FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
CAA BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Matt Browning, James Madison Jr., OF, Mystic, Conn./Fitch
Browning batted .647 (11-17) with three doubles, a homer, seven runs scored and four RBI in JMU’s five games last week. The junior outfielder had at least two hits in four of the five games and had a 1.000 slugging percentage. For the season, Browning is hitting .368 with 13 RBI.
CAA BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK:
Rich O’Donald, Delaware Fr., RHP, Wilmington, Del./John Dickinson
In just his third career start, O’Donald threw eight shutout innings and allowed only four hits as Delaware defeated Marist 8-3 on Sunday. O’Donald retired the side in order five times and never allowed a runner to advance past second base to earn his first collegiate win.
CAA BASEBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Brandon Williams, Georgia State Fr., 1B, Marietta, Ga./Kell
Williams batted .563 (9-16) with four doubles, four runs scored and six RBI as Georgia State went 3-1 last week. The freshman first baseman was 3-for-4 with 3 RBI in a win over Florida A&M, had a pair of hits in a victory over Augusta State and was 4-for-8 in a twinbill with UT Martin.
DIAMOND NOTES:
DELAWARE (9-6, 0-0 in CAA)
The Blue Hens went 3-1 last week, including a three-game sweep of Marist over the weekend. Senior catcher Ryan Reed batted .588 (10-17) for the week, highlighted by a walk-off 3-run homer in a 10-8 triumph over Marist on Friday. Reed had three hits in three of the four games last week. Junior Carlos Alonso hit .500 for the week, including a grand slam on Friday. Delaware batted .381 as a team with nine homers and 35 runs scored over the four games. Freshman pitcher Rich McDonald allowed just four hits and fanned four over eight shutout innings against Marist on Sunday. The Blue Hens are 4-0 this season in junior pitcher Brian Rorick’s starts.
GEORGE MASON (11-3 overall, 0-0 in CAA)
The Patriots pushed their winning streak to seven with a perfect 4-0 week that included an 11-4 triumph at N.C. State and a three-game sweep of Lehigh. The seven-game win streak is Mason’s longest since 2005 and the Patriots have won 11 in a row at home dating back to last year. Senior Scott Krieger batted .357 (5-14) with two homers and seven RBI for the week and leads the team with six homers on the year. Catcher Chris Henderson was 2-for-4 with two RBI in Sunday’s win over Lehigh and is batting . 443 for the season. Pitcher Mike Modica improved to 3-1 after limiting Lehigh to a run on six hits over seven innings on Saturday. Dan Gerjets gave up just one earned run in 6.1 innings in Sunday’s triumph over Lehigh.
GEORGIA STATE (11-5, 0-0 in CAA)
The Panthers went 3-1 last week, beating Florida A&M and Augusta State before splitting a doubleheader with UT Martin. State tied a school-record with 22 runs against FAMU. Senior outfielder Matt Van Horn batted .571 (8-14) with a homer and seven RBI last week and extended his hitting streak to 15 games. Freshman Brandon Williams, who recently moved into the starting lineup, hit .563 (9-16) with four doubles and six RBI last week. Junior Carl Moritz is batting .375 with four homers, 10 RBI and 10 runs scored since moving into the leadoff spot five games ago. Senior catcher Marc Mimeault returned to action last week and was 6-for-14 with a homer and six runs scored.
HOFSTRA (0-9 overall, 0-3 in CAA)
The Pride had six home games cancelled due to weather last week before being swept in their conference-opening series at UNCW. Senior second baseman Tom Legregni scored three runs and drove in three in the series. Senior outfielder Mark Stuckless is batting a team-best .378 from the leadoff spot over the first nine games. His average is 45 points higher than any other Pride player. Sophomore pitcher Jeff Guthridge limited UNCW to just one hit in 1.2 innings of scoreless relief on Friday and has a team-best 3.00 ERA on the year. He is limiting opponents to a .238 average. Hofstra opens a season-long 10-game homestand this week.
JAMES MADISON (11-7 overall, 0-0 in CAA)
The Dukes posted a 3-2 mark in games against Youngstown State and Bryant last week. Junior outfielder Matt Browning batted .647 (11-17) with three doubles, a homer and seven runs scored over the five games and is hitting .368 for the season. Shortstop David Herbek hit .471 for the week, including a game-winning RBI single in the ninth against YSU. The Dukes batted .362 as a team and smacked 11 homers, with Herbek, Trevor Knight, Matt Townsend and Bryan Lescanec hitting two apiece. Sophomore Kevin Munson threw 4.1 innings of scoreless relief in three appearances last week and is 1-0 with two saves and a 1.15 ERA for the year. Sophomore Turner Phelps fanned nine in six innings on Sunday and improved to 3-0 on the year.
UNC WILMINGTON (14-2, 3-0 in CAA)
The Seahawks continued the best start in school history by defeating Creighton and sweeping a three-game CAA series from Hofstra. Junior first baseman Robbie Monday batted .500 (6-12) for the week with two homers, six RBI and six runs scored. Junior Mike Rooney drove in nine runs last week and had the game-winning RBI in all three contests with Hofstra. The Seahawks’ shortstop also set a career-high with eight assists versus Creighton. Sophomore pitcher Justin Bradley limited CU to two runs on five hits over six frames to earn his first victory. Freshman reliever Steven Davis picked up two wins in the Hofstra series as he struck out seven over three innings. Davis is 3-0 with two saves and a 1.08 ERA on the season. UNCW plays its first road game at N.C. Central on Wednesday. UNCW is ranked #27 in this week’s NCBWA Top 30 poll.
NORTHEASTERN (9-4 overall, 0-0 in CAA)
The Huskies won two of three at the Strike Out Cancer Tournament at Seton Hall last weekend. Freshman outfielder Matt Miller batted .429 with three RBI over the weekend and scored the game-winning run in NU’s 5-4 14-inning victory over NJIT. He earned honorable mention for the tournament MVP award. Miller leads the Huskies with a .423 batting average, while senior Mike Tamsin is hitting .421. Senior Dan Zehr gave up only four hits and didn’t allow a run over 7.2 innings of work last week. Zehr, who was 1-0 with a save in the tournament, leads the CAA with a 0.87 ERA this season.
OLD DOMINION (4-10 overall, 0-0 in CAA)
The Monarchs dropped two of three last week, but ended a six-game slide with a 3-1 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday. Freshman Brent Harris allowed just five hits and no earned run in the complete-game, seven-inning effort while striking out seven. Harris is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA this season and is also batting .353 with seven RBI. Outfielder Max Most was 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI in the FDU win. Junior Cameron Scott is a perfect 10-for-10 in stolen bases this season, which leads the CAA.
TOWSON (9-7 overall, 0-0 in CAA)
The Tigers went 4-1 last week, defeating Delaware State and UMBC before taking two of three from Holy Cross. Towson has won seven of its last eight and is 6-2 this season in one-run games. Senior second baseman Gary Helmick batted .412 for the week with three homers, seven RBI and eight runs scored. He had at least one hit in each game, including a walk-off, two-run homer against Holy Cross on Saturday, and drew eight walks. Freshman Ben Winter hit .375 with four RBI last week, including a two-run homer versus Holy Cross. Sophomore Drew Permison struck out a career-high 11 batters against HC on Saturday and raised his career record to 7-0. Senior Josh Squatrito earned his 13th career save last week, tying the Tigers’ all-time record.
VCU (8-4 overall, 0-0 in CAA)
The Rams dropped a 7-0 decision to Seton Hall in their only action last week after rain forced the cancellation of a series with Stony Brook. VCU was limited to only four hits, with senior outfielder Justin Wright going 2-for-3. Third baseman Joe Van Meter leads the conference in batting with a .468 average. The Rams have their busiest week of the season ahead with home games versus Canisius and Massachusetts followed by a three-game series at UNCW.
WILLIAM & MARY (5-8 overall, 0-0 in CAA)
The Tribe split a pair of road games last week, winning 9-4 at George Washington before losing 18-13 at Liberty. Freshman catcher Chris Forsten went 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored at GW. Freshman pitcher Matt Davenport improved to 3-0 after giving up two earned runs over five innings. Kevin Landry earned his second save after not allowing a hit over the final three frames and fanning six. Senior Jeff Jones was 3-for-5 with three RBI at Liberty and senior Tyler Stampone was 2-for-3 and drove in three. Chris Jensen tied a Virginia Div. I record when he was hit by a pitch three times at LU.
