FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
CAA BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Chris Henderson, George Mason
Jr., C, Marlton, N.J./Cherokee
Henderson batted .440 with five doubles, a triple, a homer, four RBI and six runs scored as George Mason went 5-1 last week. He hit .615 (8-13) as the Patriots won two of three at CAA foe ODU, including becoming just the second player in school history to hit for the cycle in Saturday’s 4-2 triumph. Henderson is batting .442 for the season.
CAA BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK:
Jesse Haney, UNC Wilmington
Jr., RHP, Chesterfield, Va./Matoaca
Haney threw 7.2 shutout innings as UNC Wilmington blanked VCU 9-0 on Sunday afternoon. The junior allowed only three hits and tied a career-high with five strikeouts while upping his record to 2-1. Haney retired 11 straight batters from the second through sixth innings.
CAA BASEBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Evan Scott, James Madison
Fr., RHP, Haymarket, Va./Battlefield
Scott went 1-0 with a 1.54 ERA in a pair of starts last week. The freshman allowed just two runs on nine hits and struck out 11 in 11.2 innings of work. Scott earned a victory over Liberty after giving up one run in six frames and then limited CAA foe Northeastern to one run on three hits in 5.2 innings, but didn’t get a decision.
DELAWARE (12-7, 2-1 in CAA)
The Blue Hens went 3-1 last week, including taking two of three at Towson in their opening CAA series. Senior catcher Chris Nehl batted .389 (7-18) for the week with two doubles, a homer and eight RBI. Nehl, who extended his hitting streak to seven games, smacked UD’s fifth grand slam of the season on Sunday. Third baseman Carlos Alonso increased his hitting streak to 10 games last week and has reached base in all 19 contests this season. Sophomore reliever Michael Londino didn’t allow a run in 8.2 innings of work last week, highlighted by 6.2 shutout innings at Towson on Saturday which allowed the Hens to rally from a 7-0 deficit to win the game 8-7. Delaware is now 5-0 in junior pitcher Brian Rorick’s starts.
GEORGE MASON (16-4 overall, 2-1 in CAA)
The Patriots are off to their best-ever 20-game start after a 5-1 week. Mason put together the second-longest winning streak in school history (10 games) before dropping the opener of its CAA series at ODU on Friday. Junior catcher Chris Henderson batted .440 (11-25) with five doubles, a triple, a homer and four RBI last week and became just the second Patriot to hit for the cycle in a 4-2 win at ODU on Saturday. Henderson is batting .442 on the season. Junior reliever Ryan Brecko made four appearances last week and was 1-0 with a save. He didn’t allow an earned run and gave up only three hits in five innings. Closer Jordan Flasher earned his school-record 16th career save at ODU on Sunday. Mason’s bullpen went 3-0 with three saves last week and combined for a 0.55 ERA in 16.1 innings of work. Freshman Kevin Lingerman allowed one run on five hits over six innings in Mason’s 3-1 triumph against UMass.
GEORGIA STATE (14-7, 2-1 in CAA)
The Panthers won two of three in their opening CAA series at William & Mary to cap a 3-2 week. Senior outfielder Nick Hogan returned to the lead-off spot and batted .429 (6-14) with seven runs scored last week. Junior Carl Moritz extended his hitting streak to 12 games, but Matt Van Horn had his streak snapped at 17 games on Friday. Van Horn is still batting .403 on the year. Freshman pitcher Nick Squeglia earned his first two collegiate wins last week out of the bullpen, striking out seven in 6.1 innings of work. Senior catcher Marc Mimeault, who leads State with a .414 batting average, was named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List for the second consecutive year. He is one of 44 players vying for the award, which is given to the nation’s top collegiate catcher. State visits #3 Georgia Tech on Tuesday before hosting first-place UNCW this weekend.
HOFSTRA (2-12 overall, 0-3 in CAA)
The Pride outslugged St. John’s 20-13 for their first win of the season before going 1-3 in a series with Vermont. Third baseman Matt Prokopowicz batted .333 for the week and drove in a career-high eight runs in the St. John’s victory. Senior Mark Stuckless is batting a team-high .382 from the leadoff spot, which is 49 points higher than any other Pride starter. Hofstra’s 20 runs against St. John’s were the most for the team since 2007. Sophomore pitcher Jeff Guthridge took the loss in the first game of Sunday’s twinbill with Vermont, but earned the win in Game 2 after escaping a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the ninth and throwing a scoreless 10th. Junior Rob Kumbatovic picked up the win against St. John’s and held Vermont to two runs over seven frames on Sunday.
JAMES MADISON (14-9 overall, 2-1 in CAA)
The Dukes went 3-2 last week, including winning two of three from Northeastern in their first CAA series. Junior outfielder Matt Browning batted .556 (10-18) with six doubles, a homer, eight runs scored and seven RBI last week. He had two hits in each contest to push his hitting streak to 10 games and he is now
hitting .407 for the season. JMU scored all 11 of its runs versus Northeastern on Saturday in the sixth inning, which was its most runs in an inning since 2006. The Dukes’ pitching staff allowed only 14 runs in five games last week. Sophomore Kevin Munson recorded a pair of saves after throwing 5.2 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. He has four saves and a 0.84 ERA this season. Freshman Evan Scott went 1-0 with a 1.54 ERA in two starts last week and fanned 11 in 11.2 innings. Sophomore Turner Phelps improved to 4-0 with a win over NU on Friday and is 12-0 for his career.
UNC WILMINGTON (17-3, 5-1 in CAA)
The Seahawks stayed atop the CAA standings after winning two of three from VCU last week. Junior shortstop Mike Rooney batted .438 (7-16) and drove in eight. Rooney, who leads UNCW with 23 RBI, is hitting .714 (10-14) with runners in scoring position over the last seven games. Catcher Cody Stanley hit three homers, scored eight runs and had six RBI last week. Freshman Andrew Cain batted .500 (7-14) last week and knocked in four. Junior Jesse Haney tossed 7.2 shutout innings on Sunday, allowing only three hits and striking out five. Junior Seth Frankoff got the win over VCU on Saturday, giving up five hits and one earned run over eight innings. Second baseman Ben Thielson tied a school-record with 10 assists against VCU. UNCW, which has won eight of nine, hosts #6 North Carolina on Tuesday and heads to rival ECU on Wednesday.
NORTHEASTERN (10-7 overall, 1-2 in CAA)
The Huskies dropped three of four last week, but posted a 2-1 victory over JMU in the final game of their CAA series. Northeastern had the lead in all three contests versus the Dukes. Pitchers Les Williams and Trevor Smith combined to limit JMU to seven hits on Sunday, with Smith earning the win by closing the game with 3.2 shutout frames. Junior outfielder David Gustafson batted .333 for the week with six doubles. Gustafson has a team-high 11 doubles in 17 games this season. Senior Mike Tamsin has 222 career hits and needs just five more to tie the Huskies’ all-time hits record. Northeastern has started CAA play 1-2 in all four of its years as a league member. Pitcher Dan Zehr (2-0) continues to lead the CAA with a 1.31 ERA in 20.2 innings of work.
OLD DOMINION (6-13 overall, 1-2 in CAA)
The Monarchs were 2-3 last week, splitting a home-and-home series with Maryland before losing two of three to George Mason in CAA action. ODU ended the Patriots’ 10-game win streak on Friday as freshman pitcher Brent Harris threw a complete game in ODU’s 6-3 victory. Harris allowed three runs on nine hits and struck out eight to improve his record to 3-1. He also went 2-for-4 as the Monarchs’ designated hitter on Saturday. Outfielder Cameron Scott smacked a three-run homer in Friday’s win over Mason and also homered and drove in three runs in Sunday’s setback.
TOWSON (12-10 overall, 1-2 in CAA)
The Tigers took two of three from Yale, but lost two of three to Delaware in a busy six-game week. Senior Gary Helmick, who moved from second base to shortstop this week, hit safely in all six games and batted .423 (11-26) with three doubles, two triples, two homers and 11 runs scored. Helmick, who tops the CAA with a .446 average, became the fourth Towson player to hit for the cycle in a victory over Yale last Monday. Junior Kevin Collins became the eighth player in Tigers’ history to hit three homers in a game in a 16-8 triumph over Yale on Wednesday. Collins leads the Tigers with seven homers this season. Senior closer Josh Squatrito earned his 14th career save on Sunday against UD, setting a new Towson record. Of Towson’s 22 games, 13 have been decided by one or two runs.
VCU (10-7 overall, 1-2 in CAA)
The Rams posted a 2-3 mark last week, picking up a win over Cansius before handing first-place UNC Wilmington its first league loss of the year on Friday. VCU had 20 hits in the win over the Seahawks with outfielder Justin Wright going 4-for-6 with a homer, three runs scored and five RBI. Juniors Matt Leskiw and Richard Gonzalez combined for 12 hits, seven runs scored and 11 RBI last week. Leskiw leads the team with a .389 batting average. Senior Ian Thomas tied a career-high with eight strikeouts over 5.2 innings and earned the win over UNCW on Friday. Junior Robbie Andrews hasn’t allowed an earned run in six straight appearances out of the bullpen spanning 9.2 innings. VCU stays on the road this week with a game at Virginia Tech followed by a three-game series at Western Kentucky.
WILLIAM & MARY (6-13 overall, 1-2 in CAA)
The Tribe lost five of six last week, but pulled out a dramatic 9-8, 15-inning CAA victory over Georgia State on Saturday. The game was the longest in the history of Plumeri Park and featured 535 pitches and 137 plate appearances. Senior Brett Conner’s two-out, two-run double in the ninth sent the game into extra innings and freshman Stephen Acure won it with an RBI single in the 15th. Sophomore pitcher Logan Billbrough got the win after not allowing an earned run over the final six frames. Billbrough threw 11 innings in four appearances last week and finished with a 2.45 ERA. Freshman catcher Chris Forsten threw out five of 10 attempted base stealers. James Williamson had seven hits last week after entering the week with only four. Five of the seven hits were for extra bases. Senior Jeff Jones batted .407 last week and stole three bases.
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