It has not been a good start to the season for most of the local colleges. Fortunately, it’s basically irrelevant until conference play starts. I held off on this for the first two weeks because the teams were struggling so mightily, but I figured better late than never. This is a crucial week for some of the local schools considering they will be squaring off with one another. For many years, some Division-I teams did not play local opponents. You can speculate why they would want to avoid it, but this week bragging rights will be on the line – and that is critical for recruiting purposes.
Here’s my best stab at the local power rankings – segmented into Division-I, II and III.
Division-I:
- Hofstra (Record: 4-3)
It didn’t take long for Frank Catalanotto to instill his habits into the Hofstra program. It’s not magic – they simply focus on the little things ad nauseam and have an outstanding coaching staff. He turned around a dormant NY Tech program instantly and although it may take some time, expect the same for the Pride. They won back-to-back games on walk-off hits this weekend before blowing a 3-1 lead yesterday against LIU. The biggest bright spot has been Brian Morrell. The two-time Yaz Award winner has reinvented himself as a hitter after two years as a pitcher at Notre Dame and having Tommy John surgery. He’s batting .458 and was just named CAA Player of the Week. On the pitching staff, they have Brad Camara and Mark Faello anchoring the staff. They will face Manhattan on Tuesday, St. John’s on Wednesday in what could be somewhat of a statement game before traveling to the nation’s capital with a three-game set against George Washington.
2. LIU (Record: 5-6)
Really liked what I saw from them yesterday. They came back against a tough pitcher in John Mikolaicyk with a five-run rally in the sixth inning. Gritty at bat by Gio Ciaccio to work a bases loaded walk, setting the stage for a two-run single by Carlton Harper. Big day at the plate by EJ Exposito who had three hits including a HR. Ryan Neuweiler and Josh Gainer combined for five innings to stout relief work. They also have a true ace in Josh Loeschorn. Busy week ahead as they have games against Stony Brook, Fordham, Yale and Fordham again.
3. Stony Brook (Record: 2-7)
Credit to them for stepping up this weekend and playing three one-run games against Western Carolina and winning two of three. They had their backs against the wall following their home loss against Sacred Heart on Wednesday in which acting-head coach Jim Martin was certainly unhappy with the result. They have appeared to respond just fine. They will host LIU tomorrow, travel to the Bronx to face Fordham on Wednesday before a three-game set at Old Dominion this weekend. The biggest surprise is they haven’t hit much – recording a team AVG of .221 and .293 OBP. Evan Giordano is one of the top players in the conference and once he gets hot he should be able to carry them, he has 4 hits and 5 RBIs over his last two games after struggling out of the gate.
4. Fordham (Record: 2-9)
They’ve had a very difficult schedule thus far with the exception of their two wins. They will have some home cooking this week, as they host Stony Brook, LIU, Yale and LIU again on Sunday. They will need to get that 8.41 team ERA in order and that starts with throwing strikes – they’ve walked 70 over 90 innings. After the graduation of Matt Mikulski, they were always going to be facing a challenge but now is a great time for their pitching staff to step up.
5. St. John’s (Record: 1-11)
I’ll admit I did not see this coming. They’ve lost 10 in a row since beating Middle Tennessee on February 19. They host Hofstra on Wednesday and Manhattan this weekend. They are hitting .231 as a team and that’s with Tate Ballestero hitting .341. They have a team ERA of 10.00. I haven’t seen them in-person yet so I will jut stick to facts for now. They desperately will be looking to turn things around this weekend.
Division-II:
- Molloy (Record: 6-3)
After losing their first three games, they’ve sprung to life and rattled off six-consecutive wins including two impressive wins over crosstown rival Adelphi. The Lions are hitting .292 as a team led by a veteran lineup that includes Matt Overton (1.233 OPS), Pete Theodorellis (.926 OPS), Thomas Brady (1.004 OPS) and Chris Peralta (11 RBIs in 18 ABs). Billy Wildeman has really turned himself into a top of the rotation pitcher with a 1.93 ERA through 3 appearances. Charlie Cucchiara is one of the best D2 pitchers in the country. They will host Goldey-Beacom tomorrow before heading to Florida for five games.
2. Adelphi (Record: 2-2)
Tough weekend for them as they blew a late lead against Molloy, but that’s one of the top teams in the region. Offensively, they’ve gotten huge contributions from Kyle Olson, Michael Draskin and Tim Feliz recently and they still have one of the top players in the country in 3B Matt Alifano who had a rare off-weekend. They are hitting .336 through four games but that obviously won’t hold up. Their pitching staff should be fine with Nick Luc, Josh Rovner and John Rizzo leading the way. They’ll face Mercy tomorrow before a four-game set with Bridgeport this weekend.
3. Queens (Record: 4-3)
They can definitely hit. Among players with 20+ at bats, four of them have a 1.000+ OPS. Marc Cisco and Nick Barreiros both have 10 RBIs through 7 games. They have some talented arms so there’s no reason to believe the pitching will be a weakness with guys like Liam Pulsipher, Julien Arcos, Rob Backus, Dean Fazah and the ultimate x-factor in Chandler Giovinco who is back to throwing 90 MPH after 2 TJs. They will be back in action tomorrow against Post.
Division-III:
1.USMMA (Record: 2-4)
They are the reigning Skyline Conference champs so they’ll get the nod here. They started off with a tough schedule and two of their losses were close. They head to Florida this weekend with 6 games beginning on Sunday. I’m not familiar with many of those opponents except for Eastern Connecticut State – they are ranked #9 in the nation.
2. Maritime (Record: 4-3)
They came out of the gate with a 3-0 start but have cooled off since. Freddy Forgione has been red-hot – with 10 hits including 7 doubles already. Austen Bishop and Travis Zurita also have swung the bat exceptionally well through 7 games – both hitting over .400 with over 1.000 OPS. Pitching wise, they look to have found a potential four-year starter in Frank Santeramo. Paired with senior Shane Sullivan, who has not allowed a run through 9 innings and they are in good position with their top starters. They will host CCNY for a pair on Saturday before making the short trip to face Lehman on Sunday.
3. Farmingdale (Record: 2-2)
A pair of walk-off wins before heading to Florida is always exciting. The team ERA is 2.73 through 4 games but they’ll need to hit with a little more authority – they have only five extra-base hits through four games as well. They will play seven games in Florida before opening up conference play on the 26th.
4. St. Joseph’s (Record: 1-3)
Beating the Number 2 team in the country was an incredible feat and they had every reason to be proud of that moment. Cortland is a perennial powerhouse and loses only a handful of games per year. With that said, they have followed that up by allowing 45 runs in the past three games. With that said, I do like their roster especially the additions of Brian Forbes, John Lynch and Hermes Abreu. When they get into conference games, their pitching staff should be in good hands with Kevin Czeczotka, Anthony Cinquemani and Ryan Foran with Manzolillo in the backend of the ‘pen. They have a huge roster and sometimes it takes some time to gel. They will face Nassau CC this weekend before heading to Florida.
5. Old Westbury (Record: 0-5)
Just not a great weekend for the Panthers – no other way to slice it. They gave up 73 hits in 38 innings and walked 28. That’s 2.66 runners per innings and a 12.55 ERA. They will look to get back on track this weekend with a pair of DHs against Stevens and John Jay. Then they open up Skyline play with Yeshiva.
