This was a very frustrating weekend because so many games were wiped out. With the storm that hit last night into this morning, this very likely that any game that was scheduled to be played early this week–such as NYIT vs Adelphi will now be cancelled.
The silver lining is that with Spring Break coming up, many teams will be able to get 5-7 games in this week. Like last week, there’s no reason yet for the Division-III Power Rankings since Farmingdale and St. Joseph’s haven’t played a game yet and Old Westbury has only played two games.
Division-I:
- Fordham (Record: 5-6)
It was a great weekend for the Rams as they won three of four against Maryland Eastern Shore. In the first game, a familiar face Jake Guercio (West Islip 2018) had a three-hit day. The combination of Alvin Melendez and Gabriel Karslo were outstanding, allowing no ER. After a loss on Saturday, they bounced back by taking the last two games. Kyle Martin saved both games with Joseph Quintal and John Stankiewicz recording the victories. All things considered, it’s always a plus to head back home after the first three weeks down south within a game of .500. They will like to improve their team average of .239; which is only that high due to Jake Baker’s .357 AVG.
This weekend they will host the Fordham Round Robin in which they will play four games; including two each against Iona and Hofstra.
2. Stony Brook (Record: 3-6)
You never want to get swept but it is hard to expect otherwise when you travel to face No. 13 ranked Arkansas. You almost need to be encouraged when you see they lost 3-1 and 4-3. In the series opener, Greg Marino continued to pitch very well, allowing 3 ER over 5.1 IP and Michael Wilson had two hits. In the second game, Brian Herrmann allowed 4 ER over 5 IP but Sam Turcotte came on in relief to fire three shutout innings. John Tuccillo had two hits. Game 3 was a blowout, but they did put up 7 runs including a 3-hit game by Dylan Resk and multi-hit games by Nick Grande, Michael Wilson and Sean Buckhout.
They were scheduled for their home opener on Tuesday against Manhattan, but it remains to be seen if the field conditions will allow it. They are also scheduled to play LIU Brooklyn, I will be curious if Ward Melville grad Chris Buehler gets that start or perhaps Massapequa grad Patrick Clyne.
3. St. John’s (Record: 1-6)
They’re hitting .160 as a team, which kind of tells the story of the early going of this season. Obviously, that won’t continue and they will find their footing. They’ve faced some incredible competition so far, but their 6.51 ERA is certainly concerning. Fortunately, they are at least doing so in warm weather. Their West Coast swing continues all week, starting with their series-concluding game against San Diego tonight. The bright spot has been Sean Mooney, who continues to deal and has a 2.03 ERA through 17.2 IP. I have a feeling that won’t go up much this season.
4. Hofstra (Record: 2-6)
This was always going to be a transitional year for Hofstra, so I will accentuate on the positives here. They lost 1-0 on Friday, so it was a great sign that ace Michael James has stepped up and filled the void left by John Rooney, Matt Weissheier and Teddy Cillis to the best of his abilities. Seven shutout innings with no walks is as good as it gets. The offense just didn’t get anything going. Three of their five hits came by Anthony D’Onofrio and Jimmy Joyce, staying true to their high school days. They were able to come away with a victory over St. Peter’s, 14-9. D’Onofrio had four hits, and five players accounted for two RBI each.
They will face Iona on Thursday in their home-opener.
Division-II:
- NYIT (Record: 4-0)
They did not play this weekend, all four of their games were cancelled and it looks like Tuesday’s game against Adelphi will be cancelled as well. That’s a shame because they were red-hot and sometimes that inactivity can break up a hot-streak. They will head to Florida and start a big weekend of games beginning at 9am on Thursday.
2. Adelphi (Record: 2-0)
I was tempted to put them in the No. 1 spot here, but you have to give the nod to the 4-0 squad led by Frankie Cat. I think they are an incredibly talented and deep team. It doesn’t hurt to have four All-Conference caliber infielders in Lucas Terwilliger, Tyler Becker, Brett Malm and Thomas Colombo to go along with a revitalized Brandon Morse and Lawrence Cicileo. The staff features seven arms that touch 90 MPH. Ace Ed Baram appears to have that kind of dominating season that results in having his career extend well beyond May. At 6’4 with a fastball in the low-to-mid 90s, I would be very surprised if he didn’t get drafted. They are very, very good and they proved that over an inferior St. Thomas Aquinas team this weekend. I expect them to appear in the NCAA Regionals this year.
3. Queens (Record: 2-0-1)
They will be back in action tonight after not playing since Feb. 23. I am looking forward to watching them, they appear to have a pretty potent offense, they have scored 28 runs over three games. Eric Roubal (Pat-Med) and Louis Antos (West Islip) have both been red-hot to start the year.
4. LIU Post (Record: 4-5)
They lost a tough one, 2-1, in 10 innings on Friday night against Pace. James Varela pitched well, but got the no-decision despite striking out seven and allowing 1 ER over 5.2 IP. They ran into tough southpaw Dan Wirchansky, who is a master of command. They will be back in action this weekend down in Cary, N.C. and will play four games.
5. Molloy (Record: 0-4)
They had their games cancelled this weekend, they will be back in action tomorrow at Pace, weather pending.
