NECBL Players of the Week (July 18th)

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – While the league’s All-Star Game might have been the main focus last week, Newport outfielder Stephen Scott (Vanderbilt) and Valley left-hander Trent Astle (Xavier) stood out individually to earn New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) Player and Pitcher of the Week honors, respectively, for the first time this season.

Scott is the second straight Gull to earn a major weekly award after Adam Wolf was named the league’s top pitcher last Monday, while Astle is the second Valley player – and first pitcher – to earn a major weekly honor after Travis Jones was named Player of the Week back in Week 2.

The two players’ teams certainly found plenty of success last week; Newport finished 5-1 highlighted by five straight victories to close out the week before the franchise hosted the league’s All-Star Game on Sunday; Valley, meanwhile, went 4-0 on the week with victories against fellow North Division leaders North Adams and Keene, as well as Southern Division-leading Ocean State.

Scott had at least one hit in every game last week and finished it off on a tear, stringing together seven hits in his final 12 at-bats over the last three games of the week. His 10 total hits ranked tied for second in the league, but more impressive was the sheer power he displayed; Scott racked up a league-leading five home runs (no other player had more than two last week) and 10 RBIs, while his 1.606 OPS was also the most by all players with more than 10 plate appearances last week. He also scored eight runs and posted two doubles. On the summer, Scott is the league’s leader in home runs (8) and RBIs (25) and is batting .274 (31-for-113) with eight doubles, 23 runs scored, one triple and a .972 OPS.

Astle was part of one of Valley’s four wins and arguably had one of the most dominant outings by a starting pitcher last week, striking out eight over six innings while allowing only one hit without any walks against the 20 batters he faced. His 0.17 WHIP was the lowest in the league by a starting pitcher that went a minimum of five innings. Those eight strikeouts were also tied for the most by a pitcher last week in the league. The rising senior at Xavier now stands at 3-1 with a 1.60 ERA through five starts with 18 strikeouts and five walks over 28 innings, and opponents are batting .216 against him.

The NECBL congrats both players on their accomplishments.

Chris Chatfield (Newport/South Florida) – Drove in seven runs while compiling eight hits and scoring eight more runs over six games; also doubled twice and homered twice.

James Garnett (Winnipesaukee/Plymouth State) – Ranked tied for second in the league with eight RBIs while batting .350 on seven hits; also scored five runs, poked two doubles and homered twice.

John Mazza (North Adams/Northeastern) – His 11 total hits led the league last week and he also added three runs scored and two RBIs while batting .440.

Keegan Meyn (Vermont/Arkansas-Little Rock) – Finished with a .368 average (7-for-19) while driving in seven runs and scoring five more himself; also was among the league’s leaders with four doubles.

Richard Slenker (Mystic/Yale) – Led the league with a .600 batting average, finishing 6-for-10 on the week while scoring three runs, driving in five and adding two doubles.

Tanner Bird (North Adams/Franklin Pierce) – Enjoyed a stellar week in relief, leading the league with three saves over the course of three perfect innings while striking out two.

Robert Hitt (Ocean State/Quinnipiac) – Posted two saves on the week, yielding just one hit and a walk over two innings while striking out five.

TJ Santiago (Vermont/Adelphi) – Enjoyed a strong start en route to picking up a win, fanning seven over 5-1/3 innings with only two hits allowed.

Hunter Schryver (Newport/Villanova) – Won his only start last week, striking out seven over seven innings while working around two hits and a walk.

Tyler Smith (Valley/Canisius) – Was called upon four times over the course of the week and tossed 3-2/3 scoreless innings while finishing 2-0; his only blemishes were one hit and one walk allowed over that span.