It was a thrilling week for the local college baseball teams. There is plenty of shake up towards the top of the rankings. Like the previous two weeks, we will separate the teams into tiers based on their momentum and performance.
Tier 1:The Elite
- St. Johns (Record: 21-2, Stock UP)
They had no problem dealing with prosperity now that they’ve hit national acclaim. After getting ranked fifth in the nation, they went out and won all three games this week. Freshman Sean Mooney improved to 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA. Ryan McAuliffe is not far behind with a 3-0 record and 1.08 ERA. Something special is brewing in Queens
Tier 2: Trending Up
2. Nassau CC (7-3, Stock UP)
What a week for them–they are riding a four-game winning streak. The stats are pretty absurd. Elijah Tavarez is fifth in the nation with a .524 AVG, Nick Marino is batting .500 with 17 RBI in eight games. They have five regulars hitting over .400 and the team average is .344. The pitching staff of Jimmy Murphy (3-0, 0.84 ERA), Anthony Pristera (1 win, 2 saves 0.87 ERA) and Joe Minucci (.309, 2.45 ERA) has been lights-out.
3. Fordham (Record: 11-12, Stock UP)
They won three of four this week. Freshman Alvin Melendez really stepped up today–recording the save in the first game of the DH and earning the two inning win in the second game. Reiss Knehr struck out 12 over eight innings. Luke Stampfl has been great from day one, but Matthew Kozuch has come on very strong recently and is up to .310 with a .366 OBP.
4. Stony Brook (Record: 10-14, Stock UP)
After a rough start, they have won four of their past five. The rotation has been led by two freshmen–Brian Herrmann and Greg Marino. The latter had another fantastic outing today, and he has really stepped up. While Michael Wilson has cooled off with the bat, another freshman–Nick Grande–has really stepped up and has played a key part in the No. 5 spot of the order and defensively
5. St. Joseph’s (Record: 10-6, Stock EVEN)
They bounced back from losses to William Paterson and Kean with a DH sweep over their Brooklyn campus yesterday afternoon. Brandon Lubrano fired a complete game for his third win of the year, and Josh Outsen fired a two-hitter in the second game. They are hitting .324 with a .404 OBP as a team. Contributions through out the lineup for them. Should be a great match up next weekend when they host Maritime.
6. Maritime (Record: 11-7, Stock UP)
They swept USMMA this afternoon, as Travis Bruinsma continued his outstanding season with a complete game effort to improve to 5-0. They are hitting .308 as a team, and they will have a chance next weekend at St. Joseph’s to establish their legitimacy. It will be very interesting to say the least–probably the biggest series for this program in several years.
Tier 3: Treading Water
7. Adelphi (Record: 13-10, Stock DOWN)
The Panthers were flying high last weekend but lost three games this weekend and they have seven games this week–six of which are NE-10 rivals. T.J. Santiago had a rare mediocre outing against New Haven, but it wouldn’t have mattered as the offense scored only one run in the DH. They will be counting on an offense that is hitting .304 to step up and take some pressure off the pitching staff this week. Fortunately, they have seven regulars hitting over .300 this season.
8. LIU Post (Record: 11-11, Stock EVEN)
They only played two games this week–losing to Hofstra but defeating Mercy today behind Jake DeCarli’s complete game gem. He has really answered the bell and delivered in his senior season. They have a big week playing Queens and Bridgeport and they look to keep pace in the ECC.
9. Old Westbury (Record: 11-9, Stock EVEN)
They showed a lot of resiliency to bounce back in the second game of the DH and notch the extra-inning win. I was a little surprised that they haven’t hit the ground running with how complete of a team they are. Offensively, it has been the Tommy Ziegen and Jesse Russo show. Ziegen is slugging .760 with an absurd 24 runs scored in 75 at bats. Russo already has 14 stolen bases to go along with a .405 AVG. Today, Adam Heidenfelder danced around some jams to get through 4.2 IP, and was relieved by Jason Espinal–who has been a very welcome surprise to the pitching staff, compiling a 2.11 ERA through 21.1 IP. Danny Aguilo recorded the win with 2.1 shutout innings of relief.
10. Farmingdale (Record: 9-10, Stock EVEN)
They had been riding a three-game winning streak prior to their extra-innings loss to Old Westbury today. Yesterday, Matt Seelinger pitched like an ace over 7.2 shutout innings. They did show a lot in hanging tough on the road in a conference match up at Old Westbury. Matthew Constantine really showed some grit starting in game 1 and pitching four innings of relief in game 2. Vinny Rice, Dalton McCarthy and Nick Osburn have been tremendous for the Rams offensively.
11. Molloy (Record: 8-15, Stock EVEN)
They went 2-2 this week, but they definitely have performed better since conference play started. They are 3-2 in the ECC and are in good shape with their pitching staff starting to round into shape. Ron Bauer fired a gem yesterday and Bobby Kelly improved to 3-0. They will need another starter to really emerge to complement that duo. The offense has been led by Brian Murphy, Angelo Navetta and Elijah Leerdam.
12. Suffolk (Record: 5-5, Stock UP)
They dominated Manhattan CC today with 10-0 and 12-0 wins. Joe Mattero threw very well today–five shutout innings, seven strikeouts to record the win. Jimmy Mattera smacked a two-run HR in game two. Joe Murphy recorded the win in game two. A good weekend for the Sharks.
Tier 4: Need to Get Hot
13. Queens (Record: 7-10, Stock DOWN)
They are currently on a three-game losing streak, although they did record an impressive 5-0 shutout over St. Thomas Aquinas in the first game of a DH yesterday. Joe Broderick was terrific over eight shutout innings. They will need some more punch from the offense, which has compiled a .300 SLG. Thomas Parish has led the offensive attack with a .314 AVG through 51 at bats.
14. NYIT (Record: 2-19-1, Stock EVEN)
It was a rough week for the Bears who scored a total of one run over three games this week. The bright spot was certainly Frank Valentino. He is on the draft radar of many teams and he did not disappoint this week–he fired 10.0 shutout innings, while allowing only four base runners. Valentino is a polished pitcher with a big-time fastball and his performance down the stretch will be a major storyline for the Bears.
