America East Baseball News & Notes; Bryant Wins Regular Season Title

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For the second year in a row, the Bryant University Bulldogs (30-17-1, 15-6) have won the regular season title in America East. In doing so, they claim the #1 seed in next week’s tournament that will take place in Maine. The other teams that wrapped up a spot for next week are the host school, the Maine Black Bears (20-27, 13-11), and NJIT at 24-24, 11-10. Which leaves everyone else still in the mix as the final weekend begins.

The Binghamton Bearcats (23-22, 11-10) seem safe, for now. Starting Thursday, they will host the UAlbany Great Danes (19-28, 9-12). For the Bearcats not to make the postseason, they would have to be swept by the Great Danes. UAlbany had a six-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday afternoon by LeMoyne by a run-rule 16-6 score. LeMoyne would hit three home runs and have six extra-base hits in that game to help them get the victory. For UAlbany, this is not the way they would have preferred to go into a big series on the road. Dylan Banner (5-4, 3.24 ERA, 1 CG) should get the Thursday night start for the Great Danes. TBA for the Bearcats. Binghamton comes into that series as the best hitting team in the league at .284 and the best fielding team with a .976 fielding percentage (37 errors on the year). They have also turned 26 double plays. UAlbany has the worst team ERA in the league at 7.41. The Great Danes have a one-game lead on both UMass Lowell and UMBC for a postseason spot. If they get a couple of wins, they are in.

UMBC (18-24, 8-13) is tied with the River Hawks for the last spot, and they will host Bryant this weekend. Now, while it is true that the Bulldogs have nothing to play for, it would be hard to imagine that Bryant will just show up and not try to keep their season going in the right direction. UMBC will also be trying to stop a three-game losing streak in this series. Their mid-week game vs Coppin State was cancelled on Tuesday. UMBC is dead last in fielding percentage at .946 (80 errors, most in the league). They have turned 20 double plays, the fewest in the league. But what they do have is maybe the best pitcher in the league in Nick Remy (7-1, 2.95 ERA, 4 Saves). Teams are hitting just .188 against him, and he has been good all year. Expect him to be in this series whenever needed. UMBC will look for a series win to get them to Maine.

UMass Lowell (18-32, 8-13) snapped a six-game losing streak on Tuesday with a 5-1 road win at URI. That was the beginning of a season-ending four-game road trip for the River Hawks. UMass Lowell is next to last in both fielding (.964%, 63 errors, 29 double plays) and ERA at 7.31. River Hart leads the team in HR with 10. They will head to New Jersey to face NJIT, and the Highlanders are already in. But because they are hosting this weekend, expect them to play hard since it will be the last time for the seniors and graduate players to play at home. NJIT is the second-best fielding team in the conference at .973, with 44 errors to 33 double plays. SS Ray Ortiz is one of the best middle infielders in the league. He is also #9 in the batting race at .337 BA, with 13 HR, 39 RBI, while slugging .663. Mason Wolf is #2 in that race, hitting .379, with 4 HR and 36 RBI, slugging .561. The River Hawks need wins and a little help from their friends if they are to make the trip to Maine.

The America East Player, Pitcher, and Rookie of the week are all from UAlbany. The Player of the Week is Luke Fillppi. Last week, he hit .636 with a .667 on-base percentage, three runs scored, and two RBI. UAlbany had two walk-off wins last weekend. Filippi had a walk-off hit and a walk-off winning run. Matthew Mariano is the Pitcher of the Week. He went six innings in a 4-2 win over UMBC last weekend, allowing just two hits, with a strikeout. The Rookie of the Week is Aidian Gelbsman. In a no-decision last weekend, he went six shutout innings, allowing just two hits, one walk, and striking out nine. iT ‘s the first award for all three.

It should be a great weekend of college baseball in America East. If you have the chance, get out and see it.