NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Hours before the race for the 2015 Fay Vincent Sr. Cup begins, the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is pleased to announce the final weekly award winners of the 2015 season: Mystic catcher Louis Iannotti (Quinnipiac) and Newport right-hander Matt Ruppenthal (Vanderbilt) were named the Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively.
Iannotti’s torrid pace at the plate helped the Schooners clinch the No. 2 seed in the South Division after finishing the regular season with seven wins in their last 10 games. The only team that finished with a better record in the entire league? Newport – which, on Ruppenthal’s two-win week – claimed the division crown in the South and heads into the postseason with a league-best 27 wins.
Iannotti had at least two hits in all three games he appeared in last week, racking up seven hits in nine at-bats to pace the league in batting average (.778); he hit safely in his first five at-bats – including two doubles – before adding two more hits in the Schooners’ regular season finale. He drove in five runs, totaled four doubles, and scored six more runs in that span. He concluded the regular season with a .287 batting average (25-for-87) with 16 runs, eight doubles and 10 RBIs. He owns an .804 OPS heading into the postseason.
Ruppenthal’s efforts were downright dominant; he made two appearances and one start, and while his second appearance of the week was technically a relief outing after entering in the sixth inning of a suspended game, it was for all intents and purposes a second start. He was the league’s only two-game winner, struck out a league-best 18 and gave up only one earned run over 13 innings while posting a 0.69 ERA. For the summer, he now stands at 2-0 with a 3.13 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 23 innings.
The NECBL congratulates both on their recognition.
Weekly Honor Roll
Joven Afenir (Newport/Kansas) – Finished with eight hits while scoring six runs and adding three doubles and three RBIs over seven-game span.
Derik Beauprez (Newport/Miami) – Ranked second in the league in strikeouts (12) while posting a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings and two starts (1-1).
Shawn Blake (Danbury/Elon) – Led the league with nine hits while batting .360; also tallied three doubles and three RBIs.
Garrett Copeland (Vermont/Austin Peay) – Posted a 7-for-11 clip at the plate, good for a .636 average with two runs, a double and five RBIs while swiping four bases.
Blake Morgan (Sanford/North Carolina Central) – Won only start last week after tossing seven scoreless frames with six strikeouts, two hits and one walk allowed.
Cornell Nixon (Valley/Kennesaw State) – Batted .400 on the week while scoring five runs and drawing a league-high eight walks. Also added a triple to his resume.
Joseph Rivera (Mystic/UConn) – Fanned seven over six scoreless innings with only one hit allowed in a stellar relief outing.
Luke Olson (Plymouth/George Washington) – Finished the summer with a stellar 0.680 WHIP and eight saves after notching two more saves last week over two scoreless innings with four strikeouts.
Brent Rooker (Plymouth/Mississippi State) – Finished 8-for-21 (.381) with four runs, two doubles and one homer.
Timothy Viehoff (Laconia/SNHU) – Added eight more strikeouts to his resume in final start of the regular season, tossing seven innings with only one run allowed as part of a no decision.
