Last week we debuted our Power Rankings for college programs on the island. This week will be our second edition. There is a bit of a shake up as the number dwindles close to one…
10. NYIT: The Bears actually have been playing well lately. Although they went 1-3 this week, that is an improvement on the direction they had been trending. Louis Mele and David Plotkin have been the bright spots for them.
9. Hofstra: The Pride went 2-3 this week and will take on Northeastern this week. They can still crush the ball, especially with a red-hot Steven Foster and Brian MacDonald, but the pitching has just been non-existent for the most part. They have one starter, Adam Seibert, with an ERA under 5.40. In this age of decreased offense, that is hard to believe. With a 3-12 conference record, they have an eye on 2016.
8. Farmingdale: The Rams went 4-1 in the past week and seem to be trending up. They still have the benefit of having some of the top hitters in the conference with Mike Marino, Anthony Alvino, Dalton McCarthy and Tom Rydzewski but the lack of depth on the mound is concerning, as is the amount of errors. Kevin Cashman and Ryan O’Connor have been impressive at the top of the rotation.
7. Molloy: They played only two games this week and lost them both. They can still hit and they still have two great starters in Shea Spitzbarth and Alex Brosnan but beyond that the pitching must improve.
6. Adelphi: They went 3-1 this week to improve one spot. They still are getting great production from Nick Zito and Robert Vani but the emergence of Donato Signore and Kory Cassara is added extra depth to the lineup. With Jonathon Mulford on the hill they are tough to beat. They need to have another starter, possibly John Thompson or Michael Tarpey emerge as a co-ace because the bullpen has been great.
5. LIU Post: They went 2-2 this week. Their three starters–Jake DeCarli, Connor McCarthy and Dan Jagiello put them in good position come playoff time. The offense needs to strikeout less, though and manufacture some more runs.
4. St. Joseph’s: They had a 3-1 week and will host the conference tournament, which is a huge advantage. They also have a tremendous offense that features six regulars with an OBP of .382 or higher–highlighted by Joseph Lynn‘s .537. It’s a terrific team but the two reasons I give Old Westbury the nod over them is because OW has more power and they have more pitching depth.
3. Old Westbury: The Panthers went 5-0 in the past week to shoot up the rankings from No. 6. They have done a lot of things right–starting with an explosive offense that is slugging .467 and a pitching staff that averages a strikeout per inning. Starting with Tim Ingram and Caleb Olsen in the rotation and going right down the line to the last man in the bullpen, they are equipped to get strikeouts in big spots and that could be the difference in the conference tournament.
2. Stony Brook: They went 3-1 in the past week and didn’t necessary do anything to drop out of the No. 1 spot, except Dowling has simply been more dominating. The Sea Wolves are 9-2 in conference and have a great chance to return to the regionals but that appears to be their ceiling.
1. Dowling: The Golden Lions take the top spot this week after winning three of four last weekend against Mercy. They will take on STAC in a crucial ECC DH today. A win could separate them in the standings. Dan Parisi may have cooled down but Rob Costanzo, Michael Richter, Tyler Piccolo and Jon Cruz are all red hot right now. The pitching has been phenomenal. If they played a three-game series against Stony Brook today I believe they would win two of three with Brendan Butler, Cody McPartland and Dominic Danetti starting.
