FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
CAA BASEBALL Co-PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Chase Childers, Georgia State
Sr., SS, Kennesaw, Ga./North Cobb Christian
Childers batted .522 (12-23) with two homers, six runs scored and 11 RBI in Georgia State’s six games. The senior had back-to-back three-hit games in Saturday’s doubleheader sweep of Delaware, and tied a school-record by driving in eight runs in the opener.
CAA BASEBALL Co-PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Justin Wright, VCU
Sr., OF/IF, Yorktown, Va./Grafton
Wright batted .462 with two triples, two homers, seven runs scored and 11 RBI in VCU’s 4-0 week. The senior had at least two RBI in each contest and was involved in 16 of the Rams’ 48 runs last week.
CAA BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK:
Mike Modica, George Mason
Sr., LHP, Sewell, N.J./Washington Township
Modica limited UNC Wilmington to just one run on five hits over seven innings in Mason’s 6-3 triumph on Saturday. The senior left-hander struck out six and walked only two to improve to 5-1 on the season.
CAA BASEBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Josh Wright, Old Dominion
Fr., 1B, Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby
Wright batted .375 (6-16) and scored six runs in ODU’s five games last week. In the Monarchs’ three-game series at JMU, he batted .385 with two doubles, two homers, four runs scored and five RBI.
DIAMOND NOTES:
DELAWARE (18-10, 5-4 in CAA)
The Blue Hens posted a 3-2 week, but lost two of three to CAA foe Georgia State. Senior outfielder Bill Merkler batted .565 (13-23) with four homers, eight runs scored and 11 RBI. Merkler, who tops the CAA with 13 home runs and 44 RBI, went deep in four straight games and has homered in seven of his past nine contests. Junior Carlos Alonso saw his 15-game hitting streak snapped against Delaware State, but has still reached base safely in all 28 games this season. Junior Ryan Cuneo’s grand slam in a win over Penn was UD’s seventh of the season, which is a program record. Ryan Reed homered in both games of Saturday’s twinbill with GSU. Sophomore Pat Dameron hit .500 (7-14) for the week. Freshman pitcher Rich O’Donald is now 3-0 at Bob Hannah Stadium after scattering eight hits over eight frames against Georgia State on Sunday.
GEORGE MASON (24-5 overall, 7-2 in CAA)
The Patriots went 5-0 at home last week, extending the nation’s longest active home winning streak to 20 games while breaking a school record for consecutive home victories. Mason swept a three-game series from UNCW for the first time in 10 years and moved atop the CAA standings at 7-2. Catcher Chris Henderson batted .500 (9-18) with a homer, five RBI and five runs scored last week and ranks second in the CAA with a .445 average. Senior Scott Krieger belted his 10th homer of the season and upped his team-leading RBI total to 37. Krieger has the most homers (59) and total bases (499) of any active player in the nation. Senior pitcher Mike Modica (5-1) limited UNCW to one run on five hits over seven innings on Saturday as Mason won 6-3. Modica tied the Patriots’ record for career starts with 40. Starter Kevin Crum (4-2) also held the Seahawks to one run over seven innings in Friday’s 4-2 win.
GEORGIA STATE (19-9, 4-2 in CAA)
The Panthers tallied a 4-2 mark last week and moved into a tie for second in the CAA after winning two of three at Delaware. Shortstop Chase Childers batted .522 (12-23) with two homers, six runs scored and 11 RBI, including a school-record tying 8 RBI in a 19-10 win at UD on Saturday. Childers also broke the State record for walks in a career (100) last week. Third baseman Bradley Logan homered twice and drove in four as the Panthers’ won the second game of Saturday’s twinbill at UD 11-7. Sophomore pitcher Aidan Francis saw action in five of the six games and recorded two saves and a 1.42 ERA in 6.1 innings of work. Francis gave up only two hits in the five appearances and fanned seven. Catcher Marc Mimeault raised his season average to .400 last week. Junior Carl Moniz had his hitting streak end at 18 games on Sunday, but senior Derek Simmons extended his streak to 15 games.
HOFSTRA (5-18 overall, 1-8 in CAA)
The Pride earned non-conference victories over Manhattan (19-10) and Stony Brook (4-3) before dropping three at VCU over the weekend. Junior outfielder John Kenny went 3-for-4 with four RBI and four runs scored in the win over Manhattan and is batting .349 on the season. Junior Matt Prokopowicz hit .455 (5-11) with three RBI and three runs scored in the VCU series, while leadoff man Mark Stuckless went 3-for-6 with two RBI in Friday’s opener with the Rams. Stuckless ranks seventh in the CAA with a .394 batting average. Sophomore Jeff Guthridge limited Stony Brook to just one hit over three shutout innings to earn Hofstra’s first save of the season. Guthridge leads the Pride with a 4.91 ERA over 11 appearances. Junior catcher Elliot Hagburg has caught in all 23 of Hofstra’s games, including six doubleheaders.
JAMES MADISON (16-15 overall, 4-5 in CAA)
The Dukes have lost seven of their last nine overall and five of seven in the CAA after a 1-3 week. JMU was shutout for the first time in 84 games by Virginia Tech and then dropped two of three to ODU. Junior Matt Townsend hit .563 (9-16) for the week and stole three bases. Townsend, who had four hits versus ODU on Saturday, is riding a career-best 21-game hitting streak. Junior Matt Browning, who is ninth in the CAA with a .387 average, batted .429 in the ODU series with a homer and five RBI. Freshman catcher Jake Lowery doubled and hit his first career homer against the Monarchs. Sophomore Turner Phelps improved to 6-0 on the year and 14-0 for his career after allowing three runs over seven frames in Friday’s 7-3 win over ODU. Reliever Kevin Munson gave up just one hit and no runs over 4.1 innings of work in two appearances against ODU. Munson saved his team-leading sixth game on Friday and struck out six last week.
UNC WILMINGTON (17-10, 5-4 in CAA)
The Seahawks are on a seven-game slide for the first time since 1998 after losing a pair of one-run games to Coastal Carolina and being swept in a three-game set at George Mason. It was the first time that UNCW had been swept in a CAA series since dropping three at ODU in 2007. Outfielder Grayson Evans was 4-for-4 and scored four runs in Sunday’s 10-8 setback at Mason, while catcher Cody Stanley went 2-for-5 with a homer and four RBI. Pitcher Cameron Roth, the 2008 CAA Rookie of the Year, saw his first action of the year at Mason on Saturday and didn’t allow a run over 1.2 innings. The four teams that have beaten the Seahawks during their recent skid have a combined record of 97-24. The schedule stays tough this week with games against N.C. State and nationally ranked East Carolina.
NORTHEASTERN (14-10 overall, 5-4 in CAA)
The Huskies split four games last week, including winning two of three from William & Mary in CAA action. Second baseman James Donaldson batted .556 (10-18) last week and tripled twice in a doubleheader sweep of the Tribe on Saturday. He is currently riding an 11-game hitting streak. Catcher Frank Pesanello homered twice and drove in five in the W&M series, while David Gustafson went 4-for-5 and scored two runs in Saturday’s opener. Senior left-hander Dan Zehr struck out 10 batters in six innings during his three appearances last week. Zehr has 31 strikeouts over 26.2 frames this season and ranks second in the CAA with a 2.36 ERA. The Huskies’ continue to top the CAA with a team ERA of 3.53. Northeastern meets Harvard on Tuesday in the first round of the Baseball Beanpot before traveling to Dallas Baptist this weekend.
OLD DOMINION (10-17 overall, 4-5 in CAA)
The Monarchs went 3-2 last week and captured their first CAA series of the season at JMU. Freshman first baseman Josh Wright batted .375 (6-16) for the week and smacked a pair of homers with five RBI against the Dukes. Outfielder Max Most and third baseman Jake McAloose each hit .450 last week. McAloose is batting a team-best .375 with 21 runs scored this season, while Most is hitting .337 from the leadoff spot with nine stolen bases. Freshman Ben Tomchick improved to 2-3 and lowered his team-leading ERA to 3.02 after giving up only three earned runs over 8.1 innings and striking out six in the Monarchs’ 6-3 victory on Sunday. Pitcher Chris Boggs surrendered only one run in seven innings as ODU edged Liberty 2-1 last Tuesday. The Monarchs will meet the Norfolk Tides (AAA – Orioles) on Tuesday night at Harbor Park in their annual Scholarship Game.
TOWSON (14-13 overall, 3-3 in CAA)
The Tigers were idle last week after their only scheduled game with George Washington on April 1 was rained out. Senior infielder Gary Helmick, who leads the CAA with a .451 batting average, enters the week on an 18-game hitting streak. Helmick was second in the nation in total bases (95), third in total hits (51) and fifth in total runs scored (43) as of March 29. Junior third baseman Steve Yarsinsky is sixth in the CAA with a .397 average and was the national leader in doubles with 16. He is on pace to shatter the Tigers’ season doubles mark of 22 set by Jimmy Kittelberger in 2001. Towson plays four of its five games on the road this week, including a trip to Maryland and a three-game CAA series at first-place George Mason.
VCU (14-10 overall, 4-2 in CAA)
The Rams reeled off four straight wins last week, including a three-game sweep of Hofstra that vaulted them into a tie for second in the CAA. VCU hit .387 as a team last week and put 48 runs on the board. Senior Justin Wright led the attack, batting .462 (6-13) with two triples, two homers, 11 RBI and seven runs scored. He drove in at least two runs in all four contests. Six different VCU players had at least six hits last week, including junior infielder Richard Gonzales who batted .500 (8-16). Catcher Nate Furry went 4-for-5 with two RBI in the Rams’ 13-7 triumph over HU on Sunday. Sophomore infielder Joe Van Meter had another big week at the plate and raised his season-best average to .409. Freshman pitcher Kyle Pelchy scattered nine hits and gave up only two runs over seven innings in VCU’s 8-2 win over the Pride on Saturday. Pelchy’s previous long outing had been four innings.
WILLIAM & MARY (11-17 overall, 3-6 in CAA)
The Tribe swept a home-and-home series with Richmond last week before dropping two of three at Northeastern. Senior outfielder Jeff Jones batted .364 (8-22) for the week with two RBI and four runs scored. He also stole six bases and leads the CAA with 18 thefts on the year. Sophomore Derrick Osteen went 4-for-6 and scored the game-winning run as W&M edged NU 5-4 in 12 innings on Sunday. The extra inning game was the seventh of the season for the Tribe and they are 4-3 in those contests. Senior Tyler Stampone had six hits and seven walks last week for a .640 OBP. Freshman Tadd Bower’s first collegiate homer was the game-winner as W&M beat UR 9-7 on Wednesday. Senior Jeremy Neustifter allowed just one earned run over seven innings and struck out a season-high 11 in Sunday’s win at NU. Freshman Matt Davenport improved to 4-1 after giving up just one run on two hits over five innings last week.
Mason Ranked #25 by Collegiate Baseball: George Mason was ranked #25 this week in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30 poll, marking the first time in school history it has been in the top 25. The Patriots won five straight games, including three over nationally ranked UNC Wilmington, to improve to 24-5 on the year. Mason has won 20 straight home games, which is the longest active streak in the nation. It’s the fourth straight week that a CAA team has occupied a spot in the national polls. UNC Wilmington was ranked #26, #27 and #30 over the past three weeks by the NCBWA.
Bour, Stifler Receive ECAC Honors: CAA co-Players of the Week Justin Bour of George Mason and Jason Stifler of Towson were also selected as the ECAC Co-Players of the Week on March 31. Bour hit .471 with 11 RBI, while Stifler batted .500 and drove in 11.
