America East Baseball News & Notes: Big Weekend in Division A

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As we pass the mid-way portion of the month of April, the America East conference is getting hot. That’s because weekend series are starting to match teams that could very well be heading to Maine in Mid-May. Speaking of Maine, the Black Bears are putting together a stretch of wins that might suggest they are the team to beat this spring. With the conference tournament taking place on their diamond, it’s easy to understand that thinking. Still, there’s a way to go before we can concentrate on what should be a fun week of baseball in Orono, Maine. Here is some other news from the league.

Maine (12-3) did make quite a statement on the road last weekend in Albany (5-10). The sweep by the Black Bears was the only one in conference play last weekend. They went to Albany to show that winning Division A means you will have to go through them. For the weekend, Maine scored 27 runs on the Great Danes pitching staff. However, let’s be clear on this. It was not a dominating performance by the Black Bears. Their staff gave up runs as well, 22 to be exact. The difference in the series came down to Maine making the pitch when they had to and getting the key out when needed. Scout Knotts had a big weekend for the Black Bears and it started on Friday night with a first-inning grand slam home run. It included a Sunday DH, as Knotts went deep for a second time in game two of the holiday twin-bill. One thing to keep in mind as Maine looks ahead to this weekend’s home series with UMass Lowell is the bullpen did have a few hold your breath moments. Albany made every game interesting right down to the end scoring runs in the late innings to make the Black Bears earn everything. The Great Danes scored three in the ninth of game two but came up a run short. In game one, Albany pushed across four in the last inning only to come up two runs short. Brad Malm had a fine series for Albany with two home runs.

UMass Lowell (7-8) is next on the docket for Maine. The River Hawks just finished taking two of three from the Hartford Hawks (4-11) last weekend in Lowell. They did it with their bats and legs. Lowell would steal 10 bases in the series, collect 46 hits, and scored 39 runs in the three-game series. A sweep was possible if not for an eighth-inning meltdown by the River Hawks bullpen in Sunday’s game three where they led 10-3 after three innings. A concern for Lowell going forward is the back end of their pen. Getting outs from this group has been a work in progress all spring long. What has not been a problem for them is the length they are getting from their starters of late. This was the second straight series that Lowell has won. They now have three league series wins to their credit. It should be a fun one this weekend in Orono.

In Division B, things are getting tight there as well. Both Binghamton (6-9) and NJIT (10-5) took their series last weekend. The two teams meet this weekend in New Jersey. The Highlanders will have some wiggle room based on having a four-game lead in the loss column. However, it should be pointed out that the rematch between these two will take place in upstate New York the first weekend in May. The Highlanders head to this series with the best team ERA in the league at 5.86. Ryan Fischer, who should get the ball Friday night to begin the series, has the best ERA at 3.81 to go along with a 6-2 record and one complete game. The Bearcats can throw some arms at you as well. Thomas Babalis is 2-4 in nine starts with a 4.59 ERA. Ryan Bryggman is 2-3 in nine starts with a 4.81 ERA. Expect both of these guys to figure in Binghamton’s pitching plans for the weekend.

Some other notes of interest from this league. Myles Nicholson of UMBC leads both the league and country in hitting with a batting average of .438 (61-139). The grad student has made every start for UMBC this spring (34-for-34). He has an OPS of 1.133, is slugging at .612, and has an on-base percentage of .521. He is also at #14 in stolen bases in the country as well (21 SB-29 SBA). He has played a solid second base this spring making three errors in 34 games in 139 total chances (.978%). He has helped to turn 11 double plays in the infield. UMBC, as a team, is 43rd in the nation in steals with 55 in 35 games. They have been caught 21 times.

UMass Lowell has become a bit of a base-stealing terror for opponents this spring. They are tied for #7th in the country with 80 stolen bases and they have been caught 14 times. Two players stand out. Freshman Jacob Humphrey is third in the country with 28 steals and has been caught only once. Senior Robert Gallagher is 7th in the nation with 25 stolen bases and he too has been caught only once. Humphrey has played 33 games, Gallagher 32 games. The River Hawks are on pace to possibly steal 100 bases this spring which would be quite a feat. The Stony Brook Seawolves are tied for #39 in steals with 56 in 33 games. The team has been caught 12 times. Evan Fox is 22nd in the nation with 19 steals in 27 games and he has been caught only once.

The River Hawks have both Player and Rookie of the Week. The player is SS Fritz Genther. The transfer from Virginia Tech had a slash line of .545/.615/.955 in a 3-2 week for the team. In the Hartford series, Genther hit .571 with five extra-base hits, six runs scored, and five RBI. He had two four-hit games in that series. For Genther, this is his first weekly award. The rookie is Jacob Humphrey for the third time in four weeks. His slash line for the week was .476/.621/.524. He stole ten bases in five games played including four in Sunday’s loss to the Hawks. He drove in three runs and scored five times as well.

The Pitcher of the Week is Noah Lewis of Maine. In Sunday’s 7-6 over Albany, Lewis came out of the Black Bears pen and threw five shutout innings to help earn the sweep of that series. He allowed one hit and struck out five to get the win. He entered the game in the fourth inning with his team trailing 3-1 and held Albany in check to allow his mates to come back and win the game. His record is now 2-2. For Lewis, this is his first weekly award.

That’s all for this week. We will be back next week with more from America East Baseball.