NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – By sheer coincidence, a pair of “Wolfs” were among the elite in the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) last week, as New Bedford utility player Ryan Wolfsberg (Hamilton) and Newport left-handed pitcher Adam Wolf (Louisville)were named the NECBL’s Week 5 Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, on Monday afternoon.
After a player from the Northern Division had claimed all of the previous four weeks’ awards, two South Division representatives earn distinction after impressive performances at the dish and on the rubber. Wolfsberg was an absolute monster offensively, finishing with multi-hit performances in all five games he played in – including four straight three-hit outings – while Wolf becomes the second pitcher to earn Pitcher of the Week honors out of the bullpen this summer after a dominant three games of work.
More importantly, both Wolfsberg and Wolf’s efforts played a key role in helping both teams dominate in the win column last week; New Bedford posted a 4-1 record in five games played last week, with its only loss coming by a single run against division-leading Ocean State. Newport, meanwhile, had its best week of the season after going 5-1 with wins coming against the Waves, Upper Valley, Valley, Plymouth and Danbury.
As previously mentioned, Wolfsberg had multi-hit efforts in all five games he played in last week and also scored at least one run in all five and drove in at least one run in four out of the five. His .609 batting average was second-best in the league in that span, while he ranked first in total hits (14), OPS (1.625), runs scored (9), home runs (2) and RBIs (7) while ranking tied for third in doubles (3). The rising senior at Hamilton College is a threat in the Triple Crown race, leading the league in batting average (.381) while ranking tied for second in homers (5) and fifth in RBIs (17).
It hasn’t always been easy for relievers – especially non-closers – to stand out in summer collegiate baseball, what with the limited action they may face and small sample size their stats may be a part of on a weekly basis. Wolf, however, did not let that hinder him last week; the southpaw was the setup man in three victories last week, and, aside from one hit and one walk yielded over nearly four total innings, he was perfect. Wolf’s seven strikeouts over 3-2/3 scoreless innings equated to nearly a 2:1 strikeout-per-inning ratio, while his WHIP of .55 was the best mark by any reliever who pitched more than three innings last week. The rising sophomore at Louisville now has appeared in seven games this summer and owns a 2.31 ERA with 17 strikeouts to just five walks over 11-2/3 innings.
The NECBL congrats both players on their accomplishments.
Weekly Honor Roll
Batters
Todd Czinege (Sanford/Villanova) – Totaled 11 hits and four doubles while batting .500 and ranking second with eight runs scored; also drove in five other runs and had one homer. Also ranked sixth with a 1.318 OPS.
Toby Handley (Mystic/Stony Brook) – One of four players with double-digit hit totals on the week; also added two doubles, six runs, one home run and five RBIs.
Edware Haus (North Adams/St. Mary’s) – Led the league with five doubles while driving in six runs; finished with six hits and four runs scored over that span, as well.
Chase Lunceford (Mystic/Louisiana Tech) – His .650 batting average was the tops in the league while his 13 total hits ranked second; also was among league weekly leaders in RBIs (7) while scoring five runs and chipping in a double and a homer. Ranked second with a 1.546 OPS on the week.
Jordan Powell (Sanford/Rhode Island) – Ranked tied for third in the league with a .500 batting average while driving in four runs with a double and a homer. His 1.279 OPS was eighth-best on the week.
Pitchers
Tommy Doyle (Keene/Virginia) – Fanned 10 over seven scoreless innings as part of a no decision; only allowed three hits with one unearned run in that span while posting a .57 WHIP.
Daniel Jagiello (Danbury/LIU Post) – Struck out seven in only three innings as part of two separate scoreless relief outings; only allowed one hit over that span.
Nick Johnson (Ocean State/Rhode Island) – Was nearly perfect over 5-1/3 scoreless innings and three relief outings, scattering two hits while working around one hit batsmen. Fanned nine and walked none over that span.
Denis Lyman (Winnipesaukee/Bridgeport) – Last week’s Pitcher of the Week followed up with another strong start, tossing seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts, no walks, one unearned run and three hits in a winning effort.
Darrien Ragins (New Bedford/Delaware State) – Led the league with 13 strikeouts and two saves while not allowing a run over five innings and three outings; was able to maneuver around four walks and still limited his WHIP to a strong 0.80.
2016 NECBL Weekly Awards Archives
Week 1 – Vaughan (NA) & Tribucher (SM)
Week 2 – Jones (VAL) & Wilks (NSC)
Week 3 – Denison (UV) & LaBeau (KEE)
Week 4 – Scocca (VT) & Lyman (WIN)
