America East News & Notes Touramnent Special

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On Wednesday morning, the America East baseball championship will begin in Binghamton, N.Y. Two games are scheduled, UMass Lowell will take on the Maine Black Bears at 11 AM. That game is followed by Binghamton taking on Hartford at 3 PM. The two winners will move on to take on Stony Brook and UAlbany on Thursday. Both teams have first-day byes. The two losers will come back and play each other at 6 PM to stay alive.

Lowell enters the championship with an eight and three record in May including winning five of their last six games. The River Hawks have outscored their opponents 31-15. Maine was the only team to sweep the River Hawks during conference play. The series took place in Maine with the Black Bears outscoring Lowell by a 28-8 margin. In the last six meetings between the two teams, the Black Bears hold a four to two advantage.

Binghamton also swept Hartford during league play. The Bearcats outscored the Hawks by a 19-3 combined score. On offense, Binghamton is led by Ashton Bardzell who comes into this championship hitting .278, with nine home runs and 39 RBI. On the mound, the Bearcats should hand the ball to Ben Anderson who finished the season with an eight and four record and a 2.96 ERA. Hartford will counter with their senior left-hander, Nicholas Dombkowski, who has a two and six record with a 5.04 earned run average.The Hawks have struggled down the stretch but like everyone else, they have a new life. Albany may be the hottest team coming into this event. The Great Danes have won nine in a row.

Player of the Week is junior catcher Ciaran Devenney of the River Hawks. In a 4-1 week, Devenney was a force slashing .467/.667.1.133. He scored five runs and drove in six, with four coming aganist Stony Brook. Last Sunday, Devenney broke open a close game with a grand slam home run to help the River Hawks win the series on the road. Ciaran had a base hit in all five games last week going seven for fifteen. On defense, Devenney is also very effective throwing out 25 of 51 base stealers. It’s the second weekly honor for Devenney.

Pitcher of the Week is Dominic Salvino of UAlbany. He allowed one run on three hits in eight innings aganist Hartford. He held the Hawks to a team batting average of .130 to earn his fourth win of the season to go along with four losses.The win helped the Great Danes continue their win streak. The weekly honor is Savino’s fifth of his career, and second straight.

Rookie of the Week is freshman pitcher Thomas Babalis of Binghamton. He picked up his fourth win of the season by going seven strong innings vs Maine last weekend. His overall record is four and one, with a 3.07 ERA. Opponents are hitting just .210 against Babalis this year. It is the third weekly honor for him.

It all begins on Wednesday morning, so good luck to all.