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

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

Editor’s Note: All of the NESCAC spring break trips are now over and conference play has started for eight of 10 teams. While it might be easy to predict some weekend results, others become muddled after looking at teams’ overall records. Depending on the region of spring break trips (Florida, Arizona, the Mid-Atlantic, or California) there are vastly different strengths of schedules, leading to either inflated or deflated stats. Generally, California has the strongest teams, while all of the other regions have extremely weak competition. For a more in depth look at strength of schedule, check out this site which provides a ranking and strength of schedule assessment for ever D3 baseball team in the country: http://www.boydsworld.com/baseball/isr/d3_isr.html.

Amherst:

Trip Location: Florida

Strength of Schedule Assessment: Weak

Despite a stretch of losses in the middle, Amherst (9-5, 2-0) came out of their preseason contests boasting a respectable 7-5 record. While their offense did its job, hitting .279 as a team and scoring 5.9 runs per game, their pitching is really what carried their success. Andrew Ferrero ‘19 has been the Mammoths’ best pitcher so far, only allowing 2 runs in 18.2 IP on the young season, however, mostly out of the bullpen. Also impressive was Zach Horwitz ‘20 who holds a 1.64 ERA after 11 innings on the bump. Offensively, Amherst was led by Ariel Kenney ‘18 who hit .364 and had a sky-high OPS of 1.157 as a result of two home runs on their trip down south. The Mammoths have set a solid tone for their club for the rest of the season and if key pieces like Harry Roberson ‘18 start to find a groove, Amherst could be title contenders.

Bates:

Trip Location: California

Strength of Schedule Assessment: Strong

Bates (4-9, 1-2) started out their 2018 campaign slowly, dropping six straight games in California. Although they started off on a bad note, both for themselves and for the NESCAC, the Bobcats were able to pick themselves up a little bit once they got back to the East Coast, taking 3 of their next 4 games. A 3-7 record going into NESCAC play is nothing to brag about, but maybe Bates can use some of their recent success to jumpstart them in conference play. With a team ERA of 6.12 and team batting average of .195 going into the opening weekend, there weren’t a whole lot of individuals who stood out as noteworthy after their early trip to SoCal. One bright spot may be Dan Trulli ‘19 who hit .262 over their 10 games and dropped Bates’ only bomb all preseason long. While Bates did play poorly, they traveled to California on February 18th, just three days after official practices started, so we will give them a break here as they couldn’t have been adequately prepared to compete.

Bowdoin:

Spring Break Location: Florida

Strength of Schedule Assessment: Medium

Bowdoin (8-7, 2-1) exits their preseason going an average 6-6. While they had a few lopsided victories (10-1 and 10-2 over Keuka), they also had lopsided losses (16-3 against #3 Rowan). Bowdoin really came into their own over their last 6 games, going 5-1 and holding opposing offenses to only 2.5 runs per game. While their staff as a whole has a very unimpressive ERA of 5.82, Seamus Keenan ‘20 sets the pace for the Polar Bears with a 1.42 ERA and 13K through his first 12 ⅔ IP. The offense has been led by Joe Gentile ‘18 and Jack Wilhoite ‘19 who are each hitting .405 and .406, respectively. While Bowdoin does have 4 guys hitting over .340, nobody in the rest of their lineup is able to crack .260, creating a stark contrast between the middle of their order and the rest. Bowdoin’s keys to success this season will be to lower that team ERA, and get everyone involved up and down the lineup.

Colby:

Spring Break Location: Florida

Strength of Schedule Assessment: Weak

After a huge 13-4 victory over Keuka on opening day, the Mules (2-8, 0-0) have looked stagnant. Going 1-6 since that win is not the look that Colby needed going into NESCAC play. Their only other win after Keuka comes against Waterville rival Thomas College, which is not a particularly impressive win to say the least. Captain Matt Treveloni ‘18 has had a stand out spring so far hitting .440, with the majority of his knocks being for extra bases. Will Phillips ‘20 has also been lighting it up for the Mules at the plate hitting .444. On the other side of the equation, Colby has been giving up an average of 6.6 runs per game, and the offense can’t keep pace with that so far. One success the Mules have had on the mound so far has been Frank Driscoll ‘21, who allowed no earned runs and recorded 8 Ks in the first start of his college career, earning the win over Thomas. The clear problem the Mules have right now is not their ability to put runs on the board, but rather keep them off of it. As their younger pitchers gain more experience, perhaps the Mules can take an opportunity to climb in the standings from their last place finish in 2017.

Hamilton:

Spring Break Location: Florida

Strength of Schedule Assessment: Weak

Hamilton’s (6-9, 0-2) preseason has been an absolute rollercoaster ride. Dropping their first 7 contests, the Continental’s trajectory seemed to be on a crash course for disaster. That is until their bats caught fire and proceeded to win them their next 6 games in a row. Talk about getting hot at the right time, Hamilton is coming into conference play riding a huge wave of momentum, even though they couldn’t finish out a game against Amherst on opening weekend. A large chunk of their success so far has come from freshman duo Jarrett Lee ‘21 and Matt Zaffino ‘21 who both look to be in the early running for NESCAC Rookie of the Year. Zaffino’s 10 extra base hits, three big flys, .405 AVG. and absurd .892 SLG% pace the Continentals through this past weekend. Hamilton’s freshman heavy lineup continues with Gavin Schaefer-Hood ‘21 who leads the Continentals with 16 ⅓ IP saw his 3.77 ERA balloon to 6.06 after a rough outing against Amherst. While Hamilton would not appear to be in the running for a NESCAC crown this season, I would expect them to find a lot more success this season than last with lots of help from their newfound fountain of youth.

Andrew Corcoran ’18 and the Panthers take big swings and will try to continue their suddenly hot offensive streak into Middletown this weekend.

Middlebury:

Spring Break Location: California

Strength of Schedule Assessment: Strong

While Midd (6-9, 2-1) boasts a weak 4-8 non-conference record, their strength of schedule may be to blame. Unlike their competitors who venture down to Florida or Arizona for the duration of their spring break games, Midd throws themselves right into the fire. They played in both Georgia and Southern California to face quality competition on their turf. The Panther’s 3-3 record on their SoCal trip in comparison to Bates’ 0-6 shows the caliber of players that Middlebury has. While their offense has been lackluster, hitting .223 as a team before playing Williams, Justin Han ‘20 has been a diamond in the rough hitting .347 with 12 RBI for the Panthers. On the mound, NBN editor and Middlebury ace Colby Morris ‘19 has been getting the job done, already amassing 28 ⅔ IP on the young season and maintaining a stellar 2.08 ERA befoer facing Williams, which ismuch improved from his first two seasons. While Midd is slated to be a major contender for the NESCAC championship this spring, it is still clear that they have issues that need addressing both offensively and defensively in order to compete at the level they are expected to.

Trinity:

Spring Break Location: South Carolina

Strength of Schedule Assessment: Medium

Strength of Schedule Assessment: Trinity’s (6-8, 2-1) spring so far has been quite below-average. Their 2-4 record in South Carolina screams “meh” and the fact that they have already had 5 home games, a luxury most all NESCAC teams have not enjoyed, hasn’t seemed to serve them too well. With a vital series win against Tufts, the Bantams showed that they put themselves in a good position, however, to outplay the Jumbos. One guy who has been getting it done for the Bantams has been Matt Koperniak ‘20 who leads Trinity in AVG (.404) and extra base hits (6). On the bump, Trinity’s starting rotation has been fantastic. Their top 3 arms Erik Mohl ‘19, Alex Shafer ‘20, and Justin Olson ‘21 have each started at least 2 games and still maintain sub 3 ERAs. This makes Trinity’s problems all to clear, their offense in which nobody buy Koperniak is hitting over .300 and their bullpen which has been blowing games that their starters are setting up for them quite nicely. Although their preseason wasn’t too promising, it looks as if their starting pitching could carry the Bantams to the playoffs due to a down year in pitching for the rest of the conference.

Trinity’s starting pitching carried them to a series win over Tufts and should lead them to the playoffs.

Tufts:

Spring Break Location: Virginia

Strength of Schedule Assessment: Weak

Unsurprisingly, Tufts (7-6, 1-2) is one of the only NESCAC teams to exit spring break with a winning record at 6-4. The Jumbos can flat out rake, with a team AVG of .301 and scoring 11.1 runs per game exiting spring break. The blue and brown machine seems unstoppable, but their stats are not all that they appear to be. During their classic trip to Virginia, they played an unchallenging schedule, looking to leave ranked like in 2016 and 2017. Their 6-4 record, while respectable, is an illusion. They usually exit VA with at most one loss and showed that their pitching staff is much weaker than any could’ve imagined. While RJ Hall and Brent Greeley are off to hot starts with sub-3 ERAs, Tufts lacks the bullpen depth to dominate the NESCAC. As a result, their team ERA is an abysmal 5.85. and they failed to take home a series win against Trinity who didn’t even make the NESCAC playoffs in 2017. Malcolm Nachmanoff ‘18 , Nick Falkson ‘18, and John Moschella ‘19 bolster a strong lineup that should continually allow the Jumbos to compete, even if not at their usual dominant level. Tufts, as always, is favored to win it all this year but they will not be able to do it without some vast improvement in their pen. That being said, I am looking forward to some weekend slugfests between the Jumbos and their NESCAC opponents that could very well result in some football-esque scores.

Wesleyan:

Spring Break Location: Arizona

Strength of Schedule Assessment: Weak

The Cardinals (10-6, 0-0) can be crowned spring training champs of the NESCAC despite a weak strength of schedule. A dominant 9-4 performance shows that Wesleyan is firing on all cylinders to start of the 2018 season. With a team batting average of .314, everyone is eating for the Cardinals. They have an incredible 7 starters hitting over .300 and Chase Pratt’s ‘20 statline of 412/.553/.735 is scary good but down from.520/.618/.920 before last weekend, showing that the Tucson fields aided his bat. Tanner Fulkerson ‘20 has started his season red hot too, hitting .393 with a conference leading 24 RBI. There are almost too many names to mention for Wesleyan so let’s just say that Ryan Earle ‘19, Alex Cappitelli ‘20 and Matt Jeye ‘18 also rake. Although when it comes to pitching, Wesleyan looks like any other NESCAC team with their 5.53 team ERA. Mike McCaffrey ‘19 has had a solid showing so far as the Cardinal ace, with a 3.86 ERA and 12.12 K/9 before a rough start against a great Endicott team which inflated his numbers. His strikeouts are impressive but 27 hits in 21.1 innings and a current 5.48 ERA isn’t dominant. When it comes to offense, I recommend that Wesleyan doesn’t change a thing. On the bump there are certainly problems to be resolved. Nevertheless, McCaffrey, Alec Olmstead, and Kelvin Sosa make up a solid rotation lots of Ks and lots of BBs. The impressive showing the Cardinals put up in Arizona shows that, perhaps, they can go deep into the playoff race this year, but they will likely fall significantly back to earth in the Northeast.

Williams:

Spring Break Location: California

Strength of Schedule Assessment: Strong

All I can say about the Ephs (2-10, 1-2) preseason so far is yikes. If a 1-8 non-conference record isn’t enough to sound an alarm, maybe the fact that they had a 10 game losing streak before beating Midd 5-3 in game three of their opening series. Although they were able to pick up a win on opening day against historically bad Cal Tech, I’m not convinced that Williams’ 1-8 record in SoCal is too much better than Bates’ 0-6. To be fair to the Ephs, they have had several close losses, losing 5-4 to La Verne, 2-1 to Whittier and once again 9-8 to Whittier. It is clear that Williams is missing just some little pieces to turn themselves from a 1-8 club into a NESCAC contender. One piece that has been working for them is Erik Mini ‘21 who starts off his college career hitting .306 with a .611 SLG% and team leading 2 HR. On the mound there is not much to mention for Williams with their team ERA at 7.21. Williams needs to treat their preseason like MLB Spring Training and ignore the numbers. Their series in California against Midd was their first real test of the season and they showed that their pitching is a huge issue. They allowed 29 runs in three games to Midd (20 in game one), and unless they figure something else out, they won’t be able to win 2/3 games in any NESCAC series.