Tag: Eric Pappas

What Could Have Been: NESCAC Baseball Opening Day Recap

Not having any spring sports played certainly makes our job difficult given that there isn’t much to write about, but we haven’t forgotten about the baseball that we typically cover around this time of year. In fact, this weekend was supposed to be the opening weekend of conference play for everyone, so we thought we’d honor that with an article recapping the opening day games as if they had actually been played. Please understand that these situations are all completely made up and somewhat dramatized so work with us a little bit. This article was co-written by Ryan Moralejo and Cameron Carlson, and we’re simply doing our best to keep people entertained during these tough times, so take our opinions with a grain of salt because we have no idea how these games really would have gone. We tried to keep lineups and situations somewhat realistic, but certain things were hyperbolized purely for entertainment’s sake. With that being said, let’s find out how each team did (or would have done) on Friday:

Williams @ Hamilton (Neutral Site @ Tampa, FL)

It’s pretty bizarre to have NESCAC play occur so far out of state, but it’s equally as awesome to have a venue like the New York Yankees Spring Training Complex host the beginning of league play. First up we have Hamilton, who (to be quite honest) has been pretty irrelevant in a division that is usually quite competitive and volatile in terms of the playoff hunt. Since 2013 (because that’s as deep as the Hamilton baseball website will allow me to dive into an archival list teeming with underwhelming seasons), the Continentals have finished below the .500 mark against their divisional foes; however, they did bring in some young talent a few years back such as the swiss army knife Matt Zaffino ‘21, SS Ethan Wallis ‘21 and RHP/celeb-shot hitter Gavin Schaefer-Hood ‘21, the 2020 season would (hypothetically) be the time in which Hamilton could surprise a few folks. For the Ephs, last year’s run to the NESCAC Playoffs was in large part due to their plethora of loud bats, and despite returning Preseason 3rd-Team All American Eric Pappas ‘21, a regression was absolutely on the horizon. LHP John Lamont ‘20, a freshman phenom who sadly lost his sophomore season to Tommy John and never fully returned to his dominant form, would seem to be in line to start opening day of league play.  

Game Recap

Game one of the three-game series pitted Schaefer-Hood against Lamont.  Pappas led off the game with a scorching double to left-center (no surprises there), and despite retiring the next two batters, Schaefer-Hood allowed a two-out single to Erik Mini ‘21, plating Pappas and giving the Ephs the early advantage. Lamont struck out the side in the bottom half of the inning, firing up both of Williams’ supporters in the stands. Schaefer-Hood settled down and delivered his best performance to date, allowing a total of four hits in seven innings of one-run ball with six punch outs. Lamont faced the minimum during the first three innings but began to struggle with control the second time through the lineup; after back-to-back walks to open the bottom half of the fourth, Zaffino barreled a ball that clipped the left-field line and rolled to the fence, scoring Wallis and moving Brady Slinger ‘22 90 feet away from taking the lead. Keeping the momentum going, Matt Cappelletti ‘21 (every time I read that last name I have to say it with an Italian accent) knocked a single through the right side to score both Slinger and Zaffino, giving the Continentals their first lead of the day. The southpaw found a way to exit the fourth without allowing further damage in large part due to a much-needed 6-4-3 double play with runners on the corners to end the frame. 

Eric Pappas ’21 (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

Hamilton added to their two-run advantage in the following inning; Sam Rowley ‘20 worked a ten-pitch walk to lead things off and after advancing to second on a wild pitch, Wallis dumped a flare into shallow left center that fell just out of reach for Mike Stamas ‘20. Lamont would again work out of a jam to keep Hamilton from tacking on, ending his afternoon with four runs in five innings of work, striking out seven while walking three. With the score remaining 4-1 through the seventh-inning, the Ephs began to feel the game slipping away and got loud in the dugout, but failed to do any damage in the top half of the eighth (Alexa, play Sweet Caroline). In the final frame, catcher David Driscoll ‘22 worked a two-out walk against RHP Jamie Hauswirth ‘22 (c’mon Jamie, two-out walks will kill you). Hauswirth beared down and induced a ground ball off the bat of Mini, but Slinger short-armed the throw and it got away from first baseman Graham McOsker ‘20. With runners at second and third and the dangerous Pappas on deck, Hauswirth again delivered in a pressure situation, forcing Jakob Cohn ‘23 to fly out to center. The victory was the Continentals’ first opening-day NESCAC win since 2011. 

Final Score: Hamilton 4-1

Trinity @ Tufts (Medford, MA)

In a battle of the two preseason East Division heavyweights* (asterisk because we all know who Trinity’s Daddy really is in that Division), the Bantams head to Medford oozing with confidence; having notched a slew of quality wins, including taking two of three from Southern Maine and a sweep against Amherst, the Jumbos don’t scare the boys from Hartford. If you recall correctly, the Bantams should have taken the series last year until the pitching staff absolutely collapsed in the ninth inning, blowing a 6-2 lead that was capped off by a two-out, two-strike grand slam by JP Knight ‘20. While the Jumbos did lose a significant amount of talent, including 2019 NESCAC Pitcher of the Year RJ Hall ‘19 and First-Team All-Energy Casey Santos-Ocampo ‘19, they returned most of their pop in the lineup, including every single arm from their pitching staff with the exception of Hall. Coach Casey always has one of the most disciplined and hard-working teams in the league (most likely because they’re absolutely terrified of the man), so this series was sure to be one of, if not the most hyped regular season series of the year. 

Game Recap

Tufts opted to roll with RHP Aidan Tucker ‘22, who as a freshman impressed with a 7-1 record and a 50:16 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Trinity countered with fellow sophomore RHP Cameron Crowley ‘22, who adopts a pitch-to-contact type of mentality and led the Bantams with an 8-2 record and a 2.42 ERA in 2019. Tucker worked a quick 1-2-3 inning, but the same can’t be said for Crowley as a one-out hit by pitch quickly went awry when Peter DiMaria ‘22 launched a two-run moonshot to left. Crowley regrouped and retired the next two batters, but the damage was done and the Jumbos took a 2-0 lead into the second inning. After fanning Vincent Capone ‘21, A-Roid – I mean Alex Rodriguez ‘20 – smacked a double to right-center to get things going for Trin. 2B Robbie Cronin ‘21 kept the bats going with a single up the middle, putting runners at the corners; however, Tucker worked his magic and got the third baseman Patrick Dillon ‘23 to roll over on a 2-0 curveball into a 5-4-3 double play, stranding both runners and keeping the Bantams off the scoreboard. Crowley retired the first two batters in the second before hitting Ryan Daues ‘21 on what clearly seemed to be yet another traditional Tufts case of leaning into a pitch. Coach Adamski was irate and let the home plate umpire know his feelings on the matter but did not leave the dugout. Crowley stranded Daues at first base after fielding a comebacker. 

Coach Casey and Kyle Cortese ’22 (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics)

The Jumbos stretched their lead in the bottom of the third; after SS Elias Varinos ‘20 singled through the left side with one out, Knight tattooed a ball off the left-center wall, easily scoring Varinos. After a groundout to second moved Knight over to third, Kyle Cortese ‘21 dropped a perfectly placed bleeder in right to give the home team a four-run advantage. Tucker continued to evade trouble until the fifth, when OF Matt Koperniak ‘20 launched a two-run shot to put the Bantams on the board and simultaneously cut the deficit in half. Crowley returned to the mound for the bottom of the fifth, and promptly plunked OF Justin Mills ‘20 on a 1-2 fastball on what this time was a clear indication of the batter leaning over the dish to take a HBP. Coach Adamski went absolutely bezerk on the home plate umpire and bellowed phrases that can not be repeated in this recap to the point where he is ejected from the game. Adamski got the last laugh, however, when after continuing his heated conversation with the field umpire, he promptly took first base and threw it into right field. Crowley managed to evade any further trouble in the fifth, and a fired up Trinity side came into the dugout ready to rake. The only problem is Tucker tossed a 1-2-3 sixth, staring down the Trinity dugout after catching Brett Stevenson ‘20 looking at strike three to end the frame.  

Crowley ran into some trouble after giving up a pair of singles but worked his way out of the pickle in his final inning of work, and the score remained stuck at 4-2 heading into the seventh. Coach Casey decided to roll out Tucker despite his pitch count nearing 100; after allowing a leadoff single to Mack Lauder ‘20, a wild pitch moved him up 90 feet. Koperniak worked his magic again and singled to left to score Lauder, but was foolishly thrown out at 2nd trying to catch the left-fielder napping. Tucker was relieved after 6+ innings of solid work, and Steven Landry ‘22 came out of the bullpen to retire the next three hitters in order as the Jumbos now found themselves leading by just a single run. Tufts went to work against RHP Justin Olson ‘21, with DiMaria lacing his second double of the afternoon down the left-field line to open things off. After a sacrifice bunt from Mills, Knight once again came up clutch and clapped a ball way over the left fielder’s head for an RBI double. Olson was relieved by veteran Andrew DeRoche ‘20, but Daues rudely greeted him with a single back up the middle to score Knight and stretch the Jumbos’ lead to 6-3. With the eighth inning featuring virtually no action, the Bantams were left with three outs to score three runs off of closer Spencer Langdon ‘20. The senior didn’t bat an eye, fanning two consecutive hitters before securing the game with a weak infield popup.  

Final Score: Tufts 6-3

Bates @ Bowdoin (Neutral Site @ Colby College)

With the Mules down in Florida and the typical Maine winters preventing either team from preparing their respective fields for game shape, both coaches agreed a neutral setting would be perfectly acceptable. The Bobcats came out of the gate in 2020 on a sluggish note, having dropped seven in a row after winning their opening game in the Sunshine State. If you look back at previous years, however, the ‘Cats have notoriously started on the slower slide and tend to ramp up their quality of play into another gear once conference play kicks in. For the Polar Bears, the 2020 season seems to be more of a rebuilding project with the loss of some key upperclassmen from both sides of the ball; however, the young roster no doubt possesses plenty of talent – in fact more than enough to take the series from the favored Bobcats if the latter comes into this series with a passive mindset. 

Game Recap

Nolan Collins ’20 (Courtesy of Bates Athletics)

For the Bobcats, senior ace Nolan “Dirty 30” Collins ‘20 took the mound in his usual Friday role. The hard-throwing righty dominated the Polar Bears a season ago, tossing a complete game with eight K’s, allowing only one hit after his first inning of work. The Polar Bears countered with RHP Colby Lewis ‘20, an effective pitcher who traditionally fills up the zone and pitches to contact. Lewis started off the game with a casual 1-2-3 inning, successfully mixing in a slew of offspeed pitches and forcing the Bates’ hitters to chase out of the zone. Similar to last season’s opening game between the two, the Polar Bears struck first: Eric Mah ‘20 led off the bottom half of the first with a single to right, taking second on a passed ball. Following a sacrifice bunt, Brendan O’Neil’s fly ball to center was just deep enough to plate Mah from third, giving the Polar Bears a 1-0 advantage. Collins fanned his first victim of the day to end the inning, burying a slider in the dirt to get right-fielder Gavin Cann ‘22 check swinging (you could hear “It’s not a sword” echoing out of the Bates dugout). A few innings went by and the score remained unchanged; Lewis faced one over the minimum through three innings, while Collins settled in nicely and retired six in a row, four of those coming via the punchout.  

The Bobcats finally got things going in the fourth, with senior catcher Jack Arend ‘20 (playing through a broken hamate bone) working a leadoff walk. Newcomer Henry Jameison ‘23 patiently smacked a get-me-over curveball into the right-center gap, scoring Arend and knotting the game at one apiece. After Bryan Gotti’s ‘22 deep fly ball to right moved Jameison up to third, Antonio Jareno ‘22 knocked a single just past the outstretched arms of Mah at short, giving Bates a 2-1 lead. The hit parade didn’t stop there, however, as Zach Avila ‘20 ‘21, Giovanni Torres ‘20 and Will Sylvia ‘20 each found barrels of their own. When all was said and done, the Bobcats scratched across four runs, which was more than enough for Collins to work with. The senior workhorse ended up going eight strong, allowing two runs (one earned) on just four hits with an impressive ten strikeouts. The Polar Bears attempted to claw their way back in the seventh, getting a run across on some defensive miscues in the seventh. They had an opportunity to cut into the lead further on a single to left from Stephen Simoes ‘23, but left-fielder Jon Lindgren ‘20 absolutely hosed a runner at the plate to keep the Bobcats’ advantage at 4-2. Bates responded in the top half of the eighth with some more offense of their own: facing RHP Peter Mansfield ‘20, Pat Beaton ‘20 (pinch-hitting for Lindgren) worked a leadoff walk. Beaton promptly stole second, and a beautifully-executed hit and run by Christian Beal ‘21 found a gap in right-center as he slid into third with a triple. Arend’s single up the middle would plate another run for the Bobcats, extending their lead to 6-2. After Collins finished off the eighth and RHP Ryan Winn ‘21 worked a quick ninth, Coach Martin called on senior closer Miles Michaud ‘20 to shut the door. After plunking OF James McCarthy ‘21 with a heater in the back, Michaud turned a comebacker into a 1-6-3 double play, taking the wind out of the Polar Bears’ sails. The man they call “Slenda” caught Nick Lam ‘22 looking on a slide-piece for strike three, ending the ballgame.

Final Score: Bates 6-2

Middlebury @ Colby (Neutral Site @ Orlando, FL)

It’s always nice to start NESCAC play in sunny Florida, particularly on the back end of a successful spring break trip. While this game may not officially count towards the NESCAC standings, it pits two interesting teams against each other with both teams trying to make some noise before they head back up north. For Middlebury this game represents an opportunity to show that they’re the favorites in this league, behind an impressive pitching staff with the dangerous 1-2 punch of RHP Michael Farinelli ’21 and LHP Alex Price ’22. They also return speed demon Justin Han ’20 and power-hitter Henry Strmecki ’21 who is a legit candidate for farthest ball hit this season with the ugliest swing. On the Colby side, Frank Driscoll ’21 is truly one of the best starting pitchers in the league, but they boast a relatively unproven lineup. Will Phillips ’21 and Will Wessman ’21 are important returning pieces, but it’s hard to know who would step up for the Mules this year. 

Game Recap

Justin Han ’20 (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)

The matchup of Farinelli vs. Driscoll proved to be quite an exciting pitcher’s duel. Working around a leadoff walk to Justin Han ’20 in the top of the first, Driscoll was able to strike out the side, stranding Han at second base. Farinelli responded by striking out the Colby side in the bottom half of the first, despite 3-hitter Dylan Nastri ’22 yanking a ball down the right field line that missed the foul pole by mere inches. Over the next 3 innings Driscoll worked his way out of a few jams, keeping the Panthers scoreless through 4. Farinelli put together 1-2-3 innings in both the 2nd and 3rd, but a leadoff triple by Will Phillips ’21 in the 4th put the Mules in an excellent position and forced Middlebury to bring the infield in. After inducing an Andrew Russell ’21 pop up to the infield, Nastri was able to draw a walk, putting runners on the corners with just one out. A Will Wessman ’21 fly ball was just deep enough to score Phillips, putting Colby ahead 1-0. However, Farinelli punched out Drew Miller ’23 to minimize the damage and end the inning. The Panthers were finally able to get to Driscoll in the 5th behind a gap shot from Alec Ritch ’22 and a two-out, bloop single from Alan Guild ’20 to even the score. 

The game remained tied through 7, when Coach Leonard decided that Farinelli’s day was done. He handed the ball to known psychopath George Goldstein ’21, who worked around a walk in the 8th to keep the score knotted at 1 as they headed to the final frame. Driscoll, still in the game to start the 9th despite a pitch count at 117 and counting, surrendered a leadoff single to Justin Han ’20 and Coach Woods turned to Patrick Carbone ’21 out of the bullpen. After Han picked up his 4th and 5th stolen bases of the day to get to 3rd base, the floodgates opened for the Panthers. A Strmecki home run was followed by back-to-back-to-back doubles from Andrew Hennings ’20, Alec Ritch ’22, and Hayden Smith ’20 to make the score 5-1 without an out recorded in the top half of the 9th. At this point Coach Woods made another change, bringing Wessman in from first base to pitch, and he got two quick outs before allowing an RBI single to Gray Goolsby ’20, adding to the Panther lead. Wessman was finally able to retire the side, catching Brooks Carroll ’20 looking to end the inning. Goldstein allowed a one-out single to George Schmidt ’20, but was able to secure the win for Middlebury by striking out the final two hitters.

Final Score: Middlebury 6-1

Wesleyan @ Amherst (Amherst, MA)

Two teams perennially in contention; Amherst and Wesleyan both find themselves right in the mix again this year in a crowded West Division. The Mammoths suffer the loss of their top two starting pitchers from last season in Andrew Ferrero ’19 and Davis Brown ’19, along with closer Mike Dow ’19. They don’t lose much from their lineup, aside from breakout star Chase Henley ’19 and former Little League World Series hero Nick Nardone ’19. This leaves their pitching largely in question, however they bring back impressive lefty Andrew Nagel ’21 who will start game one. Wesleyan, on the other hand, loses key bats Andrew Keith ’19 and Danny Rose ’19, but not a ton of pitching. Former ace Mike McCaffrey ’19 sputtered out at the end of his career and relief man Ryan Earle ’19 didn’t really impress in his final season either. An important note is that Wesleyan lost LHP Kelvin Sosa ’21 after he left the school in the first semester for undisclosed reasons*. This game is sure to have great impact on playoff position in the west at the end of the year.

*While the reasons may be undisclosed, there are some pretty nasty rumors out there so it does not appear that Sosa left the school on good terms.

Game Recap

Jonny Corning ’20 (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)

While Amherst sent lefty Andrew Nagel ’21 to the hill, Wesleyan countered with funky right-hander Pat Clare who decided to put on the Cardinal uniform for his 5th year with the program. Wesleyan got on the board early in this one as Andrew Kauf ’20 crushed an 0-2 pitch into the left-center gap to score Adam Geibel ’22 from 1st, making it 1-0 Cardinals. Clare set down the Amherst side in order in the first, but doubles from Stephen Burke ’21 and Severino Simeone ’20, followed by a single from Will Murphy ’20 made the score 2-1 in favor of the Mammoths after 2 innings. Tanner Fulkerson ’20 led off the top of the 3rd with a single followed by a walk from Ryan Molinari ’23 put two runners on with nobody out. A throwing error by SS Stephen Burke ’21 allowed a run to score and put runners at 2nd and 3rd, still with no outs in the inning. Nagel then induced a weak pop up for the first out and followed that by walking Kauf to load the bases. A one-hopper by Wes Fritch ’22 was snagged at 2nd base by Daniel Qin ’22 and turned into a 4-6-3 double play to end the frame, keeping the score tied at 2. After two scoreless innings, Jonny Corning ’20 broke the tie in the top of the 6th with a solo shot deep to straightaway left, chasing Nagel from the game with just one out in the inning. Based on the recommendation from first-year assistant coach Kyle Bonicki, Coach Pyne turned to one of his senior captains Zach Horwitz ’20 to escape further trouble. A walk followed by a strikeout and a single from Fulkerson put runners on the corners with two outs, bringing up the top of the Cardinal lineup. A huge break for Amherst came at this point when Fulkerson tried to advance on a ball in the dirt but Seve Simeone ’20 picked it up and gunned down the runner at 2nd to get out of the jam. 

Coach Woodworth – not known for his game management skills – decided to make a change and bring in Joe Mescall ’21 to pitch the 6th despite Clare having set down the last 8 hitters in order. Mescall immediately let up a bomb to Joseph Palmo ’21, proving that Coach Woody absolutely made the right decision with the pitching change. This was followed a few hitters later by a pinch-hit, 2-out, 2-run homer from Topher Brown ’20, making the score 5-3 in favor of the Mammoths. After a scoreless 7th inning, Coach Woodworth made another mind-boggling decision by pinch-hitting for Andrew Kauf ’20 – likely the team’s best hitter – in the top of the 8th. Miraculously, pinch-hitter/right-handed pitcher Nolan Webb ’20 delivered with a single to leadoff the inning. A double by Wes Fritch ’22 and a sac-fly from Jonny Corning ’20 brought the Cardinals within 1 with a man on 2nd and one out in the frame. Coach Pyne decided to hand the ball to sophomore Sachin Nambiar ’22 to relieve Horwitz, who did a nice job keeping Wesleyan at bay for 2+ innings. Nambiar allowed a seeing-eye single to Jake Alonzo ’20, plating Fritch and tying the game at 5 mid-way through the 8th. Alonzo was asked to relieve Mescall in the bottom half of the 8th and set down the side in order, sending the game to the 9th even at 5 apiece.

Things got a little crazy in the 9th as Ryan Molinari ’23 reached on an error and advanced to 2nd on a sac bunt. Alex Cappitelli ’20 then hit a soft line drive into right-center field that Kai Terada-Herzer ’21 laid out for and appeared to come up with a miraculous catch, however the umpires claimed that the ball hit the ground first and thus it was ruled a trap. Molinari had taken off on contact believing that there were two outs, so at first it looked like Amherst might have come up with an inning-ending double play. Because the ball touched the ground, however, Molinari was able to score with ease, giving Wesleyan a crucial 6-5 lead. Pinch-hitter Nolan Webb ‘20 delivered yet again, placing a ball perfectly down the right field line, scoring Cappitelli from first and scampering to 2nd  for a double. Nambiar set down the side after this, but the damage was done. Alonzo retired the Amherst side in order in the bottom of the 9th, giving the Cardinals a wild victory in this one.

Final Score: Wesleyan 7-5

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

Christian Beal ’21

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

Williams

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

Prediction: (W1) Williams defeats (E2) Bates

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

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

Likely Starters:

Colby Morris ’19

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

Sam Rohrer ’22

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

Prediction: (W1) Williams defeats (W2) Middlebury

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

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

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

And Then There Were Four: 5/4 Weekend Recap

Middlebury vs. Amherst

This three game series held high stakes in the NESCAC West, as both Midd and Amherst were tied at 5-4 in conference heading into the series. Whoever won this series was guaranteed a playoff spot, so the entire season was on the line for both teams. Friday was game one in which two California natives, Andrew Ferrero ’19 and Colby Morris ’19, took the mound for their respective teams. Midd was able to score and take the lead in the 3rd inning and then added on one more run each in the 5th and 7th innings. Morris was stifling Amherst batters and managed to keep them scoreless until the 8th, when Joseph Palmo ’21 mashed a three-run dinger to tie things up. The score remained 3-3 until the 10th inning when Midd doubled their total and scored 3 in the top half of the inning. Amherst was able to respond with a run in the bottom half but it was not enough and Midd was able to capture 1 of the 2 wins they needed to clinch the playoffs. In game two Amherst scored once in the 2nd inning and Midd quickly matched it in the 3rd. In the 4th inning Phil Bernstein ’19 singled in Alec Ritch ’22 and the score remained 2-1 Middlebury until the final out. With Midd taking the first two games, they clinched a playoff berth and the final game was just to help decide seeding. Game three was yet another close contest in what proved to be a thrilling series. The game was back and forth throughout with it being tied 5-5 going into the bottom of the 9th. After the first three hitters reached base, Seve Simeone ’20 ripped a single, allowing Amherst to capture the final game of the series and prevent Midd from snagging the #1 seed in the West. Next weekend Midd will travel to Colby for the NESCAC Tournament and face 1 seed in the East Tufts, while Amherst’s season is complete and the reigning champs will not have an opportunity to defend their title.

Williams vs. Wesleyan

Jack Bohen will look to continue his brilliant season into the NESCAC playoffs

The second of the NESCAC West series to occur this weekend took place between Williams and Wesleyan for each team’s final series of the year. Jack Bohen ’19 started game 1 for the Ephs and continued the dominance he has shown all year. He went 8 strong and gave the Cardinals no chance as he gave up no earned runs. The Eph bats were hot in game one as well; Eric Pappas ’21 had 3 RBI and Williams scored 6 runs to defeat Wesleyan by a final score of 6-1. Similar to Middlebury, going into the second day of the series Williams knew they needed just one win to guarantee playoffs. Despite this, Wesleyan came out very strong in game 2. Kelvin Sosa ’21 tossed a 7 inning CGSO, collecting 7 strikeouts and walking just 1. Johnny Lamont ’20 collected a 6 inning CG, but his 2 runs were too many for his offense to cover. Going into the final game both teams needed a win to have even a shot at playoffs, so this game was winner-take-all. Game three was extremely close as the teams were neck and neck throughout. Both teams staffed the game, using many pitchers in short spurts. They took turns trading blows, as Jonny Corning ’20 hit a two-run shot in the 4th to give the Cardinals the lead. The game was tied 3-3 going into the top of the 9th inning, when Eph prayers were answered with a Kellen Hatheway ’19 two-run bomb that ended up sending Williams right to the playoffs. Williams will be back in action next weekend in Waterville, ME, facing #2 seed in the East Bates. Wesleyan fell to Trinity 2-0 in their final game of the season on Monday.

Bates vs. Bowdoin

Brandon Lopez wrapped up a solid career against Bates over the weekend

Heading into this weekend Bates knew that just one win in their doubleheader against Bowdoin would send them to the playoffs, holding the head-to-head tiebreaker against Trinity. With this information in mind, Bates did not hesitate to get the job done as they came out firing in the first game of this Saturday doubleheader. Justin Foley ’19 was fantastic for the Bobcats, tossing a complete game shutout and allowing just 6 baserunners – earning NESCAC Pitcher of the Week honors in the process. Brandon Lopez ’19 was less impressive for Bowdoin, allowing 6 runs in his 6 innings. Christian Beal ’21 paced the Bobcats offensively, going 4-4 with 2 RBI, while Jon Lindgren ’20 added on by going 3-4. Catcher Jack Arend ’20 drew 3 walks, bringing his season total to a league-leading 33. All in all, Bates captured game one with ease and therefore their playoff berth. Despite this, the Bobcats continued to pounce on Bowdoin in game 2. Nolan Collins ’20 concluded his terrific regular season with a 5-inning, 4-hit, 1-run effort, earning the win on the mound. As a team Bates collected 14 hits and 11 RBIs in game 2, bringing home a decisive 11-1 victory. Bowdoin finished out their year with a non-conference win on Sunday while Bates takes on #1 seed in the West Williams next weekend.

Tufts vs. Colby

While Tufts entered the weekend knowing that they had already clinched a playoff spot, they ended up needing one victory against Colby to clinch the #1 seed, and they decided to tack on one more for good measure. RJ Hall ’19 threw a complete game, giving up just one run in the first game of the doubleheader. Six different Jumbos collected RBIs in the game, highlighted by a 2-4 day including a single and a home run from Harrison Frickman ’19, as Tufts took the game easily, 10-1. In game two the foot wasn’t really let off the gas as Tufts held Colby to just 2 runs behind Aidan Tucker ’22 providing 8 innings, allowing just 1 run and striking out 4. Brandon Bay ’21 and Will Shackelford ’19 combined for 5 RBIs for the Jumbos as game 2 was taken by a score of 7-2. While the Colby Mules will not be back in action this season, their field will be. Tufts will be one of the 4 NESCAC teams traveling to Waterville this weekend for the NESCAC Baseball Championships. They’ll start by facing 2 seed in the West Middlebury on Friday.

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 8th 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 5th 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 8th 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 (2nd) and scoring 99 runs (3rd), it’s just the 9th 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 5th 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

Hot Takes Like Steven A. Smith; NESCAC Baseball Week 3 Stock Report

After another weekend of NESCAC baseball that featured three divisional series, we are starting to gain a little more clarity and direction in the standings. Trinity swept Colby putting them at 7-2, 4.5 games clear at the top of the East division, essentially locking up a playoff spot and the 1 seed, although Bates (3-3) might have something to say when they come to Hartford this weekend. The West has the potential to get a little messy. While Amherst (4-1) and Wesleyan (4-2) are the only teams with a winning record, the two Little 3 rivals face off this weekend, and there is always a chance of a sweep that could throw the race for the second spot into complete chaos.

Stock Up 

Tufts Pitching

I highlighted the ‘Bos trio of pitchers in last week’s Power Rankings but they were really on display this weekend at Bowdoin. R.J. Hall ‘19’s 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 7 K line earned him NESCAC Pitcher of the Week honors in a 10-0 win on Friday while Brent Greeley and Spencer Langdon added in another combined 13.2 IP and 5 ER in a much needed 2-1 weekend for Tufts. There are 7 qualified pitchers in the league with sub-3 ERAs and those three are all on that list. Langdon (1st, 1.08), Greeley (T3rd, 1.85), and Hall (7th, 2.57) have been excellent in NESCAC play so far, and they’re going to need them to continue that trend as they are in a dead heat with Bates for 2nd in the East at 3-3. Should they make it out of the regular season (I expect them to), they might be the favorites to win the league for a 3rd straight year on the backs of their pitching staff. No one else has even close to the arms for the double-elimination championship format. Facing Spencer Langdon and his 1.08 ERA in your third game of the weekend for a chance to hang a banner? Good luck.

Trinity’s Title Chances

Trinity has everything going for them, riding high after three straight series wins.

I thought about also titling this “Trinity Pitching” but I decided to go with their title chances as a whole because no team should be feeling better about themselves than the Bantams following a 3-0 weekend against Colby in which they outscored their opponents 31-6. We talked about the potential Achilles heel of Trinity’s volatile starting rotation pitching them out of games against inferior opponents, but there was none of that on display this weekend. Eric Mohl ’19 and Alex Shafer ’20 both went 6+ IP and allowed less than 2 ER in their starts, while the bats took care of the rest, behind a POTW performance from sophomore IF Matt Koperniak and his hitting for the cycle on Friday. Everything is clicking for Trinity right now.

The Future of the League

One of the best storylines of this NESCAC season has been the performances of the underclassmen. Hamilton freshman IF Matt Zaffino has been so good that there isn’t much of a ROY race left, and (the season isn’t over yet) if it wasn’t for lack of greater team success he would be in the POY race in his first year as well. He extended his hit streak to 15 games this week, bringing his line to .394 (6th in the league), 3 HR (T3rd), 19 RBI (8th). But he is far from the only newcomer making a name for himself this year. Williams freshmen Eric Pappas is third in the league in batting average, hitting at a .415 clip, while his classmate Erik Mini is hitting .315 with 2 HR and 8 RBI. Matt Koperniak, as previously mentioned, is just a sophomore, and is in the midst of what could be the first of many All-League seasons. More than half of the 10 league leaders in ERA are underclassmen as well. Up and down the league there are underclassmen contributing, a trend that should continue as teams at the bottom of the standings begin to give their younger guys a chance at the end of the season. The future is bright for the league.

Editor’s Note: While I appreciate that the league will be solid for years to come with such good first year players, we still have only seen one team make the NCAA tournament for two seasons in a row. Not a single NESCAC team is ranked nationally which means this will be the third year of NESCAC teams relying on the automatic bid to the tournament. To really make the league good, more players need to play baseball in the summer and stop worrying about internships. Or the league needs to add fall baseball with coaches for so many reasons.

Stock Down

Bowdoin’s Playoff Chances

Bowdoin needs to turn on the afterburners in the second half.

Coming into this weekend, the Polar Bears still had a very much realistic chance at postseason play, sitting at 3-3, just one game outside of Trinity and the top spot at 4-2. But that chance quickly evaporated after a series loss to Tufts. Bowdoin is actually only half a game out of the playoffs, so theoretically they’re right in the thick of things, but they’re at a disadvantage in the fact that they’ve played 9 division games, while the teams they’re chasing, Tufts and Bates, have only played 6. But Tufts and Bates have yet to play each other (they play the 27th/28th), so the winner of that series will stretch its lead over Bowdoin even further. While also holding the head-to-head tiebreaker, Tufts’ three other games are against Colby, which does not bode well for Bowdoin. They’re going to need to take all three in their own series with Colby this weekend if they want a realistic chance at the playoffs, because while 7-5 gives them a (slim) chance, 6-6 isn’t gonna cut it.

NESCAC Playoff Format

Following up a discussion on why Bowdoin probably isn’t going to make the playoffs is the question, why shouldn’t they? Bowdoin, like Bates, like Middlebury, and probably even like Hamilton, deserve to play postseason baseball. The two division and four team playoff format have their own merits, and the double elimination NESCAC tournament is certainly exciting, but to play a 30+ game regular season where only 12 games matter (a discussion for another time) is silly. After such a long schedule, should the league title really be decided by just four teams? More importantly, in a league where more often than not the only NCAA tournament participant is going to be the league champ, why should any taste of the postseason be excluded from the other 6 teams? Open it up to at least 6 and have the 2 and 3 seeds play a one game playoff to get to the final 4. It incentivizes winning the division, it gives more teams a chance to play extra baseball, and anything can happen in baseball in one game.

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:

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

Divisions Keep Them Separate, But How Do They Stack Up? Baseball Midseason Power Rankings

Right In The Thick of Things: Power Rankings Week 5

I have a love/hate relationship with NESCAC baseball. On one hand, I hate the way the divisions and playoff systems work but love the way it emphasizes head-to-head matchups. As an athlete myself, I hate how fast the spring season goes for these teams that have been preparing together since they stepped on campus in the fall yet I love how quickly these teams are forced to get into the mix. So with that being said, it’s hard to believe that it’s the second week of April and there are two huge weekends of NESCAC divisional play remaining. The season is in full swing, and with it comes some Power Rankings.

  1. Wesleyan 

The only undefeated team in the conference, and although overall records don’t matter in baseball the same way they do in other NESCAC sports, the holder of the best overall record at 13-6, are the Wesleyan Cardinals. Wesleyan started their league campaign off with a 3-game sweep of defending conference finalist Middlebury. The most impressive part of their weekend was how they showcased a variety of ways they can beat you. Mike McCaffrey has begun to prove our preseason hype correct throwing 6 no-hit innings with 10 Ks, combining with Pat Clare for their first no-hitter since 1981. The duo outpitched Middlebury’s Colby Morris (never heard of him) in a 1-0 win to start the series, and then the bats followed it up with two shootout wins in which they put up double digit runs in each game. OF Alex Cappitelli ’20 continued his solid sophomore campaign by leading the team with 4 RBIs on the weekend, but the real story so far for Wesleyan has been their depth through the order. The Cards have 7 guys in their lineup hitting above .300, which is why it should come as no surprise that they lead the NESCAC in hitting with a .305 average. They will definitely be the better team when they travel to New York this weekend for a series with Hamilton and should see their West Division grow larger after a strong start.

  1. Amherst

Amherst followed up their two game sweep of Hamilton with a series win on the road against archrival Williams, putting them at a strong 4-1 in the West Division. The Mammoths are second in the league with a .299 team batting average and lead the league as a pitching staff with a collective 4.18 ERA. They’re more than likely kicking themselves for letting Williams steal Game 2 late, but the Purple and White are in great shape. They do have the toughest schedule remaining in the West with Wesleyan and Middlebury looming, 5 of those 6 games being on the road as well. OF Ariel Kenney ’18 is firmly at the front of the POY conversation with his .431 AVG, to go along with 2 HRs and 10 RBI. 3B Nick Nardone ’19 is also looking to enter that race (.322, 2 HRs, 15 RBI), and the best part for Amherst might be that SS Harry Roberson ’18 (.228 AVG, 16 RBI), has really yet to get going. There might not be a team in the league better equipped for a 3 game series.

  1. Trinity

If you’re the Bantams you definitely have every right to feel slighted with a spot at 3 in these rankings, but I think Amherst’s consistency/every team statistic available gives them the edge. Trinity has opened the season just as they had hoped, taking 2 out of 3 from both Tufts and Bowdoin. In my East Division preview I wrote that the key to Trin’s season would be keeping the poor starting pitching performances to a minimum, but they have yet to do that in the way they would’ve hoped. While they are 3rd in the league with a 4.38 ERA, it is games like their 15-8 loss to Bowdoin that could keep them from reaching the heights they are hoping to find. They caught Bowdoin P Brandon Lopez ’19 on an off night (3.0 IP, 4 R, 5 BB), but P Erik Mohl ’19 couldn’t get out of the 2nd inning (1.2 IP, 8 H, 7 R) and the Polar Bears blitzed the Trinity bullpen for eight runs in the 7th inning alone. This team can flat out rake, but we are yet to see them clicking on all cylinders like they are capable of. Tufts, like the good team they are, were able to hold them to 13 runs over 3 games, but they were able to climb up to 21 over 3 against Bowdoin. They have the firepower, and perhaps more importantly, the strength of schedule—having already seen off Tufts and Bowdoin—to take the East Division and contend for the NESCAC.

  1. Tufts

They lost 2 out of 3 games to a good Trinity team, but that is certainly not a cause for concern. RJ Hall, Brent Greeley, and Spencer Langdon combined to throw 19 IP and allow 3 runs, erasing any doubt over the turnover in the bullpen this year. They were a 5 spot in the 7th inning in Game 2 away from winning the series and climbing higher on these rankings, but this is still a really good team and the class of the NESCAC. IF Tommy O’Hara ’18 (.358 AVG, 2 HR, 15 RBI) has looked every bit the first-teamer he was last year and is certainly right in the mix for POY. The Jumbos are getting their usual mix of contributions all over the order, but if there was one place they would like to see improvement it would be in IF Nick Falkson ‘18’s batting average. The reigning league Player of the Year is showing off his usual power so far this year, to the tune of 4 HRs and 22 RBI, but his average sits at just .258., a far cry from his .373 last year. He has already doubled his big flies, but the contact has not been there quite yet. Look for that to change soon. The story of the year in Somerville, however, is the play of P Brent Greeley ’20. The sophomore has been absolutely lights out, boasting a 4-0 line with a 1.29 ERA (second in the league) in 28.0 IP. His 3.54 K/9 obviously is not indicative of overpowering stuff and time will tell if this is just a hot streak, but the fact that they have a top of the line starter is huge for them going forward. As they showed against Trinity, they have starting pitching that can go deep in games, and deep in the season.

For Midd to figure it out, Colin Waters ’19 and the rest of the pitching staff are going to have come to play versus Amherst

  1. Middlebury

I think there’s a pretty clear top 4 in the NESCAC right now, and spots 5-7 are a toss up, but I’m going to give Midd the nod here on account of strength of schedule, close games, and the fact that this is Middlebury on NbN that we’re talking about. They got swept by Wesleyan but if Colby Morris ’20 pitches like that (6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 8 K) for the rest of the year they’re not going to get swept at all (or if they don’t get no-hit). They took 2 out of 3 against a struggling Williams team in California, and although they managed to hang 20 in one of those wins, it did come against the worst pitching staff in the league, so the jury is still out on that one. The 0-3 weekend against Wesleyan makes it a really uphill battle to return the playoffs, especially with Amherst still on the schedule. Their other rather glaring problem is that they haven’t really been good at anything, hitting .252 (9th in the league) and holding the 8th best ERA at 5.57. They need some guys to really start carrying the team if they’re not going to collectively produce. Morris has shown number 1 stuff, and sophomore infielders Hayden Smith (.365 AVG, 9 RBI) and Justin Han (.344 AVG, 14 RBI) could be the catalysts offensively for the Panthers, but it’s quickly turned into do or die time.

  1. Bowdoin

Bowdoin and Bates each find themselves at 3-3 but Bowdoin took 2 out of 3 from the Bobcats, so that made this decision easy. The Polar Bears have ridden P Max Vogel-Freedman ’19 and P Brandon Lopez ’19 to a playoff spot if the season ended today, but unfortunately it doesn’t, and they still have to face Tufts. Bowdoin has utilized the long ball to its benefit with 6 different guys combining to hit 8 homers on the year. I would also like to use this time to throw a shoutout to 1B Sawyer Billings ’18 whose 2-26 with 2 HRs stat line is eerily reminiscent to my Little League production—thanks for bringing me back to the good ole days, Sawyer. Anyways, with Vogel-Freedman and Lopez pitching like they are, they should feel good about their ability to compete. If they can steal 1 or even 2 from Tufts, and then take 2 out of 3 from Colby, that would put them at either 7-5 or 6-6 in the division. Is that going to be good enough to make the playoffs?

  1. Bates

The other 3-3 team in the East are going to need some help and putting this team at 7 feels wrong but someone has to do it. The reality is that this team has taken no strides forward at the plate, and it’s going to be pretty hard (read: near impossible) to make the playoffs hitting .217 as a team. Zach Avila is the only guy hitting above .300 (.316) but none of his 12 hits have been extra base hits. Dan Trulli ’19 (.265, 2 HR, 16 RBI) is their biggest weapon at the plate, but he’s either going to need to do a lot more than what he’s doing now if he’s not going to get any help. Can Connor Russell and Justin Foley make up for it on the mound? Russell has shown he can pitch as good as any arm in the league for a day, but he’s going to have to consistently do it the rest of the way home. The reality is that with 6 games remaining, 3 each against Tufts and Trinity, the Bobcats probably didn’t do enough with their first 6 to stay in the hunt. Perhaps they can play spoiler.

  1. Colby

Colby was able to snag one off of Bates to avoid being swept in their opening weekend, getting a nice pitching performance from first-year LHP Paul Ariola (7 IP, 1 R, 6K). Colby’s biggest problem has been injuries to their pitching staff. Like, all of it. Ariola ’21 leads the team in innings pitched with just 16.1. The guys we expected to take a jump up this year are either hurt or aren’t producing. There’s really no guessing which three guys Coach Plummer will roll out to the mound on a given weekend right now, but it is yet to fully go off the rails for Colby, in large part due to the play of senior OF Matt Treveloni, who has been nothing shy of white hot. Treveloni leads the league with a .440 average to go along with 1 HR and 14 RBI. Colby is still young and has a lot of arms, and while injuries stink, it should give a lot of those young guys chances to prove themselves on the mound.

  1. Williams

It’s safe to say this season has not gone as planned for the Ephs. John Lamont and Sean Hager ’20 vanished seemingly overnight, Lamont to injury, and Hager to transferring, and what remained was a pitching staff with a comfortably league worst 7.37 ERA. Their pitchers just don’t have the stuff, as evidenced by the fact that they’ve struck out 35 less batters than the next closest NESCAC team. Their attempt to convert Kyle Dean ’20 from a reliever, a role in which he had great success last year (26.0 IP, 1.38 ERA, 9.35 K/9) has not worked out, and they are desperately seeking guys to fill their rotation. The bright spots for this team have been the young guys, particularly the freshmen. Sophomore OF Mike Stamas (.375 AVG, 24 H, 1 HR, 7 RBI) has taken the jump up in second year production, but 2021s OF Erik Mini (.265, 2 HR, 7 RBI), IF Eric Pappas (.415, 17 H) and RHP George Carroll (24.1 IP, 3.70 ERA, starter of both NESCAC wins) have been what Eph fans should be most excited about. This team is also actually quite solid at the plate (.279, 4th in the NESCAC). If they can find a couple of pitchers that can join Carroll and get past the 2nd inning, and veterans like INFs Kellen Hathaway ’19 and Jack Roberts ’18 can lead this team at the top of the order, they could win some games. But they still have Wesleyan left on their schedule, and if that 7.37 ERA doesn’t drop quicker than Bitcoin their season will be ending shortly.

Zaffino and the Continentals have nowhere to go but up.

  1. Hamilton

There was some competition with Williams for this coveted spot but it goes to the Continentals because they are the only NESCAC team without a league win. Like I said with some previous teams, some of these rankings are harsh, and as the person writing them can attest, they’re not easy to do either, especially when strength of schedule is such a factor. Hamilton will turn it around and win some games going forward, although looking ahead to Wesleyan and Middlebury (and Williams) isn’t ideal, but they’ve got talent. INF Matt Zaffino has just about locked up ROY in the second week of April, putting up as good of a first season as the league has seen in a while, hitting .429 (T2), 3 HR (2nd), and 18 RBI (5th). The kids have been the story for this team, as Zaffino’s first year classmates INF Jarrett Lee (.370, 20 H, 8 RBI) and INF Matt Cappelletti (.295, 2 HR, 8 RBI) have joined in on the production party. They have yet to find consistent top end pitching, but hopefully that will come. This is going to come across as a cop out (it is a cop out) but Hamilton won’t finish 10th in the last Power Rankings, I feel pretty certain about that.