America East Baseball News & Notes

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Though the calendar may still say February, the college baseball season has begun. America East teams have been getting their season underway in warm destinations like Arizona and Florida. By mid-March, the hope is everyone will be back at there schools playing games in front of their fans. In the meantime, while the weather is not quite baseball ready, here are some early results and news.

UAlbany and Maryland-Baltimore County began their seasons last weekend. Both teams won their first series of the year. For the Great Danes, they took two out of three on the road at Coppin State. Meanwhile, the Retrievers did the same on the road at UNC Asheville. For Maryland-Baltimore County, their bats were in mid-season form. They banged out 26 hits, five doubles, two home runs, and one triple. They collected 24 RBI and scored 26 runs. UMBC finished the three-game set with 30 total bases. Not bad for the first weekend.

It’s no surprise that the Retrievers lead the league in hitting in the very early stages of the season. They hit .290 against UNC Asheville and the pitching had its rough moments with a 6.58 team ERA. But, their fielding was flawless as no errors were committed and a couple of players received weekly honors because of their play.

Christian Torres was named Player of the Week. He hit .417 and slugged .917 in the three-game series vs Asheville. Torres scored five runs and drove in five more. This is Torres’ first career Player of the Week honor.

Torres’ teammate, Ethan Wentzloff, was named Rookie of the Week. The freshman outfielder hit .556 and slugged 1.000 in that same series. Ethan went 5-8 with a double and a HR. In the final two games of that set, he had five RBI. This is Wentzloff’s first career Rookie of the Week honor.

John Clayton, of UAlbany, is the Pitcher of the Week. In his start vs Coppin State, Clayton threw six and a third innings, striking out seven and walking no one in earning the win. For Clayton, this is his first Pitcher of the Week honor.

The Great Danes are not the only team off to a good start on the bump. The Hartford Hawks, the pre-season pick to win America East, have two hurlers off to good beginnings. J. Norcross Plourde has made four appearances in the early going. Though he has only pitched two innings in those appearances, he has yet to give up a run. His pitching teammate, Tyler Coppo has also not been scored upon in six outings so far.

The UMass Lowell Riverhawks have gotten off to a rough start in 2019. The early schedule might have something to do with it. They began the season on the road against two top ten opponents in Arizona and Georgia. The Riverhawks are at 0-7 and pitching has been an issue as the team has the worst ERA in the league at over fourteen. But, their defense has been pretty good thanks to a couple of players. Shortstop Oscar Marcherra has a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage so far. He has no errors in 38 chances, 21 assists, and 17 putouts. His running mate, Ciaran Devenney, also has no errors next to his name. In 36 chances Devenney has 29 putouts.