FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
CAA BASEBALL Co-PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Justin Bour, George Mason
Jr., 1B, Centreville, Va./Westfield
Bour hit .471 (8-17) and drove in 11 runs in George Mason’s 3-1 week. The junior first baseman was 7-for-13 (.538) with two homers, four runs scored and nine RBI as the Patriots won two of three at William & Mary. For the season, Bour is hitting .326 with 8 HR and 24 RBI.
CAA BASEBALL Co-PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Jason Stifler, Towson
Sr., C, Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford
Stifler batted .500 (9-18) with 11 RBI in Towson’s five games last week. The senior catcher was 8-for-13 (.615) with three homers and 10 RBI as the Tigers took two of three from JMU over the weekend and also threw out four of 11 base runners. For the year, Stifler is hitting .347.
CAA BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK:
Ryan Quigley, Northeastern
Sr., LHP, Taunton, Mass./Taunton
Quigley scattered seven hits over eight shutout innings as Northeastern edged Hofstra 1-0 last Friday. The senior left-hander didn’t allow an extra base hit and struck out seven to even his record at 2-2.
CAA BASEBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Rich O’Donald, Delaware
Fr., RHP, Wilmington, Del./John Dickinson
O’Donald threw a complete-game 3-hitter in Delaware’s 3-2 victory over Old Dominion last Sunday. The right-hander allowed only one earned run, struck out four and retired the side in order six times. It was the first nine-inning CG for a UD freshman since 2002.
DIAMOND NOTES:
DELAWARE (15-8, 4-2 in CAA)
The Blue Hens went 3-1 last week, including winning two of three against ODU to move into a tie for second in the CAA. Senior outfielder Bill Merkler batted .400 (6-15) for the week with three homers, five runs scored and six RBI. Merkler ranks second in the CAA in homers (9) and RBI (33). Freshman pitcher Rich O’Donald (2-2) fired a complete-game 3-hitter on Sunday as UD edged ODU 3-2. O’Donald, who allowed just one earned run, retired the side in order six times and fanned four. It was the first complete game for a Hens’ freshman since 2002. UD is now 6-0 in Brian Rorick’s starts after he struck out nine in eight innings of work in a 9-2 win on Friday. He has fanned 47 batters this year and has struck out at least eight in three straight games. Junior Carlos Alonso extended his hitting streak to 14 games last week and is batting .427.
GEORGE MASON (19-5 overall, 4-2 in CAA)
The Patriots beat Maryland 6-5 last Tuesday to run their home winning streak to 15 games, which is tied with Oklahoma for the longest active streak in the nation. Freshman pitcher Kevin Lingerman gave up only four hits and two earned runs over 5.1 innings as Mason beat the Terps for the first time since 2002. Mason scored 32 runs and swept a doubleheader at W&M on Saturday before losing 7-6 on Sunday. Senior Scott Krieger was 5-for-9 at W&M with three doubles, his eighth homer of the year, six RBI and seven runs scored. Krieger’s 57 career homers rank 2nd on the CAA all-time list and his 485 total bases are just 25 shy of the CAA career mark. First baseman Justin Bour was 7-for-13 with two homers and nine RBI versus the Tribe. Catcher Chris Henderson ranks second in the CAA in batting (.436). Senior reliever Shawn Griffith was 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA last week. Mason’s bullpen suffered its first loss of the year on Sunday, but is still 9-1 with nine saves and a 2.51 ERA.
GEORGIA STATE (15-7, 2-1 in CAA)
The Panthers picked up one of the biggest wins in program history last Tuesday as they knocked off #3 Georgia Tech 10-1. Senior pitcher John Locklear earned the win after allowing four hits and a run over the first five innings just 48 hours after he got his first save of the season at William & Mary. Third baseman Bradley Logan went 2-for-5 and smacked a 3-run homer in the third. Derek Simmons and Marc Mimeault also went deep against the Jackets. Junior Carl Moniz extended his hitting streak to 13 games, while Logan (10 games) and Simmons (9 games) also increased their streaks. Georgia Tech was the highest ranked opponent that State had ever defeated and it was the first victory over a ranked for since 2007. The Panthers’ three-game CAA series with first-place UNC Wilmington was washed out due to heavy rain in Atlanta.
HOFSTRA (3-15 overall, 1-5 in CAA)
The Pride dropped three of four at home last week, but edged Northeastern 5-4 on Saturday to earn their first CAA victory of the season. Senior outfielder Mark Stuckless batted .500 (7-14) in the NU series and leads the Pride with a .397 average. Stuckless, who was 4-for-6 on Saturday, drove in the game-tying run with a single and then came around to score the game-winner in the 10th. Senior Tom Legregni had the game-winning RBI versus NU and is second to Stuckless in RBI’s (10) and runs scored (11). Senior lefty Brody Fontaine gave up only three hits and a run over seven innings on Friday, but came out on the short end of a 1-0 decision. Sophomore reliever Jeff Guthridge earned his second win of the year on Saturday after allowing one run in 3.1 innings. He leads the team with a 3.68 ERA. The Pride closes a 10-game homestand on Tuesday before starting a stretch of four straight on the road.
JAMES MADISON (15-12 overall, 3-3 in CAA)
The Dukes struggled on the mound and lost three of four last week. JMU gave up 56 runs in 34.1 innings (12.06 ERA) over the four games after posting a 2.84 team ERA during the previous week. Offensively, JMU batted .383 with 11 doubles, 10 homers and 41 runs scored. Sophomore Trevor Knight hit .579 (11-19) with two homers and eight RBI, while second baseman Mike Fabiaschi batted .500 (7-14) with a homer, five RBI and three steals. Senior Matt Townsend tops the CAA with 10 home runs after going deep twice and driving in six in Sunday’s 17-16 loss. Sophomore pitcher Turner Phelps improved to 5-0 this year and 13-0 for his career after an 11-9 triumph at Towson on Friday. Closer Kevin Munson earned his fifth save and lowered his ERA to 0.74 in Friday’s win before letting up seven runs in Sunday’s setback.
UNC WILMINGTON (17-5, 5-1 in CAA)
The Seahawks suffered losses to #6 North Carolina (8-1) and #19 East Carolina (3-0) last week before having their CAA series at Georgia State canceled due to rain. The contest with the Tar Heels was played before a record crowd of 3,608 at Brooks Field. Three Seahawks’ pitchers limited ECU’s #2-ranked offense (.388) to just six hits, but UNCW failed to score for the first time all year. Freshman reliever Steven Davis gave up only one hit in 4.1 innings last week and dropped his ERA to a league-best 0.82. Davis has 24 strikeouts in 22 innings and has given up six hits all year. It was the first time that UNCW lost an entire CAA series to weather since 1990. UNCW plays a home-and-home with Coastal Carolina before visiting George Mason for a key conference series.
NORTHEASTERN (12-8 overall, 3-3 in CAA)
The Huskies climbed back to .500 in CAA play after winning two of three at Hofstra over the weekend. NU took the opener 1-0 on Friday as senior lefty Ryan Quigley (2-2) scattered seven singles over eight shutout innings and struck out seven. Second baseman James Donaldson homered in both games of Friday’s twinbill, including a solo shot in the opener that accounted for the only scoring. The Huskies had 19 hits in the nightcap with senior Mike Tamsin going 3-for-5 with two homers, three runs scored and four RBI. Tamsin also became the Huskies’ career hits leader with 229 and his .371 career batting average is on pace to be the best-ever at NU. Freshman shortstop Sam Berg hit .364 in the series, including going 3-for-4 with three runs scored in Friday’s second game. Coach Neil McPhee is four wins shy of 600 for his career at NU. He owns a 596-487-4 mark in his 24th season.
OLD DOMINION (7-15 overall, 2-4 in CAA)
The Monarchs lost two of three in their CAA series at Delaware over the weekend. ODU beat the Hens 9-6 on Saturday as leadoff hitter Max Most and second baseman Austin Wright each went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Sophomore Donnie Corsner had a two-run double in the victory and leads the Monarchs with six multiple RBI games and 10 multiple hit contests. Senior Brady Burchill picked up his first win of the year after giving up eight hits over 7.1 innings. It was the first victory since 2007 for Burchill, who missed last season due to an injury. Freshman pitcher Ben Tomchick limited UD to three runs over eight innings and struck out six on Sunday, but took the loss in a 3-2 setback. Tomchick is just 1-3 on the year but has an impressive 2.97 ERA. Jake McAloose belted his third homer on Sunday and scored twice.
TOWSON (14-13 overall, 3-3 in CAA)
The Tigers went 2-3 last week, but won two of three from James Madison to move back to .500 in CAA play. Towson batted .400 with 10 doubles, 12 homers and 42 runs scored in the series with the Dukes. Senior catcher Jason Stifler batted .615 (8-13) with three homers and 10 RBI against JMU, with two homers and seven RBI coming in Sunday’s 17-16 comeback win. The Tigers scored five runs in the ninth on Sunday, capped by Austin Harclerode’s walk-off 2-run homer. Harclerode batted .615 in the series and raised his average nearly 60 points. Senior shortstop Gary Helmick, who leads the CAA in batting (.451), runs (43) and hits (51), homered twice on Sunday and increased his hitting streak to 18 games. Helmick also became the 11th player in school history to go over 200 hits in a career. Junior Steve Yarsinsky, who tops the CAA with 16 doubles, upped his hitting streak to 16 games. Towson is 7-3 in one-run games.
VCU (10-10 overall, 1-2 in CAA)
The Rams were swept in a three-game series at Western Kentucky over the weekend. VCU scored 24 runs in the series with junior Doug Otto and sophomore Joe Van Meter each going 6-for-13 with five runs scored. Van Meter leads the team with a .392 batting average and Otto is close behind at .377. Van Meter also made his collegiate pitching debut and struck out two in his only inning of work. Freshman Taylor Perkins started two of the three contests and contributed four hits and five RBI, including a two-run triple that gave VCU an 8-5 lead on Sunday. VCU, which plays seven of its next eight at home, hosts VMI on Tuesday before entertaining Hofstra in a three-game series.
WILLIAM & MARY (8-15 overall, 2-4 in CAA)
The Tribe split four games last week, including a 7-6 triumph over CAA foe George Mason on Sunday. Senior Tyler Stampone batted .467 (7-15) for the week with six RBI. He drove in the game-winning run in both victories, hitting a walk-off homer in the 11th to beat Norfolk State 10-9 and executing a perfect squeeze bunt in the ninth as the Tribe edged Mason on Sunday. W&M is now 19-0 versus Norfolk State since 1999. Freshman catcher Chris Fortsen batted .429 with a double last week and was also impressive defenisvely. He has thrown out six of 12 on steal attempts this season. After hitting only eight homers all season, W&M smacked five last week alone, including three from senior Brett Conner. Sophomore pitcher Tim Norton tossed three shutout innings to close out the win against NSU, limiting the Spartans to just one hit.
More Honors For Henderson, Haney: CAA weekly honorees Chris Henderson of George Mason and Jesse Haney of UNC Wilmington received additional accolades last Tuesday. Henderson was named to the College Baseball Foundation’s National All-Star Lineup, while Haney was chosen as the ECAC Pitcher of the Week.
Full release here.
