The third and final installment of the weekly Power Rankings…
10. NYIT (14-30)
They won 10 more games this year than last season, thanks in large part to the emergence of Louis Mele and Josh Canabal at the plate but the pitching compiled a 7.53 ERA and it was just not enough to creep towards .500.
9. Hofstra (19-29)
Steven Foster, Chris Hardardt and Brad Witkowski all hit over .300 (with Foster compiling an impressive .891 OPS) and were the bright spots for the Pride. They also smacked an impressive 27 home runs, highlighted by Brett Johnson‘s eight dingers. Unfortunately, the pitching staff regressed from last season. The lowest ERA was by freshman Chris Weiss, who was brought in to be a catcher.
8. Molloy (22-23)
Their downfall was the 10-14 conference record. They were 16-6 at home and appeared like a powerhouse at times. They eclipsed 9 runs in a game on 12 occasions and even topped 20 runs twice. Kevin Podell, John Galanoudis, Angelo Navetto, Deilyn Guzman, Anthony Alberghina and Michael Rahn made up a potent lineup that hit .291 with a .378 OBP. Galanoudis and Podell were named to the All-ECC second team.
Shea Spitzbarth and Alex Brosnan were dominant all season and both had 17 strikeouts in a game. Both were named to the All-ECC team and Brosnan led the conference in CGs and innings pitched.
7. Adelphi (20-21)
They righted the ship after a very tough start to the season. The offense was led by Nick Zito (.368 AVG, .405 OBP, 27 RBI) and Rob Vani’s (.348 AVG, .414 OBP, 27 runs scored) tremendous seasons. Kory Cassara (.305 AVG, three HR) was named to the All-Rookie team.
6. Farmingdale (19-17)
While the streak of seven consecutive conference championships came to an end, the Rams definitely showed heart by winning three straight elimination games to put themselves in position to win it all again. In reality, they were composed of a lot of young players that had not been in that position yet. The offense still hit .308, led by Mike Marino‘s ridiculous .463. Despite losing him, Tom Rydzewski and Anthony Alvino to graduation, they will have a strong core next season led by Dalton McCarthy, Nick Osburn, Domenic Palumbo and Richard Sullivan to go along with a rotation comprised of Kevin Cashman (2.37 ERA), Kevin Martinez (2.77 ERA) and Ryan O’Connor (6-1, 3.99 ERA).
5.St. Joseph’s (20-17)
This looked like the year they would capture the crown. They went 13-1 in conference play and had the No. 1 seed in the tournament. After demolishing Maritime in the first game, they had a walkoff loss to Old Westbury and then lost to Farmingdale. With an offense that hit .319, led by Skyline Conference Player of the Year Nick Girardi (.383 AVG, .455 OBP, 23 RBI) and sophomore ace Josh Outsen (5 wins, 1.32 ERA) on the mound, it was disappointing to see them make an early exit to the tournament.
4. LIU Post (18-18)
After upsetting No. 1 Dowling in the first round, they went down against St. Thomas Aquinas and Bridgeport to get eliminated. Despite Connor McCarthy‘s 11 inning masterpiece they suffered the extra inning loss. The offense was streaky, but the one constant was Vinny Iacono–who hit .339 and smacked 15 XBH. David Groeneveld was named to the All-ECC team and their ace, Jake DeCarli, put together one of the best seasons in Long Island history allowing just 35 hits in 71 innings and compiling a 0.76 ERA.
3. Dowling (27-15)
They were awarded the No. 5 seed in the East Regional which will be held at Franklin Pierce. It was shocking to see them go two-and-out in the ECC Conference tournament which means they’ll either come out with fire in the regionals to atone for that or the injuries they have suffered are too much to weather. They really don’t have any weaknesses on the roster, it’s just a matter of putting it all together against some really tough opponents in the regionals.
2. Old Westbury (25-11)
They are still waiting to find out who they will play in the regionals but they have impressed everyone with their 25-win season and a pitching staff that has a 3.14 ERA in addition to a lineup that hits .319 cumulatively.
1. Stony Brook (29-15)
They recapture the top spot thanks to another strong week that allowed them to earn the No. 1 seed in the America East tournament. They seem to be hitting their stride at just the right time.
