NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Ocean State outfielder Ryan Ward (Bryant) and Mystic right-handed pitcher Zach Thompson (Maryland) have earned the final New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) Player and Pitcher of the Week awards, respectively, for the 2018 regular season.
Ward had multi-hit outings in three of the six games he played last week, helping Ocean State tack on six wins during that stretch to grab sole possession of first place in the South Division with three games to play. He went 3-for-4 in a 7-1 win over Vermont that included a homer and two RBIs, 2-for-4 with two runs scored in victory against North Adams, and then had another three-hit outing a day later against Mystic. He led the league with 10 total hits last week and had four runs, six RBIs, a double and three stolen bases.
The rising redshirt sophomore at Bryant pushed his average up to .290 for the summer with 45 hits in 155 at-bats. He has 28 runs scored, seven doubles and three long balls with 26 RBIs in that span. He is coming off a historic season with the Bulldogs that saw him claim a number of accolades while he batted .409 for the season and set school records for hits (101) and total bases (157) while also adding 22 doubles, five triples, eight homers, 52 RBIs and 51 runs scored.
Thompson posted a dominant start last week in a win for the Schooners, as he led the league with 11 strikeout sin just six innings of work. He fanned more than half of the total batters he faced (21) in that outing while scattering three hits and issuing no walks.
The rising junior at Maryland improved to 2-1 with the victory and lowered his ERA to 2.80 for the summer. He now has appeared in eight games while making seven starts and has struck out 43 in 41-1/2 innings while issuing just seven walks. Opponents are hitting just .215 against him, while his WHIP moved to an impressive 0.98 for the summer.
Week 8 Honor Roll
Chase Achuff (Vermont/Eckerd) – The infielder not only had five hits last week, but even more impressive was the work he logged out of the bullpen in a pair of Vermont victories. He went three innings of scoreless relief and earned the win while striking out two against Newport on July 25, then picked up the save three days later to clinch the Governor’s Cup over Upper Valley with two more strikeouts in two innings.
Josh Eastman (Plymouth/SNHU) – His relief outing in a 7-0 win over Mystic on July 25 was stellar, as he set down eight of the 11 batters he faced by means of the strikeout. He gave up no runs and allowed only a walk and a hit over three innings to earn the save.
Jake Eder (Newport/Vanderbilt) – Facing arguably the league’s top team in reigning champion Valley, the southpaw turned in his best outing of the summer, tossing six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts, a walk and three hits scattered to pick up the win in an eventual 4-0 road shutout victory.
A.J. Franklin (Upper Valley/Vanderbilt) – Was called upon twice in save situations and delivered on both occasions, helping surging Upper Valley lock down a pair of big wins. Tossed a perfect inning in a 5-2 road win at Sanford before doing so once again with a pair of strikeouts two days later at Keene in a 3-0 win.
Garrett Hodges (Ocean State/Kennesaw State) – A starter in last night’s All-Star Game, he had a hit in six out of seven games with a pair of two-hit outings in that span. Totaled eight hits altogether while batting .364 with seven runs scored, seven RBIs and a home run while going 7-for-8 on the bases.
Gregory Hardison (Upper Valley/UNC Greensboro) – Totaled six hits in three games while batting .462 on the week altogether. Drove in four runs while scoring one other and also doubled in a run in the NECBL All-Star Game.
Steven Passatempo (Winnipesaukee/UMass Lowell) – The North Division All-Star designated hitter added two more homers to his season resume and hit safely in three of the four games he played, including a 3-for-4 outing against Sanford and another 2-for-4 showing in a win over Mystic. He had a three-run homer in a 7-0 win against Newport, as well, and batted .400 on the week with a double and three runs scored mixed in.
Dalton Reed (Newport/Kentucky) – Last week’s Player of the Week pushed his hitting streak to 10 games with four more games with at least one hit. He posted two hits in three of the four games he played in last week. He played in the All-Star Game, as well, and batted. 389 for the week with seven hits, a homer and three RBIs.
Freddy Sabido (Mystic/Wagner) – Made noise in the limited sample size he had last week, finishing with four hits over three games. Three of those hits, however, were doubles, tied for the league lead in that category while also driving in two runs.
Levi Thomas (Upper Valley/Troy) – The right-hander earned his first win of the summer in convincing fashion by striking out eight batters over seven scoreless innings. He worked around four hits and a walk to turn the game over to the bullpen, which came through to deliver a 3-0 shutout road win at Keene.
