NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Ocean State outfielder Travis Honeyman (Boston College) and Vermont right-hander Cole Roland (Dartmouth) have been named the New England Collegiate Baseball League’s (NECBL) Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for the second week of the 2021 campaign.
Honeyman was nearly unstoppable at the plate last week, as the Ocean State outfielder tied for the league lead (with teammate Johnny Tuccillo, nonetheless) with 10 total hits in only 16 at-bats, good for a league-best .625 batting average among players who had at least 10 at-bats last week. Honeyman also drive in five runs, scored three himself, added a double and only struck out three times in that span. Perhaps most impressively, he went 8-for-8 in stolen bases, by far the most by a single player last week. Those efforts helped Ocean State pick up a pair of wins in a competitive Southern Division.
Honeyman currently ranks second in the NECBL batting .542 with 13 total hits in just six games; the Boston College rising sophomore is slashing .542 / .577 / .583 with an impressive OPS of 1.160.
Roland, meanwhile, was called upon three times out of the bullpen for the Mountaineers and he was dominant in all three outings, the latter two of which he played a direct role in to help Vermont close out the week with two wins in its last three games. After tossing two scoreless innings in a one-run loss against North Shore last Monday, during which he saw the minimum and struck out four of the six batters he faced, Roland earned a save against Upper Valley in a win on June 10 (he struck out two more while working around a hit and a walk) before tossing two more scoreless innings in a road win at Keene on Saturday. In that final outing, he fanned four more of the eight batters he saw while working around a single hit and walk yielded.
For the week, Roland’s 10 strikeouts were tied for second in the league but his K/9 of 18.00 was tied for the best mark among those qualified pitchers. He was also the only reliever among those qualifiers with a win and a save last week, all while recording a WHIP of 0.80 and limiting opponents to a .118 average against.
For the summer, Roland – a rising senior at Dartmouth – has come out of the bullpen four times and is yet to give up an earned run in 6.0 innings of work. He has 11 strikeouts compared to only two walks and three hits surrendered, as opponents are hitting just .150 against him.
Week 2 Honor Roll – Position PlayersJake Berger (Martha’s Vineyard), Keagan Calero (Vermont), Sam Cochrane (Newport), Addison Kopack (North Adams), Johnny Tucillo (Ocean State)
Week 2 Honor Roll – PitchersBlayne Deaton, (Ocean State), Ryan Gleason (Ocean State), Jace Kaminski, (Upper Valley), Reese Sharp (Winnipesaukee), Ryan Towle (Valley)
