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GBM College Round-Up - Week 8 |
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Written by Chip Armonaitis
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Thursday, 17 April 2008 |
 Conference battles are heating up, so we're going to give you a conference by conference wrap up where many Gotham Colleges are battling. We're also bring you a first from the greatest rivalry in college sports history.
But before we get to all of that, it's time to award the BEAST OF THE WEEK Presented by Mattingly Baseball!
 Mattingly Baseball "BEAST of the Week": Chris Simmons (Army) - The Black Knights co-captain was a rock at and behind the plate in
leading Army to its first ever sweep of Navy. A defensive stalwart who
calls all the pitches for a young Army staff, Simmons had a pair of
three hit games and slugged his fourth home run of the season, driving
in six runs in four contests last week. At week’s end, Simmons was
batting .314 with four home runs and 20 runs batted in, with a .500
slugging percentage.
Pitcher of the Week: George Brown (St. John’s) -The Red Storm’s senior lefthander improved to 7-0 with seven innings of
scoreless work in what would become a 10-5 St. John’s victory over
Connecticut.
 Team of the Week: Army - No other mid-season has as much riding on it as Army-Navy. Earning the
“Star”. Playing for the pride of your academy in front of your
classmates, as well as the military brass, makes Army-Navy, in any
sport, special. Add to it the fact that Navy is the team to beat in
the Patriot League, according to pre-season polls, and winning the
first three games takes on a new significance . Add on wins over Iona
(13-5) and Manhattan (9-6), giving the Black Knights a perfect 5-0
week, and the Gotham Baseball Team of the Week.
Here's a special look at the rivalry that is Army-Navy.
“The only thing better than beating Navy,” Army’s 2007 closer Milan Dinga told Gotham Baseball last season, “is beating them at Navy.”
Now in the Mariners’ farm system, Dinga must be thrilled for his alma mater, as the freshmen dominated Black Knights swept the first three games of their series with Navy, earning the “star” for their uniforms for the fifth straight season. The star represents a win over Navy in their series. It will be the second straight class of Army seniors to earn four stars.
“I’m pleased but more proud,” Army head coach Joe Sottolano said. “To have our senior class all play an integral part in the victories and go out that way is very special.”
Indeed. Coming into the series, Cole White had suffered through a horrible season on the mound, starting with missing three starts due to an injury in his non-throwing shoulder suffered running the bases.
But, against the Midshipmen, White bounced back into form, winning a 2-1 pitcher’s duel against Navy’s ace righthander Mitch Harris. Last season, Harris faced Army ace Nick Hill and received a no decision, while White pitched a complete game 1-0 shutout, striking out 12.
White was almost as good, allowing only one hit, while walking five and fanning six in picking up his first win of the season. Freshman Kevin McKague’s RBI single in the top of the eight gave White his second straight extra-inning win against Navy, as both times, the games were scheduled to be seven inning games as part of a doubleheader. Mike Greco, another freshman, drove in the first run of the game.
Freshmen continued to mark their arrival, as Ben Koenigsfeld went eight innings, allowing two runs, in a 10-2 victory in the nightcap. Fellow freshman Mike Greco and Clint Moore each drove in two, while Sean Rainbird pitched the final inning of shutout relief.
The opener saw senior Drew Clothier toss a 7-inning complete game, while senior catcher Chris Simmons had a three-run homer to lead the offense to a 14-3 win. Andy Ernesto drove in four runs with two hits, including a three-run homer, as the offense pounded out 14 hits.
(Editor’s note: Monday, Army completed the sweep of Navy, 7-4).
WEEKLY RECAPS PRESENTED BY
Big East Recap - St. John’s (25-8, 9-3) comes off a 3-2 week, with a series win over Connecticut, and a split of non-conference games with Temple (a 3-2 win) and Wagner (4-3 loss). George Brown picked up his seventh win on Saturday against the Huskies, while Jared Yecker improved to 3-0 with a combined 1-0 shut out on Sunday. Colin Lynch picked up his 10th save of the season on Sunday.
The Red Storm are second in the league, while surprising Seton Hall sits fourth at 10-5 in league play, 21-13 overall, and have won nine of their last 10 games. The Pirates took two of three in Big East play in South Orange, and defeated Fordham in non-conference play earlier in the week.
Rutgers swept Georgetown to improve to 5-7 in the Big East, and seventh in the standings. (The top eight teams make post-season.) Jon Gossard went 5-for-14 with 10 RBI against the Hoyas, while Jaren Matthews continued swinging his hot bat 7-for-13, over the weekend. Centerfielder Luis Feliz slugged two home runs in the Scarlet Knights 22-10 win on Friday.
New Jersey Athletic Conference - The Beast of Division III continues to be a wild race, as defending National Champion Kean sits in third place (24-8, 8-4) as The College of New Jersey (22-4, 9-2) and William Paterson (19-9, 9-2) sit atop the conference. WPU has a four-game win streak, all in conference over the week, including a sweep over Rutgers Camden (12-5, 8-4) on Saturday.
TCNJ dropped a 6-5 contest to Montclair State (14-10, 7-3) on Saturday, following wins over Rutgers-Camden (5-2) and Ramapo, 10-6. Ramapo, last season’s upstart in the NJAC, slipped to 1-9 in NJAC play, 12-16 overall following their losses on Saturday to Kean.
The Cougars went 2-1 in conference play over the week, as they lost to Montclair Thursday afternoon. Rutgers-Newark (13-14-1, 5-6) is locked in a battle with Richard Stockton (18-9, 6-5) for the final playoff spot, and comes off a split with RSU over the weekend.
New Jersey University (9-20, 1-9) was swept by Rowan (21-8, 7-4) with the Profs winning by 17-4, 13-8 scores on Saturday.
The Ivy Group - battle between Princeton and Columbia left the Tigers still two games behind the Lions in Lou Gerhig Division play. Saturday’s doubleheader saw Princeton sweep both games to pull even in league play, as the Tigers scored 10-9 and 13-7 victories. Spencer Lucian ( three RBI) and Dan DeGeorge (4-for-4, 3 RBI) led the Tigers offense in the opener. The nightcap saw Jack Murphy drive in three with two, as his hot bat kept Princeton on the winning tract.
Sunday’s doubleheader was a reversal of fortune, as Columbia swept a pair, 3-1 and 7-5, to salvage a home split, and regain their two game league in the Ivy. John Baumann outpitched David Hale, allowing three hits and one run in picking up the complete game victory. A 7-5 victory in the nightcap gave the Lions the sweep.
Northeast Conference - A four game set between Wagner and Monmouth was the highlight of the NEC conference schedule, with the Hawks racking up three of the four wins. Monmouth moved to the top of the NEC, at 7-1 in league play, 18-9 overall, winners of 9-of-10. Wagner, dropped to third place in the league at 5-3, and dropped below .500, at 13-15 overall.
The series opened with a 5-0 shutout on Friday afternoon, as Brad Brach (3-1) scattered seven hits, striking out 11 in throwing a complete game. Nick Pulsoneetti had three hits and two RBI to lead the offense.
Ryan Buch (4-1) held the Seahawks to two hits in 5.1 innings, and Justin Esposito sealed the deal, going 1.2 scoreless innings as Monmouth tossed a 1-0, seven inning shutout in the opener of Saturday’s doubleheader. Pulsonetti once again was the key, driving in the game’s only run. Joe Testa, despite allowing only one run on four hits, fell to 3-4, picking up a complete game loss.
The nightcap saw Wagner’s offense finally break-through, as Vin Avella had two hits and two RBI, in a 4-3 win. Kyle Morrison (2-2) picked up the win, while Andrew Heubner picked up his sixth save with a scoreless seventh.
Sunday saw the Monmouth pitching dominate, as Brett Brach (5 IP, 6 HA) and Tim Ballard (4IP, 1 HA) combined to shutout the Hawks, 6-0. Brett Holland had three huts and two RBI to lead the offense.
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference - Over-scheduled or battle hardened?
That is what MAAC fans will find out about the Fairfield Stags shortly. The Stags, in second place in the MAAC standings on Sunday at 8-4 in conference play, where 2-16 in non-conference play.
Losses to South Alabama, Kentucky, St. John’s (three games) are losses to schools that were ranked in the top 25 at one point in the season. Winning five of six on the road, in the MAAC sweeping St. Peter’s and taking two of three from pre-season favorite has to make everyone stand-up and take notice, the Stags pursuit of surprise leader Canisius is for real.
Manhattan is a half-game back, having won two of three at home against Niagara over the weekend. Led by the hot hitting of MAAC Freshman of the Week Chad Salem, Manhattan stayed two back in the conference. Salem slugged two home runs over the weekend, and is the Jaspers leader in home runs on the seasons with four.
Rider (7-5) is fourth, and in the final post-season playoff spot at the moment, two and a half games back. The Broncs have a game and half lead over Niagara (4-5) and St. Peter’s (4-5), two over Marist (5-7).
Marist staggered through a 1-4 week, being swept by Canisius at home in conference play. Rider swept struggling Iona (1-11, 1-28), while St. Peter’s was beat up in a non-conference series by LeMoyne, the defending MAAC Champion. The Dolphins were unceremoniously dumped at the end of the season after the conference passed a rule requiring all conference schools to be Division I in all sports.
MIsc. Local Colleges - Fordham (18-15, 5-7 Atlantic 10) is on the outside looking in the A-10, despite the efforts on ace Tom Davis the past two weeks. Davis’s 3-0 shutout of George Washington on Friday was vintage Davis, as he improved to 4-2, striking out nine while allowing four hits in eight innings. The Rams, one of the favorites in the A-10 entering the season, are in ninth place, and took two of three from the sixth place Colonials at home... A bad week for Stony Brook (16-14, 5-3) in the America East Conference, losing three of four to Hartford and slipping into third place behind Hartford and Vermont in the league at 5-3... Hofstra (12-25) fell to 1-17 in Colonial play, getting swept by George Mason... NJ Tech, with a loss to St. Joseph’s and a sweep at the hands of Vermont, ran its losing streak to 22 games, and is now 2-28 overall... NY Tech has lost its last five games, and sits at 8-15.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 17 April 2008 )
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