Admittedly, this is the toughest of the seven weeks to rank due to the recent performances–and that’s a good thing. At the Division-I & II levels, there is a lot of parity. This weekend I watched NYIT-Queens on Saturday and Stony Brook on Sunday morning, which I will factor into these rankings.
Here’s my best guess:
Division-I
- Stony Brook (Record: 14-8, Trending UP)
2. St. John’s (Record: 12-10, Trending UP)
3. Fordham (Record: 16-12, Trending EVEN)
4. Hofstra (Record: 3-18, Trending Down)
Analysis: After watching Stony Brook yesterday perform well and run their stretch to 11 wins in 12 games, that’s enough to put them at the top of this list. The fact that Bret Clarke is back to his dominant self from his freshman year is huge for them. He gives them a capable weekend starter to finish off series. His low 90s fastball and sharp slider combination tied Maine hitters into knots. Additionally, they found a way to win even with the bat sleep walking through the first seven innings against Cody Laweryson who had a perfect game going. They still scratched out two runs and finished the sweep. Michael Wilson is no longer the only one on fire in the lineup–Nick Grande‘s two HR yesterday improved his AVG to .341 and SLG to 576. The backend of the bullpen now has Brandon Bonanno settling in as closer. While they don’t have Aaron Pinto anymore, they can still get by with what they have. They will look to stay hot against Hartford this weekend.
Division-II:
- LIU Post (Record: 16-9, Trending UP)
2. NYIT (Record: 15-5, Trending UP)
3. Adelphi (Record: 14-5, Trending UP)
4. Queens (Record: 12-11-1, Trending Down)
5. Molloy (Record: 7-15, Trending UP)
Analysis: This recent hot stretch by LIU is remarkable. They scored 101 runs over five games and followed that up with 20 in a DH against St. Thomas Aquinas. It’s one thing when you beat up on a 1-win team, but STAC is a proud team that simply doesn’t get stomped on like that, so credit to the Pioneers offense for taking their game to this level. They will finish out their series today with STAC before facing Mercy this weekend. NYIT I watched on Saturday, they swept the DH and then went on to win in dramatic fashion yesterday as well with a two-run ninth inning triple by Chris Campbell. They look like a completely different team from last year and they have found a bevy of different ways to win games. Adelphi took a slight step back with a split against AIC, but they will be back in action against Pace tomorrow.
Division-III
- Maritime (Record: 15-7, Trending UP)
2. Farmingdale (Record: 12-5, Trending UP)
3. USMMA (Record: 14-7, Trending UP)
4. Old Westbury (Record: 7-9-1, Trending UP)
5. St. Joseph’s (Record: 8-9, Trending Down)
Analysis: This is a tough one to rank but after ten wins in a row for Maritime, they shoot up the charts. Regardless of if it is sustainable, they deserve to top the list this week. Yesterday, they swept a DH with walk-off winds in 13 innings in Game 1 and 10 innings in Game 2. Joe Scerra hit a home run in the first and Nick McTighe hit a single in the second game. They will have Ramapo, Old Westbury and St. Joseph’s this weekend, so it will be entertaining regardless. Farmingdale will play a DH against St. Joseph’s today, they enter with a five-game win streak. St. Joseph’s, who had been towards the top of this list, is coming off a sweep at the hands of Old Westbury, so by virtue of head-to-head, the Panthers get the advantage over them.
