 AVG, 1 HR, 16 RBI) also adds to what appears to be a very talented Continental senior class.

9. Bowdoin (5-19-1, 3-7)

I went back and forth on these last two a lot, probably more than I should have. But ultimately despite being 5-19-1, Bowdoin did sweep Colby so it’s pretty hard not to slide them above. The issue has been a lot of things for Bowdoin this year, but it all starts with the offense, which ranks last in both average (.230) and runs scored (94). Yes, the ERA is also dead last at 6.61 but the offense has just shown no signs of life at all that it’s tough to have faith either way. They swept Colby on the backs of uber talented two-way players Brandon Lopez ’19 and Jack Wilhoite ’19, both of whom are quite good and would have been fun to see utilized in some marquee NESCAC matchups, but it just wasn’t to be.

10. Colby (9-13, 0-7)

Everything was going great for Colby this year until it wasn’t. They came back from spring break at 6-1 and promptly lost 11 games in a row, including 3 to previously winless Bowdoin. Despite all of this they actually still have a positive run differential of +2, a testament to the baseball they were playing before they returned home. They’re clearly just a warm weather team, no shame in that. It kind of reminds me of my 11 year old year of Williamsport. We lost 4 games by 1 run, lost one game by like 8, and then mercy ruled a team in our last game. We finished 1-5 with a run differential of +1. What could have been.

Who’s the Real Deal?: Weekend Preview 4/5

Weekend Preview April 5th

Williams (12-1, 0-0 NESCAC) vs Amherst (9-2, 1-2)

Friday @ Amherst

Saturday Doubleheader @ Williams

After losing a close series to Wesleyan last weekend, Amherst will have a chance at redemption as they will open up a 3 game series versus in-state rival Williams. All three games that the Mammoths played last weekend were close ones and unfortunately for them they found themselves on the wrong side of two of them. Dan Lombardo ’19 provided a quality start for Amherst in the final game of the series and Jake Alonzo ’20 came in and pitched a scoreless 2 ⅔ innings to earn his first save of the year and salvage a NESCAC win for the Mammoths. One of the biggest surprises for Amherst this year has been the success of freshman Daniel Qin ’22. He is hitting at a .426 clip and has an OPS over 1.150. Despite his 0-2 record, Senior Andrew Ferrero ’19 is having a solid season thus far, maintaining an ERA of 2.08 while only allowing 4 walks in his 13IP. Amherst has the opportunity to make a playoff run but they will need more pieces to the puzzle than they have now. While Williams has not officially entered NESCAC play, taking 2 non-conference games from Colby last weekend, they have been nothing but impressive in their games thus far. Their 12-1 record is due, in no small part, to the explosiveness of their offense which has been on display this spring. Senior Doug Schaffer ’19 is playing out of his mind, putting up a slash line of .571/.571/.816. He is second in the conference in hits and slugging percentage, fourth in doubles and leads the league in RBI and batting average. When a guy in on a tear like that it is tough for his teammates to not want to get in on the fun. Sophomore Erik Pappas ’21 has also been impressive, scoring 23 runs and batting .468. As a team the Ephs are hitting .343 so it is safe to conclude that hitting is in fact infectious. Although the team era for Williams is not as impressive as their average, it does not matter so much when your opponent ERA is above 8.5.

Prediction: Williams takes 2 out of 3

Hamilton (8-8, 1-2 NESCAC) @ Wesleyan (8-9, 2-1 NESCAC)

All @ Wesleyan

Ethan Wallis has been off to a very hot start for the Continentals

Hamilton will return from their sunny spring break in Florida to face off against Wesleyan in their second NESCAC contest of the year. In their previous contest the Continentals were able to take one game out of three from Middlebury. This was in large part to Gavin Schafer-Hood ’21, who continued to pitch great in a complete-game one run victory. When it comes to swinging the bats Hamilton has struggled more than most. Leading the pace for the Continentals is sophomore Ethan Wallis ’21 who is posting an impressive .409 batting average. He is also the lone Continental to go yard this season. Hamilton will be looking for a chance to right the ship in what will be a difficult matchup with Wesleyan. While Wesleyan’s non-conference record seemed to be less than impressive heading into NESCAC play, it didn’t seem to matter as they were able to come in and get their first series win of the new campaign. Solid pitching is what propelled the Cardinals, only allowing 7 runs in the 3 game series. Kelvin Sosa ’21 collected the win in the first game while Dan Lombardo ’19 took game two. Offensively Wesleyan’s top performer has been Andrew Kauf ’20. Kauf is batting .426 and leads the team with 20 RBIs (10 more than second place). Wesleyan seems to be an upperclassmen heavy team who knows when to get hot. They could be very dangerous this season.

Prediction: Wesleyan takes 2 out of 3

Bowdoin (0-14-1, 0-3 NESCAC) vs Colby (6-6, 0-0 NESCAC)

Saturday doubleheader @ Colby, Sunday @ Bowdoin

The Colby College Mules enter this series with no previous NESCAC experience, although they did play Williams in two non-conference matchups. Colby had what looked to be a much improved spring break compared to last year as they are already just one win away from matching their season total last year. Lots of thanks is due to their much improved offense. Junior Will Wessman leads the team in hits, doubles, runs, RBIs and home runs. They do not seem to have two or three key starters in the rotation but rather there seem to be 7 or 8 guys who could take the mound to start the game. Perhaps this strategy will play as the spring break schedule has come to an end, but who’s to say? Their team ERA is still a little high, which will hurt them in NESCAC play. Although the transition to NESCAC play can be tough at times, Colby gets a very easy transition in the form of Bowdoin. Not much has seemed to go right for the Polar Bears this season. They are yet to win a game through 15 total contests. They are batting below .215 as a team and their team ERA is near 8. I am not really sure what their is to praise or say about this team. It has got to be tough to watch and even tougher to participate in. I would give most teams an automatic sweep, but given the rivalry and Colby’s problems in NESCAC play last season, nothing is guaranteed.

Prediction: Colby wins 2 out of 3

Trinity (14-2, 3-0 NESCAC) @ Bates (6-9, 1-2 NESCAC)

Johnny Stamatis is one of the most dangerous hitters in the NESCAC this year

The Bantams are riding high right now, entering this series maintaining an 11 game win streak. This streak includes a clean sweep of Bowdoin to start their NESCAC play. Not only are they shining in NESCAC play, but in non-conference games they have some quality wins like their win over MIT. Nearly every guy up and down the lineup is hitting over .300 and it shows in their offensive production. Their 5 states that they rotate between have all been solid as well, maintaining ERAs between 2 and 4. Trinity appears to be a well-rounded team that has the talent and capabilities to go deep into the playoffs. Bates did not fare quite as well in their first NESCAC series. Tufts was able to take the first two games but the Bobcats managed to snatch the last game, which was a close one. Bates had an underwhelming preseason which does not project to a particularly exciting or prosperous conference play. While they may have individual players such as Christian Beal ’21 or Nolan Collins ’20 who can shine on their own, as a team they don’t seem to have what it takes to make it deep this year.

Prediction: Trinity sweeps

Opening Weekend Preview: Who’s Coming to Play?

League play has arrived! After a long offseason and a few weeks of non-conference play, NESCAC foes will step on to the same diamond for the first time this season. The first weekend always carries a lot of question marks, because we don’t really know what to expect from every team. Some teams play tougher out of conference schedules than others, but for the first time this weekend we will begin to have a better idea of who is for real and who isn’t.

Williams @ Colby in Kissimmee, Florida

One of the early stories of the season has been the emergence of this Williams team, a team that came into the season with more questions than answers. The Ephs enter this series 9-1, already as many wins as they had last year. They have done it on the backs of their infield, namely sophomores Erik Mini (.390, 15 RBI) and Eric Pappas (.514, 8 RBI), and the white hot IF Doug Schaffer ’19, hitting .561 through 10 game and amassing a preposterous 27 RBI, 8 more than anyone else in the league. But the Ephs have also shown a flair for the dramatic, which could be covering up a few cracks. They’ve won 3 games in their final at-bats, most notably an upset win over then #9 Johns Hopkins and a 5-run bottom of the 8^th to beat St. Olaf 10-8. The pitching is yet to come around (4.50 ERA) and it’s always hard to judge how other teams are treating non-conference games. We’ll learn a lot about them this weekend. The same goes for the Colby Mules, who are only 6-1, thanks to Mother Nature. The Mules have shown they can win in a variety of ways, putting up 10+ runs in half of the wins, and holding their opponents to 4 or less runs in 4 of their games. They’re hitting .410 as a team, paced by 3B Will Wessman ‘20’s .400/.448/.800 line to go along with 2 HRs and 11 RBI. But Colby has started 7 different pitchers in their 7 games, so we don’t have a lot to go off of in terms of knowing what they’ll bring to the bump. I’m going to give the edge to Williams in this one—momentum in baseball can be a scary thing and they’re as hot as anyone right now. While this is technically a non-conference series (@NESCAC, this is a problem), it still should reveal some aspects of each team that will reveal who each is.

Prediction: Williams 2-1

Hamilton @ Middlebury in Orlando, Florida

A series worth being exciting about between two teams who are getting right to the nitty and gritty to begin the year. Middlebury comes in at 8-4, but with a scoring margin of +42, while Hamilton has eked out a 7-6 start with a lot of close games. It’s hard not to give the edge to the Panthers in this series, with all that we know about both teams. Hamilton would be smart not to match their ace Gavin Schaefer-Hood ’21 (22.0 IP, 3-0, 2.05 ERA) with reigning league Pitcher of the Year Colby Morris ’19 of Middlebury (21.0 IP, 2-0, 3.00 ERA) if they want the best chance to steal this series. If they save him a day that will ideally put them in a position to split the first two and take their chances in a rubber match Game 3. Middlebury has to feel really good about the contributions they’re getting up and down the roster coming into this weekend, with 5 different guys already having cleared the fence, and 7 different guys having made starts for the Panthers, half of them coming from 4 different freshmen. Reigning Rookie of the Year IF Matt Zaffino ’21 has yet to really get going for the Conts (.270/.415/.324) but I think Schaefer-Hood will be good enough to get them a win if he doesn’t face Morris.

Prediction: Middlebury 2-1

Bates @ Tufts

Justin Foley is one of the most reliable starters for the Bobcats

A matchup between the 2018 playoff representatives of the NESCAC East kicks off divisional play in Somerville. Tufts (9-2) was expected to be able to offset the loss of their superstar senior class, namely Falkson, O’Hara, and Nachmanoff, on the backs of arguably the best rotation in the league in Brent Greeley ’20, R.J. Hall ‘19, and Spencer Langdon ’20, but the Jumbos have come out mashing once again to start the season, plating 124 runs in just 11 games. Langdon has moved to the bullpen, but Hall and Greeley look every bit the best 1-2 combination in the league, combing to allow 2 ER in 28 innings. Bates (5-6) has yet to hit their stride at the plate (.359 slugging as a team, 63 runs), but they have two proven quality starters in Nolan Collins (18.0 IP, 2-0, 2.00 ERA) and Justin Foley (20.1 IP, 1-1, 3.54). But they’re running into a buzz saw to start their conference play. Tufts is hitting the cover off of the ball and their first two starters are as good as anyone in the entire league. We don’t know who their third starter is yet, presumably sophomore Manny Ray (11.0 IP, 1-0, 3.27 ERA), but his classmate Jamie Weiss has also made two starts and freshman Aidan Tucker leads the Jumbos in appearances (5) and innings pitched (15). But whoever it is is going to be able to rely on a lot more run support than anyone Bates throws out there. Collins is 5^th in the league with a 9.50 K/9 and he’s going to need to use the punchout to get through this lineup. If he can do that they might be able to steal one, but I would bet against it.

Prediction: Tufts 3-0

Trinity @ Bowdoin in Waterville, Maine

While it’s true you can never take too much away from non-conference play, anytime you go winless in your first 11 games, it’s a red flag. That’s exactly what Bowdoin has done, starting their season 0-10-1. Needless to say, it’s been poor play all around the diamond for the Polar Bears. The offense has logged 33 runs in 11 games, good for 3 a game. They’re hitting .208 as a team. Brandon Lopez ’19 and Colby Lewis ’20 have actually looked like the duo they’re expected to be, combining to throw 20.1 IP with a 2.66 ERA. But the rest of the rotation has been so dismal that their team ERA currently sits at 9.56. And just to make matters worse, their .942 fielding percentage is 8^th in the league. The silver lining in all of this however, is that Bowdoin played a tough, tough schedule over their spring break, heading out to Los Angeles to play a number of strong west coast teams, a trip that Williams made last season with similar results. But playing Trinity probably isn’t going to be how they turn it around. The Bantams come in as hot as the Polar Bears are cold, winners of 6 in a row and 9-2 overall. Trinity is second in the league with 101 runs in 11 games, getting production across the board—namely in 4 players with double digit RBI. It has been the usual suspects like Stamatis and Koperniak, but also in breakout performers like freshman Mike Guanci Jr., hitting .295 and driving in 12 in to start his first college season, as well as junior Mack Lauder, hitting .324 and also driving in 12. The Bantams have manufactured runs with their typically terrific baserunning, stealing 45 bases (leading the league) and only getting caught 4 times. Admittedly the pitching has not been stellar, getting touched up to the tune of a 6.03 ERA. Star reliever Erik Mohl ’19 has yet to find his groove (17.0 IP, 5.29) and no pitcher has made more than 2 starts yet so we’re waiting for answers this weekend in terms of a set rotation. But if there was any team to play to get some confidence in a struggling rotation, it would be Bowdoin and their offense.

Prediction: Trinity 3-0

Amherst @ Wesleyan Friday 3/29, Wesleyan @ Amherst Saturday 3/30 (Doubleheader)

If Amherst can find a way to keep the games close, senior closer Mike Dow should be able to shut the door with some of his on-field antics

The series of the weekend is a Little 3 matchup in Middletown that will surely have playoff ramifications. Wesleyan (5-8) has not had a great non-conference performance, and that is because their much-maligned starting rotation has yet to solve the problems that plagued them last year. Mike McCaffrey ‘19’s junior woes have followed him into his senior season, lasting just 8.2 innings across 3 starts, with a 6.23 ERA. Sosa (15.0 IP, 6.00 ERA) and Clare (12.1 IP, 4.38 ERA) have not been much better either. The offense has been rolling, hitting .336 as a team (2^nd) and scoring 99 runs (3^rd), it’s just the 9^th ranked 7.07 ERA that needs improvement. IF Andrew Kauf ’20 has placed himself firmly in the early Player of the Year conversation, pacing Wesleyan with a .474 average, 27 hits, and 19 RBI. They just need some pitching. Amherst (6-4) has had an unremarkable start in either direction. They’re 5^th in the league in both batting average (.317) and runs scored (86). Their pitching has been quite good, though, second in the league with a 3.82 ERA and a league leading 10.43 K/9. CF Joseph Palmo ’21 (.432, 1 HR, 11 RBI) and freshman IF Daniel Qin (.387, 1 HR, 8 RBI) have been the guys doing at the dish so far for the Mammoths, which should be exciting for a team that is yet to get its top returners going. On the mound it’s been RHP Wilson Taylor ’19 (10.1 IP, 1-0, 1.74 ERA) who has shone the brightest out of a rotation that could really use some more help from the guys behind it. Amherst has the second worst fielding percentage in the league at .932, but their mistakes have been incredibly costly, as just 33 of the 60 runs they’ve allowed have been earned. The pitching has been good, and you could argue that they’ve just been a little unlucky to start the season. When you take into consideration that 2 of their 4 losses are against ranked opponents, then you realize they’ve been a pretty good team, as opposed to a Wesleyan team that is still trying to find itself defensively.

Prediction: Amherst 2-1

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

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

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

East

Bates

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

Bowdoin

Brandon Lopez ’19 (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics).

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

Colby

Brooks Parker ’19 (Courtesy of Colby Athletics).

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

Trinity

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

Tufts

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

West

Amherst

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

Hamilton

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

Middlebury

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

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

Wesleyan

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

Williams

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

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