NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – North Adams infielder Jackson Coutts (Rhode Island) and Sanford right-handed pitcher John Murphy (Maryland) have been named the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for fantastic performances on the diamond for Week 2 of the 2018 season.
Coutts boasted some of the best offensive numbers in the league amongst a group of very impressive performances over the past seven days. He had at least one hit in every one of the five games he played, with four of them being multi-hit outings, and finished the week 10-for-22, batting .455 during that span. He scored three runs, doubled twice, added a homer and struck out just once, while his nine RBIs were tied for the league lead, and his total hits (10) was one off the league leader with four fewer at-bats.
Even more incredibly, Coutts has had at least one hit in every single one of the eight games he has played so far; he leads the league with a .486 batting average by a wide margin, as the Rhode Island product also has six total runs scored, four doubles, nine RBIs and one home run, the latter two of which came last week. Coutts is coming off a freshman season that saw him bat .310 for the Rams with 48 hits in 155 at-bats with 20 runs scored, 10 doubles and 21 RBIs.
Murphy, meanwhile, made it 2-for-2 for Sanford pitchers claiming the league’s top weekly pitcher award with three dominant relief outings to help the Mainers claim three of their four victories last week. The righty toed the rubber three times in total and he wound up with two saves. He went three up and three down with three strikeouts in a huge win over Danbury on June 11, then picked up another save by fanning two of the four batters he faced while working around a walk in another hitless inning of work in a 5-2 victory against North Division-leading Upper Valley three days later. He wrapped up the week with another three-strikeout, perfect inning in a win over Winnipesaukee on June 16.
Murphy now has eight strikeouts over four innings with two saves and only two hits yielded in that span with a WHIP of 1.00 on the season. Opponents are hitting only .154 against him.
The rising senior at Maryland is coming off a year in which he worked 25-1/3 innings out of the bullpen with 37 strikeouts and a .196 batting average against.
The NECBL congrats both players on their accomplishments.
Week 2 Honor Roll
Michael Cowell (Danbury/Fordham) – Put up a solid outing that included seven scoreless innings and five strikeouts with a walk and four hits allowed in his only start last week, helping Danbury pick up a key win.
Indigo Diaz (Vermont/Michigan State) – Ranked fourth in the league overall with nine strikeouts over eight innings last week, as he allowed only one earned run over the course of two appearances (one start). He started with two scoreless innings of relief – striking out five of the six batters he faced – before six quality innings of one-run, four-hit baseball with four more strikeouts in a win over North Adams.
Max Flower (Plymouth/Cal Berkley) – Had a hit in every single game and finished the week with a pair of three-hit outings. Batted an even .500 (9-for-18) with three runs, three RBIs and a homer.
Greg Gasparro (North Adams/UNC Asheville) – Was utilized three times for North Adams last week, picking up one save over that span while totaling seven innings of work. He didn’t allow an earned run over that span while fanning seven and issuing just two hits.
Jack Gethings (Newport/Fairfield) – Made the most out of the three games he played, posting two hits or more in each of them with a 3-for-4 outings, as well. His .538 average led the league while he also scored four runs and drove in three more.
Robert Girgis (Valley/Flagler) – Had one of the more dominant outings by a reliever of any player this season after he tossed the final four scoreless innings of an eventual 11-0 Valley win over North Adams. He struck out 10 of the 13 batters he faced with only a single walk yielded in that span, god enough to earn the save.
Gregory Hardison (Upper Valley/UNC Greensboro) – Hit safely in all five games he played in while posting a pair of two-hit games in a doubleheader on Sunday to close out the week strong. His final game of the week featured two triples and two runs scored; overall, he batted .368 with seven hits, two doubles, two troubles and three runs.
Garrett Hodges (Ocean State/Kennesaw State) – Led the league with 11 hits over the seven games he played. His busy week also included a pair of 2-for-4 showings at the dish, as well as a 4-for-5 performance in a win over Mystic. Finished with a .423 batting average, four doubles, a homer and seven runs total while sharing the league lead with nine RBIs.
Cameron Junker (Plymouth/Notre Dame) – Has appeared on both honor rolls so far this season after another impressive start in a 4-0 win over rival Newport. He struck out eight over 5-1/3 innings with only two hits and a walk allowed, as opponents are hitting just .119 against him while his WHIP is a miniscule 0.41.
Brett Rodriguez (Mystic/Wofford) – Hit safely in all five games he played in and finished the week strong, batting 3-for-4 in a win over Vermont before a 2-for-4 outing against Newport with two doubles and three runs scored. Totaled eight hits, five runs, four doubles, a homer and five RBIs.
