Baseball Steps Out of GNAC Play, Visits Mass. Maritime, Eastern Conn. State

BOSTON – The Suffolk softball team will step out of GNAC play for two mid-week matches when it visits Mass. Maritime and Eastern Connecticut State. The Rams will first travel to the Buccaneers Tuesday, April 12 for a 3:30 p.m., before stopping by the Warriors the following day for a 4 p.m. contest. 

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LAST TIME OUT
The bats came alive in the late innings of Game one for 13 runs and they continued through the closer Sunday night, as the Suffolk baseball team swept Lasell by scores of 13-8 and 17-1 at Stone Diamond on Brandeis' Campus.

The Rams sprinkled scores throughout both contests, but it was their efforts at the plate over the sixth and seventh innings – 21 runs – over the span of the doubleheader that made the winning difference. Ten Rams hit better than .333 on the day as Suffolk stayed consistent at the plate with 23 hits over the two games – 10 in Game 1, 13 in Game 2 – eight for extra bases. Sean Cameron had a day at the dish, hitting .800 (4-for-5) with seven RBI and three runs scored. Jake Frasca (.375) brought home five runs and scored three times himself.

With all of the run production, the pressure was taken off the Rams' hurlers. Ryan Pordes earned the starting nod in the first game, but left after giving up seven runs on six hits, though he yield to Mark Fusco in the fifth. With a sizable lead intact, Cal Carroll came on in relief and was lights-out, punching out two Lasers over 2.0 innings of work, issuing no hits or walks.  His sixth save of the season not only secured the 13-8 victory, but secured the senior's spot in Suffolk's record books as the Methuen, Massachusetts product now sits atop the Rams' list for players with the most saves in a single season.

In game two, Kevin Sinatra got the call and tossed yet another stellar game to keep his undefeated mark intact and improve to 4-0 on the year. Sinatra, who struck out eight, dealt all seven, giving up just three hits, one run and one walk during the complete game.

MORE READING: Baseball Takes Two at Lasell with Impressive Offensive Performance

RUN DOWN ON THE RAMS
Suffolk, who is receiving votes in the D3Baseball.com Top 25 Poll and is ranked fifth in the NEIBA, is one win shy of matching its win total from a  year ago as the Rams sit at 17-5 overall and 3-1 in GNAC play.

Jon Lapolla (.384/.409/.512) leads the team in hits (33), runs (22) and stolen bases (10) and is second on the team in RBI with 22. Jake Frasca (.378/.400/598) is first on the squad in RBI (22), homers (3) and doubles (9) and is tied for second with Brady Chant (.341/.408/.495) in hits with 31.

Four different pitchers are unbeaten on the mound for Suffolk this season paced by Kevin Sinatra and Worth Walrod 4-0 marks each. Sinatra holds a 1.88 ERA in 24.0 innings, while Walrod boasts a 2.08 ERA. Frasca and Tim Conroy are each 2-0 on the hill. Frasca has 5.1 innings of relief work, with Conroy tossing 12.0 innings. Kyle Turner (1-2, 4.02 ERA) and Chuck Gibson (2-1, 2.52 ERA) are one-two in strikeouts with 28 and 26, respectively. 

IMPROVING THIEVES
Last season Suffolk stole 54 bases all year. In just 22 games this season the Rams have successfully stole 49 bags, the most in the GNAC and have been caught in the act 14 times. On the flip side, Suffolk opponents have just 26 steals in 31 attempts.

THE .300 CLUB
Nearing the midpoint of the season, seven Suffolk batters are swinging the bat well, hitting .300 or better in 2.5 dish appearances per game: Kevin Belskie (.400), Sean Cameron (.313), Brady Chant (.341), Drew Carter (.417), Jake Frasca (.378), Jon Lapolla (.384) and Rob Marks (.351).

As a team, the Rams are hitting .336, the second-best average in the league, and the 16th highest amongst all Division III programs.

The three top hitters for Suffolk – Carter, Lapolla and Frasca - rank amongst the GNAC's best bats. Carter is second (.417), Lapolla is seventh (.384) and Frasca is eighth (.378).   

TEN HITS AND COUNTING
The Rams have put together double-digit hits in 72.7 percent (16-22) of their games this season, including seven straight contests with double figure hits from March 16 through March 26. Suffolk is averaging 11.7 hits per game, the most in the GNAC, this season. Suffolk produced a season-best 23 hits in an 18-4 win against Clarkson March 13, the most by the blue-and-gold since it tallied 26 over Norwich three years ago (April 24, 2013). 

WALKIN' OFF
Senior co-captain Jon Lapolla's two-out, RBI double in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted Suffolk past Montclair State, 4-3 in a walk-off win. The Rams had two walk-off victories in 2015, with the most important coming in the 13th inning over Johnson & Wales in the GNAC Championship game. 

SETH SHATTERS IT
At Endicott April 6, Seth Coiley led off the fourth inning in style. The sophomore's second at bat extended his hit streak to two thanks to a long ball over the left field fence to break open a scoreless tie. Coiley's homer is the second of the second, in as many games and of his collegiate career. The Arlington, Massachusetts product is the first Ram to strike back-to-back home runs since the ABCA/Rawlings second-team All-American Mike Cunningham '13 did so three times in his senior campaign in 2013 with the last coming April 21-22 against Johnson & Wales and Albertus Magnus, respectively. 

FOUR HOMERS AND THREE YEARS AGO
Four different Rams combined to hit four balls out of the park at Curry, the most home runs by a Suffolk squad since matching that number in a 14-0 victory over Rivier April 7, 2013. 

HERO OF THE WEEK
Jon Lapolla continues to have a superior senior season as the Providence, Rhode Island native won a national poll conducted by HeroSports.com as the National Offensive HERO of the Week in Division III baseball March 29.

Lapolla was nominated for the honor on the heels of a 6-2 second Spring Break leg for the Rams and his first GNAC Corvias Player of the Week accolade of his storied career. The 6-foot-2 infielder beat out his competition, grabbing 87 percent of the votes, more than 130 than the second-place finisher with 146 of the near 200 submitted.

MORE READING: Lapolla Wins Vote, Named HeroSports DIII Offensive HERO of the Week  

CORVIAS ECAC DIII ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
After turning in a five-run, four-RBI performance over the course of Suffolk baseball's three wins last week, the ECAC recognized Jake Frasca as Division III New England Rookie of the Week.

MORE READING: Frasca Recognized as Corvias ECAC DIII Rookie of the Week  

WEEKLY HONORS
Every week that Suffolk has been in action (five) a Ram student-athlete has been recognized for their efforts by the GNAC with the blue-and-gold earning 38 percent (7-for-18) of the conference's weekly awards. Worth Walrod's two pitcher of the week accolades lead the way with Jon Lapolla and Drew Carter each being named player of the week March 21 and April 4, respectively. Jake Frasca and Kevin Sinatra each picked up their first weekly awards of their collegiate careers with Frasca being tabbed the best rookie over a seven day stretch and Sinatra earning the best hurler nod March 28. Frasca tacked on his second rookie weekly award on April 11 to bring Suffolk's total to seven. 

BITS 'BOUT THE BUCCANEERS
Mass. Maritime has won six straight to improve to 12-8 on the year.

Logan Sullo makes an impact at the dish, with a .373 batting average and top numbers in (13), hits (22) and RBI (13). William Keane (14) and Greg Downs (12) provide a spark in the run category.

Kevin Kwedor and Alex Rozak are the Buccaneers most consistent starters. Kwedor (2-1) has started six games, thrown 30 innings, giving up 18 runs on 28 hits for a .246 ERA. Rozak (2-3) has put in 31.0 innings of work with 17 runs on 29 hits for a .250 ERA.

WARRIORS WAYS
Eastern Connecticut State rides a five-game win streak into Wednesday's game that improved the Warriors to 13-5.

Although Pat Siroris is the most consistent batter for the Warriors with a .387 batting average, Chad Adams (.314) and Alex Parkos (.270) have brought in the most runs with 16 and 15, respectively. Ron Buchetto (2-0) has started all five games he has appeared on the hill. In 24.2 innings of work, he has gave up 17 runs on 38 hits and struck out 19 for a 5.47 ERA.

COMING UP
Suffolk returns to conference action this weekend when it hosts Rivier and travels to Norwich. The Rams and Raiders will square off Saturday, April 16, before the blue-and-gold stop by the Cadets home the following day.