Baseball Report - May 21
CAA BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Ryan Lindemuth, William & Mary
So., 3B, Burke, Va./Lake BraddockLindemuth batted .682 (15-22) with four doubles, a triple, a homer, nine RBI's and eight runs scored in W&M's 3-2 week. The sophomore third baseman hit .800 (12-15) in the Tribe's three-game series at Hofstra with three doubles, a homer and five RBI's. In Saturday's finale, he was a career-best 6-for-6 at the plate.
CAA BASEBALL Co-PITCHER OF THE WEEK:
Matt Davenport, William & Mary
Sr., RHP, Chesapeake, Va./Nansemond-Suffolk Academy
Davenport threw a complete-game, 5-hit shutout in William & Mary's 11-0 victory at Hofstra last Friday. The senior right-hander struck out a career-high 12 batters and didn't issue a walk. He improved to 7-5 overall and lowered his ERA to 1.73 for the year.
CAA BASEBALL Co-PITCHER OF THE WEEK:
Michael Trionfo, Towson
Jr., RHP, Jacksonville, Md./Calvert Hall
Trionfo went 2-0 with a 1.74 ERA as Towson swept a 3-game series from JMU last weekend and earned the final CAA Tournament spot. In Thursday's opener, the junior allowed two runs over 8.0 innings in an 8-3 victory. In Saturday's finale, he tossed 2.1 shutout innings in his first relief effort as the Tigers rallied for a 5-4 win in 10 innings.
CAA BASEBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Joe Giacchino, Delaware
Fr., OF, West Chester, Pa./Malvern Prep
Giacchino batted .600 (6-10) with five RBI's and two runs scored in Delaware's three-game week. The freshman outfielder set career-highs by going 5-for-5 and driving in four as the Blue Hens topped Northeastern 10-3 last Saturday.
DIAMOND NOTES:
DELAWARE (27-25, 17-13 in CAA)
The Blue Hens dropped two-of-three to Northeastern over the weekend, but still earned the #3 seed for this week's CAA Tournament. Freshman Joe Giacchino batted .600 in the series, including a career-best 5-for-5 effort with four RBI's in Saturday's 10-3 win. Jimmy Yezzo is on a five-game hitting streak and is batting .333 with two homers and six RBI's during the stretch. Alex Maruri has reached base safely in 10 straight games. Pitcher Corey Crispell led the UD starting staff in wins (6), ERA (3.75) and innings pitched (86.1) and closer Stephen Richter tops the squad with eight saves.
GEORGE MASON (33-22, 16-14 in CAA)
The Patriots scored three runs in the ninth to earn a 10-9 win at UNCW on Saturday and lock up the #4 seed for the CAA Tournament. Freshman Tommy Vitaletti's two-out RBI double drove in the game-winning run and snapped a five-game slide for Mason. Catcher Jake Leonardo was 4-for-5 with two RBI's in the victory and Blaise Fernandez was 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI's. Closer Chris O'Grady, who leads the CAA with 14 saves, pitched 2.2 shutout innings to up his record to 2-0 and drop his ERA to 0.50. O'Grady was also named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Award. Brig Tison finished the regular season ranked third in the CAA in hits (84) and seventh in batting (.368).
GEORGIA STATE (24-31, 14-16 in CAA)
The Panthers won two-of-three at Old Dominion last week but fell a game short of a CAA Tournament berth. Senior Joey Wood batted .538 (7-13) in the series, including a game-winning 2-run homer in GSU's 8-6 victory on Friday. Freshman Caden Bailey hit .467 (7-15) at ODU and scored five runs. Senior Brandon Williams finished his GSU career ranked second in hits (271), RBI's (175), runs (169) and games played (221). Senior Jake Dyer went 2-0 in the ODU series with only three hits allowed over 7.0 shutout innings. Senior pitcher Justin Malone made his 73rd career appearance at ODU, which ranks second in GSU history. The Panthers didn't commit an error in the ODU series.
HOFSTRA (33-20, 20-10 in CAA)
The Pride locked up the #2 seed for the CAA Tournament by taking two-of-three from William & Mary last weekend. Hofstra won the opener 10-9 in 11 innings after rallying to tie in the 8th and 9th frames. TJ Thomas drove in the final four runs, including the game-winner on a sacrifice fly. The Pride won the finale 10-8 on Saturday. Kenny Jackson hit a grand slam in a six-run seventh inning. Gregg Sarra earned his first collegiate win in relief. Danny Poma, who leads the CAA in several offensive categories, is a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Award. Hofstra, which leads the CAA in batting (.336) and runs (431), is making its second CAA Tournament appearance ever and first since 2005.
JAMES MADISON (16-35-2, 10-20 in CAA)
The Dukes went 0-4 last week, including a pair of one-run losses in a three-game sweep at Towson. JMU batted .301 as a team last week, but allowed its opponents to hit .358. Outfielder Cole McInturff batted .471 with four doubles and finished with a team-best .360 average for the season. Evan Scott hit .400 with a pair of homers and had a team-high seven long balls this year. Freshman Chad Carroll batted .353 and hit his first career homer. Due to injuries, freshmen accounted for 61% of JMU's innings pitched this season. Senior Josh Futter made 23 apperances this season and finished with 81 for his career.
UNCW (35-20, 24-6 in CAA)
The Seahawks, who will be the #1 seed in the CAA Tournament for the fifth time, closed the regular season with a 3-1 week that included two wins over George Mason. Senior Thomas Pope batted a team-best .533 with four doubles and a homer, while Andrew Cain went deep twice and knocked in six runs. Senior Matt Campbell batted .438 (7-16) in the Mason series with a double, two homers, four runs scored and six RBI's. He also drew five walks and stole three bases. UNCW swiped 10 bags in 11 attempts last week. Reliever Kelly Secrest allowed just one hit over four shutout innings last week and got a win in the series opener. He's 4-2 with a 1.97 ERA on the season.
NORTHEASTERN (23-28, 13-17 in CAA)
The Huskies won two-of-three in their weekend series at Delaware, but came up two games shy of a tournament berth. NU went 9-3 over its final 12 CAA contests. Aaron Barbosa was 3-for-4 on Sunday and set a new school record for hits in a season with 76. Catcher Jon Leroux homered on Saturday and had nine homers in 13 games in May. Senior Mike Miller finished with 199 games played in his career, which is the most in NU history. Senior Andrew Leenhouts tossed a complete game in a 6-2 victory over UD on Friday. He struck out eight and finished with 282 career K's, which is the second-most in school history.
OLD DOMINION (19-34, 9-21 in CAA)
The Monarchs defeated Georgia State 8-1 in the series opener last Thursday before dropping their final two games to the Panthers. Sophomore pitcher Dean Ali made his first start of the year and held GSU to three hits over 6.0 innings while striking out a career-high 10 batters. Senior Chris Baker hit .429 in the series and drove in six runs. Senior Josh Wright smacked his 37th career homer on Thursday, which tied Tony Gsell for the Monarchs' career record. ODU lost the series finale 8-4 in 12 innings, which was the team's 8th extra-inning game this season. They were 3-5 in those contests.
TOWSON (26-29, 15-15 in CAA)
The Tigers pulled out a pair of one-run victories to sweep a three-game series from JMU and clinch the final spot in the CAA Tournament. Towson won Saturday's finale 5-4 in 10 innings as Kurtis Voytell hit a game-tying pinch-hit homer in the 9th and Pat Fitzgerald had a game-winning RBI single in the 10th. Kurt Wertz batted .538 (7-13) in the series with three doubles, two homers, five RBI's and four runs scored. Freshman Brendan Butler hit .300 and scored five times. Junior Michael Trionfo was 2-0 with a 1.74 ERA vs. JMU, allowing two runs over 8.0 innings on Thursday before tossing 2.1 shutout innings on Saturday in his first relief effort. He improved to 10-3 for the year, setting the Towson season wins record. Tyler Austin set a Towson season record with 31 appearances.
VCU (32-23, 15-15 in CAA)
The Rams split a home-and-home series with VMI before closing the regular season with an 11-2 triumph over East Carolina on Saturday. Taylor Buran hit a two-run homer and Bill Cullen had two runs and two RBI's against the Pirates. Freshman starter Heath Dwyer allowed just two hits over 4.0 shutout innings. The Rams won 7-2 at VMI last Thursday as Chris Ayers and Brent Mikionis drove in a pair of runs. Seth Cutler-Voltz (6-3) limited the Keydets to one run on three hits over 6.0 innings. The Rams are the #5 seed for the CAA Tournament and will face George Mason in the opening game on Wednesday.
WILLIAM & MARY (31-25, 12-18 in CAA)
The Tribe went 3-2 last week, but ended the season with a pair of losses in a three-game series at Hofstra. Sophomore Ryan Lindemuth batted .682 with nine RBI's for the week, but hit .800 (12-15) with a homer, three doubles and five RBI's at Hofstra. He was 6-for-6 in Saturday's finale. Freshman Michael Katz batted .375 for the week, belted his team-best 10th homer and drove in 11 runs. Senior Matt Davenport threw a complete-game, 5-hit shutout as W&M beat Hofstra 11-0 on Friday. The right-hander struck out a career-high 12 batters and didn't issue a walk. He improved to 7-5 on the season and dropped his ERA for the year to 1.73.