FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
CAA BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Scott Krieger, George Mason
Sr., OF, Towson, Md./Calvert Hall
Krieger batted .692 (9-13) with a homer, two triples, five runs scored and seven RBI as George Mason won two of three at VCU last weekend. The senior outfielder had at least two hits and two RBI in each game, including a 4-for-5 performance with three RBI on Saturday.
CAA BASEBALL Co-PITCHER OF THE WEEK:
Evan Scott, James Madison
Fr., RHP, Haymarket, Va./Battlefield
Scott limited Delaware to just three hits and one earned run over eight innings in JMU’s 8-3 triumph over the Hens last Saturday. The freshman took a shutout into the ninth before giving up a two-run homer following an error. Scott struck out a career-high nine batters.
CAA BASEBALL Co-PITCHER OF THE WEEK:
Ian Thomas, VCU
Sr., LHP, Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam
Thomas limited nationally ranked George Mason to one earned run and seven hits over 8.1 innings in VCU’s 4-3 win over the Patriots last Friday. The senior lefty struck out seven and walked only two while coming just two outs away from his first complete game.
CAA BASEBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Brett Harris, Old Dominion
Fr., P/DH, Chesapeake, Va./Hickory
Harris batted .524 (11-21) with two doubles, six runs scored and seven RBI as ODU won four of five last week. The freshman also threw his league-leading third complete game of the season, defeating Hofstra 13-5 last Friday.
DIAMOND NOTES:
DELAWARE (22-14, 8-7 in CAA)
The Blue Hens lost two of three to James Madison over the weekend and are locked in a three-way tie for fourth in the league standings. Delaware rallied for four runs in the ninth to edge the Dukes 8-7 on Sunday. Chris Nehl won the game with a walk-off single, which was UD’s third walk-off victory of the year. Junior Carlos Alonso, who is batting a team-best .394, has now reached base safely in all 36 games this season. The Hens are tied for the CAA lead with 65 homers after hitting three over the weekend. That total is two more than they hit in 2008. Sophomore reliever Corey Crispell allowed just one run on four hits in six innings of work against JMU and struck out eight. He has appeared in a team-high 14 contests and is 5-3 overall. Freshman pitcher Rich O’Donald (4-2) has worked at least six innings in his last seven starts.
GEORGE MASON (30-7 overall, 11-4 in CAA)
The Patriots stayed in first place after capturing two of three at VCU. Mason, which reached the 30-victory plateau in the fewest amount of games in school history, has won all five of its CAA series. Senior outfielder Scott Krieger turned in another big week, batting .692 (9-13) with a homer, two triples, five runs scored and seven RBI. Krieger, who is the nation’s active career leader in homers, RBI and total bases, is among the CAA’s top 10 in batting (.390), homers (14), RBI (54) and runs (42). Senior pitcher Mike Modica improved to 7-1 and dropped his ERA to 4.31 after limiting the Rams to one earned run and six hits over six innings in Saturday’s 8-2 triumph. Justin Bour went 3-for-5 with three RBI in Sunday’s 9-2 win and has driven in 41 on the year. The Patriots’ bullpen didn’t allow a run in nine innings of work against VCU. Mason tops the conference with a 3.76 team ERA.
GEORGIA STATE (25-14, 8-4 in CAA)
The Panthers went 2-3 last week, but both wins came at league foe Northeastern to keep State in second place in the CAA standings. State has yet to lose a conference series. Senior Nick Hogan went 2-for-5 in Sunday’s 7-3 victory at NU and extended his hitting streak to 10 games, becoming the fourth Panther with a double-digit hit streak this year. Third baseman Bradley Logan was 5-for-10 in the NU series and raised his average to .300. Senior lefty Robinson Polanco gave up seven hits and three runs in a complete-game effort as State beat the Huskies 5-3 in Saturday’s opener. Polanco, who fanned seven, improved to 3-0 and the Panthers are 6-0 when he starts this year. Starter Ryan Moore upped his record to 4-1 and reliever Aidan Francis earned his third save as both celebrated birthdays on Sunday. State has 10 saves this season, which is just two shy of a school record.
HOFSTRA (6-24 overall, 2-13 in CAA)
The Pride was swept in a three-game series at Old Dominion last weekend. Hofstra jumped out to first-inning leads in all three contests, but was unable to hang on. The Pride left 22 men on base in the series. Senior outfielder Mark Stuckless batted .500 (7-14) from the leadoff spot in the series and finished only a triple shy of the cycle in Sunday’s 11-2 setback. Stuckless, who ranks fifth in the CAA with a .397 batting average, opened Sunday’s game with his team-high third homer of the season. Freshman Jim Best, who serves primarily as the Pride’s DH, got a start at first base on Sunday and converted six chances defensively without an error while smacking his second home run of the year. Shortstop Chris Mentrasti was 3-for-5 and scored twice in Friday’s opener.
JAMES MADISON (23-18 overall, 8-7 in CAA)
The Dukes went 4-1 last week, capped by a pair of wins at Delaware to move back over .500 in CAA play. JMU had a big week offensively, batting .361 while averaging 10.6 runs per game. Junior Matt Townsend batted .471 (8-17) with three homers, eight RBI and seven runs scored while extending his hitting streak to 31 games. Townsend is hitting .409 on the year with a league-high 16 homers and 48 RBI. Sophomore Trevor Knight, who is second in the CAA with a .410 average, pushed his hitting streak to 20 games and junior Mike Fabiaschi is on a 13-game streak after going 11-for-22 (.500) with seven RBI last week. Outfielder Matt Browning had a homer in each game of the UD series and drove in 10 last week. Freshman pitcher Evan Scott threw eight shutout innings on Saturday and struck out a career-high nine batters. Knight fanned a career-best 14 in seven frames on Sunday, which was the most by a JMU pitcher since 1999.
UNC WILMINGTON (21-14, 7-5 in CAA)
The Seahawks split a home-and-home series with rival Elon and fell at the College of Charleston last week. UNCW rallied for four runs in the ninth to beat the Phoenix 7-6 last Tuesday. Junior Matt Holt drove in the game-winning run with a two-out, bases loaded single. Holt also went 2-for-3 with three RBI in the loss at Charleston. Freshman Andrew Cain had a season-high four hits in the victory over Elon and knocked in four runs in a loss at Elon on Sunday. Outfielder Grayson Evans was 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored in Sunday’s setback. Evans is second on the team with a .321 average and has laced a team-high 13 doubles. The Seahawks have surrendered 10 or more runs in five of the last nine games.
NORTHEASTERN (19-14 overall, 6-6 in CAA)
The Huskies won three of five last week, highlighted by a 5-3 triumph over Massachusetts last Monday at Fenway Park that gave NU its fifth Beanpot title. Starting pitcher Les Williams threw five shutout innings and fanned five against UMass to earn his first win of the year. The Huskies lost two of three to Georgia State over the weekend. NU posted a 4-1 triumph in Game 2 as senior pitcher Jeff Thomson (5-3) held the Panthers to one run on six hits over 7.1 innings and struck out seven. Third baseman Mike Tamsin batted .350 for the week and drove in six runs. Catcher Frank Pesanello was 2-for-4 and knocked in all three runs in Sunday’s 7-3 setback to Georgia State. Freshman Matt Miller scored a team-high five runs from the leadoff spot last week. The Huskies are scheduled to play 20 games over the next 26 days.
OLD DOMINION (15-20 overall, 8-7 in CAA)
The Monarchs jumped back in the hunt for a CAA Tournament berth after a three-game sweep of Hofstra over the weekend. ODU has won four straight league contests and is now tied for fourth place. Junior third baseman Jake McAloose batted .450 (9-20) last week with two doubles, a triple, a homer and eight RBI. He leads the Monarchs with a .382 average for the season. Freshman Brett Harris hit .524 (11-21) on the week with six runs scored and seven RBI. He also pitched his third complete game on Friday as ODU topped Hofstra 13-5. Freshman Ben Tomchick evened his record at 3-3 and lowered his league-best ERA to 2.74 after giving up two runs in 7.2 frames versus Hofstra on Sunday. Shortstop Gerard Hall was a perfect 4-for-4 and scored three times in Sunday’s 11-2 win, while Cameron Scott went 3-for-3 and stole two bases. ODU’s pitchers have thrown five complete games, while the league’s other 10 teams have combined to toss only six.
TOWSON (17-19 overall, 5-7 in CAA)
The Tigers slipped two games under .500 for the first time since March 7 after losing two of three at William & Mary over the weekend. Freshman Ben Winter batted .462 (6-13) in the W&M series with two hits in each game. He also pitched a scoreless inning of relief against Navy last Thursday. Senior Gary Helmick, who leads the CAA with a .415 batting average, went 3-for-3 with his team-leading 11th homer against Navy. It was the eighth 3-hit game of the season for Helmick, who ranks ninth on Towson’s career hits list with 211. Sophomore Chris Wychock has smacked four home runs in his last six contests. The Tigers are among national leaders with 59 homers this season. Senior closer Josh Squatrito earned his fifth save of the season and the 15th of his career after retiring all seven hitters he faced in a 10-4 win at W&M on Friday. Freshman Tyler Austin picked up the win in that game, allowing three runs in 5.2 innings.
VCU (18-14 overall, 6-6 in CAA)
The Rams split four games for the second week in a row, beating rival Richmond for the 10th straight time before losing two of three to first-place George Mason. Junior shortstop Doug Otto’s two-run single broke open a close game with UR and junior Will Hirsch tossed 3.1 innings of solid relief to pick up his first win. Junior leadoff man Andrew Dimino batted .500 (8-16) for the week and stole six bases. Dimino is 20-for-24 in thefts for the season. VCU won Friday’s opener against Mason as senior pitcher Ian Thomas limited the Patriots to nine hits and one earned run over 8.1 innings. Thomas, who improved to 3-2, struck out seven and walked only two. Outfielder M.L. Morgan made his fourth start of the year on Sunday and went 3-for-5 with a run scored and a stolen base. He’s hitting .400 on the season.
WILLIAM & MARY (16-20 overall, 6-9 in CAA)
The Tribe won three of four last week, including a pair of victories in their CAA series with Towson. Senior Rob Nickle batted .500 (6-12) with two homers and 11 RBI against the Tigers. He finished the week with 13 RBI to raise his season total to 44. Senior Tyler Stampone also had a big week offensively, batting .529 (9-17) with five doubles and nine runs scored. Stampone, who is riding an 11-game hitting streak, is tied for the CAA lead in doubles with 17. Senior pitcher Jeremy Neustifter allowed just one earned run and five hits over six innings on Sunday as W&M won the deciding game with Towson, 9-6. Kevin Landry earned his first win of the year on Saturday after giving up three runs over seven innings and striking out 11 in a 14-3 victory over TU. Freshman Cole Shain tossed five shutout innings as W&M beat UMES 4-0 last Thursday.
Mason Ranked #27 by Collegiate Baseball: George Mason is ranked for the third straight week in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30 poll, coming in at #27. The Patriots, who sit atop the CAA standings at 11-4, have gone 26-4 after a 4-3 start. It’s the sixth straight week that a CAA team has occupied a spot in the national polls. UNC Wilmington was ranked #26, #27 and #30 over a three-week stretch by the NCBWA
