by Vinny Messana
After one week of being in the top spot, Stony Brook relinquished their spot by getting swept this weekend at Bryant University. There will be a new one number–but a familiar one considering how the first four weeks of the season went. Farmingdale has the biggest jump after another weekend sweep, they’ve now won seven in a row. LIU Post also makes a jump after a four-game weekend sweep.
Here’s how the teams stack up in our sixth edition of the weekly Power Rankings.
1.Molloy
Record: 26-13, Stock UP
Ron Bauer is leading the nation in ERA at 0.59
Who knows, maybe I motivated them by dropping them out of the top spot for the first time all season. They went out and won three of four games this weekend against Mercy as well as a non-conference win on Tuesday against Post. They are now 26-13 and and 10-6 in ECC play. They continue to have the league’s leading hitter (Angelo Navatta, .389), and the leading ERA (Ron Bauer (0.59) as well as three of the top four leaders in wins (Bauer,7; Bobby Kelly, 6; Anthony Catinella, 5). They are hitting .308 and now they have Nicholas Gonchar on fire, who is up to .325 to go along with all their other .300+ hitters. They will play Dowling in a big four-game series next weekend.
2. Old Westbury
Record: 22-13, Stock UP
Danny Aguilo has been an unsung hero all season for the Panthers
They won three of four games this weekend against conference opponents. Most importantly, they will be getting back hard-throwing RHP Vinny Caputo this week, which will only lengthen their pitching staff. With the emergence of Tyler Kapela (1.78 ERA through 30.1 IP) and Danny Aguilo (5 wins, 4 CGs) to go along with Jeremy Charles, they are well equipped to defend their title.Offensively, Jesse Russo has been unreal all season. He now has 53 hits in 130 at bats (.408 AVG) and has a strong case to be Skyline Conference Player of the Year to go along with a great lineup filled with Dean Sheridan, Tommy Zeigen, Kevin Lao, Joey Walsh, Paul Rapoli.
3. Stony Brook
Record: 17-18, Stock DOWN
It was a rough week for the Sea Wolves, as they fell from the top spot in our rankings due to getting swept. They have five games this week including a big three-game set at home this weekend against UMBC. They are still second in the conference, thanks to their hot streak to begin the month. Today, Tyler Honahan struggled which raised his ERA to 6.86, they will look for him to get back on track as Chad Lee and Bret Clarke have solidified themselves as the top two in the rotation.
4. Adelphi
Record: 20-19, Stock UP
Photo Credit: Vinny Amodeo
What a season-saving sweep it was for the Panthers, who are back in the thick of the hunt of the NE-10. They got great pitching performances from T.J. Santiago, Jonathon Mulford and Matthew O’Connor. Jonathan Iadevaia has been a godsend in the lineup, Rob Vani has been red-hot, same can be said for Eric Hassell and Steven Withers. They also got three saves from Michael Demarest. They have five games this week, including a big series against the College of St. Rose this weekend as they look to clinch a playoff spot.
5. Farmingdale State
Record: 18-12, Stock UP
They stayed hot and have now won seven in a row. They are firing on all cylinders and clinched the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, meaning they’ll host the tournament.Nick Attardi is hitting .411 and they’ve been getting contributions up-and-down the lineup. The pitching staff has received a boost with the back-to-back CGs by Matt Seelinger (pictured above). Kevin Martinez has claimed his spot as the No. 2 and has his ERA down to 1.42 through 25.1 IP. They will host a surprisingly strong Maritime team this week as they look to close out the schedule while riding this winning streak.
6. Suffolk CC
Record: 15-6, Stock EVEN
Suffolk CC is setting the world on fire offensively
The games against St. Joseph’s doesn’t count towards their record, so they won both of their games this week while adding 24 runs to their already-sterling offensive numbers. They also got two great pitching performances from Sean Boyle and Robert Sciarotta. Teams are having trouble playing the full nine innings against them without getting mercied.
7. St. Joseph’s
Record: 16-10, Stock UP
They bounced back from their loss to No. 5 ranked Ramapo and swept the College of Mount St. Vincent’s yesterday by the score of 7-1 both games. That ensured they will be back in the playoffs this year. They’ve been swinging the bat much better and the recent surge of Bob Keating has really lengthened their lineup. Ryan Aloise, Josh Outsen, Brandon Lubrano and Steven Szobesky form a formidable quartet in the rotation and they will close out their conference schedule this week against Purchase on Saturday.
8. LIU Post
Record: 17-19, Stock UP
DeCarli has been pitching like an ace recently
They swept Queens College this weekend and have now won five in a row to stay alive in the ECC. They got complete games from Jake DeCarli, Dan Jagiello and Joey Arena, while also getting a strong performance from Brian Kavanagh. That’s what they’ll need to reach the postseason. As we’ve mentioned several times, the offense has been led by David Groeneveld, James Cohan and Rob Andreoli. Freshman Dave Brehm has been hot and is up to .299 after his two-hit day today.
9. Dowling
Record: 16-19, Stock DOWN
They lost three of four this weekend against St. Thomas Aquinas. They remain in playoff position thanks to their 9-7 conference record. This weekend will be a huge test with a four-game series against Molloy, that can determine their playoff fate. They will be leaning on their solid rotation of Cody McPartland, Chris Cepeda, Jon Parisi and Dennis Buckstein to keep a dynamic lineup at bay. They will look to crack the code to Ron Bauer. They play small-ball very well and that could be what it takes to defeat an undefeated pitcher who doesn’t give up many hits but has walked a lot of batters.
10. NYIT
Record: 17-20, Stock EVEN
Photo Credit: Nakeem Grant
They swept the DH yesterday on Senior Day thanks to some heroics in Game One by Jake Lebel with an opposite field walk-off two-run HR. They also were led by a stellar pitching performance by Dixon Marble. They followed that up by getting swept today by NJIT. The issue is that they have five regulars hitting under .200. Despite the incredible season by Joe Daru, who is the early favorite for our 2016 Most Valuable Player, they have not been able to score enough to support what has been a very good pitching staff. They have six games this week, if they have a strong showing they could finish over .500, which would be a huge jump start for this program who has a great incoming class of freshman coming in this fall.
11. Nassau CC
They went 2-1 this week, with two run-rule victories and a loss against a powerhouse in ASA College. They have a very busy week this week with Manhattan, ASA and a four-game set against Kingsborough.
12. Hofstra
Record: 13-27, Stock DOWN
It was a rough weekend, as they got swept by Elon University in North Carolina after flying high last weekend. On a bright note, they continue to smack HRs at a prodigious rate. They have 39 in 40 games. Teddy Cillis is leading all Long Island with 9 HRs, Mat Annunziata has seven and is leading the team in RBI at 34. Nick Bottari has six and Ryan Karl has five. They have an interesting match up on Tuesday when they host St. John’s, and a weekend series against the University of North Carolina-Wilmington.
