Hectic Stretch Ahead for Baseball

BOSTON – Suffolk baseball is in store for seven games over the next five days. The Rams will travel to Babson, Johnson & Wales and Endicott, before hosting Roger Williams and Lasell at East Boston Memorial Park. 

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LAST TIME OUT
After slipping in extras to open the day, Suffolk baseball rebounded in the nightcap at Curry with an 8-2 victory over the Colonels to split the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) twinbill Saturday at Valley Diamond.  

MORE READING: Baseball Bounces Back in Game 2 at Curry, 8-2

RAMS RUNDOWN
Suffolk splits its conference-opening doubleheader at Curry to move to 9-5 on the season and 1-1 in league action.  

Harry Painter has been impressive at the plate thus far with team-best numbers in hits (21) and RBI (16), behind a slash line of .477/.511/.909. Marc Birbiglia (.378, 17 H, 12 RBI, 15 R) and Luke Harder (.373, 19 H, 14 RBI, 10 R) have been consistent offensive contributors as well. 

The Rams will most likely cycle through their entire staff to get through the hectic stretch of action. Suffolk may call upon George Breslin (3.60 ERA, 5.0 IP, 3 Ks), EJ Birch (3.65 ERA, 12.1 IP, 9 Ks), Nick Reiser (3.86 ERA, 16.1 IP, 19 Ks), Shawn Nosky (4.66 ERA, 9.2 IP, 14 Ks), Steven Rossi (13.2 IP, 12 Ks) and Michael Muscarella (13.0 IP, 15 Ks) over the seven outings. Garret Roberts (1.17 ERA, 7.2 IP, 9 Ks) has proven to be the blue-and-gold's go-to closer, while Michael James Jr. (0.00 ERA, 1 IP, 1 K) and Jake Washock (2.45 ERA, 7.1 IP, 7 Ks) have been productive out of the pen.  

BEAVERS BREAKDOWN
Babson, who is receiving votes in the D3Baseball.com poll and sits fifth in the latest NEIBA rankings, rides a five-game win streak into the midweek matchup that puts the Beavers at 9-4 on the year.  

The top three bats for the Beavers after hitting over .345. Thomas Lapham leads the way with 19 hits and five RBI behind a .365 average to go along with 15 runs. Josh Yellen (.346) has 18 hits with 10 RBI and 11 runs scored and Sean Burychka rounds out the threesome with 18 hits, 12 RBI and 11 runs scored on a .375 batting average. 

Babson's staff has combined for a 4.85 ERA. The Beavers have relied on three different pitchers as their go-to starters in Tim Noone (6.61 ERA, 16.1 IP, 19 Ks), Tristen Spalter (4.05 ERA, 20.0 IP, 13 Ks) and Anthony St. John (3.98 ERA, 20.1 IP, 11 Ks). Griffin Cofsky (9.00 ERA, 7.0 IP, 5 Ks) and Truman Devitt (6.43 ERA, 7.0 IP, 5 Ks) each earned the nod once. Tim Person (1.50 ERA, 6.0 IP) and Stephen McLendon (2.13 ERA, 12.2 IP) have been productive in relief.  

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Suffolk is 21-26 all-time against Babson in a series that dates back to 1977. 
• The Beavers have controlled the series as of late, winning 10 of the last 12. 
• The blue-and-gold looks to snap a four-game skid against Babosn and defeat the Beavers for the first time since a 20-8 offensive onslaught April 18, 2013. 
• The Rams are 0-3 versus Babson with Anthony Del Prete as skipper.  

WILDCAT WAYS
Johnson & Wales has fallen in three in a row to slip to 2-13 on the year.  

Miles Kelly, who is hitting .281, paces the plate production with 16 hits and 10 RBI with a team-high 13 runs scored. Griffin Snyder is the only everyday batter hitting over .300 with a .310 clip for 13 hits, eight RBI and six runs scored. EJ Leone rounds out the top three Wildcats at the dish with 12 hits and a squad-best 14 RBI. 

Pitching wise, three different arms have taken on the bulk of the starting role in Aidan Vining (4.91 ERA, 14.2 IP, 21 Ks), Dane DellaValle (12.41 ERA, 12.1 IP, 9 K) and Jake McDonough (6.19 ERA, 16.0 IP, 9 K). Ben Fosberg is a force out of the pen with a 1.17 ERA over 7.2 innings with three punchouts.  

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Suffolk and Johnson & Wales will meet for the first time since 2019. 
• The Rams are 39-19 all-time against the Wildcats.
• The blue-and-gold look to snap a two-game skid against JWU. 
• The Rams last defeated the Wildcats, 12-5, April 13, 2019. 
• Under Anthony Del Prete, the Rams are 12-5 against JWU.  

GET TO KNOW THE GULLS
Endicott slipped to MIT, 11-10, Sunday to move bring an 11-4 record into the week, that opens Wednesday, March 30 against Southern Maine before hosting Suffolk Friday.  

Jake Nardone is an offensive leader for the Gulls with 27 hits behind a .429 average with 20 RBI and 12 runs scored. Nicolas Notarangelo has 24 hits and a team-best 22 RBI behind a .407 average. Caleb Shpur has struck for 20-plus hits as well with 22. Joseph Millar has scored a team-best 24 times and added 15 hits and five RBI.  

Endicott will likely save its top arms against Suffolk as the contest will serve as the Gulls first CCC outing of 2022. Rian Schwede (24.1 IP, 3.33 ERA, 20 Ks), Nicholas Cannata (12.0 IP, 3.75 ERA, 13 Ks) and Gabe Van Emon (3.05 ERA, 20.2 IP, 26 Ks) are all possible starters for the Gulls.  

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Suffolk sits 14-22 all-time against Endicott. 
• The Rams look to bounce back from back-to-back setbacks to the Gulls in the 2021 CCC Pod B Finals.
• Suffolk aims to defeat Endicott for the first time since a 14-9-win April 18, 2021. 
• All, but seven games in the series have happened in Beverly, Massachusetts. Suffolk is 12-17 when playing on the Gulls turf. 
• Under Anthony Del Prete, Suffolk is 7-11 versus the Gulls.  

HAVE TO KNOW 'BOUT THE HAWKS
Prior to the Saturday showdown with Suffolk, Roger Williams (13-1, 2-0 CCC), is set to face UMass Boston Wednesday and Babson Thursday. The Hawks lone setback of the season was to WPI by a 12-7 margin March 22.  

RWU's offense is powered by Christopher Flynn's 20 hits, 21 RBI and 15 runs scored. He is hitting just under .400 at a .392 clip. Tyler Cedeno (18 H, 9 RBI, 16 R) and Matt Massaro (15 H, 12 RBI, 17 R) are constants in the offensive conversation for the Hawks.   

Pitching wise, Roger Williams staff has a combined 3.63 ERA with 160 strikeouts over 114.0 innings. Justin Garcia leads the starting rotation with 0.89 ERA and 39 strikeouts over 20.1 frames in four starts. Chris Flynn (1.83 ERA, 19.2 IP, 35 Ks) and Connor Hewlette (13.0 IP, 4.85 ERA, 20 Ks) have proven their worth in the rotation as well.  

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Suffolk slipped to 6-7 in the all-time series with Roger Williams a year ago after falling 12-5 to the Hawks April 28, 2021. 
• The Rams look for their first win over the Hawks since a 3-2, 12-inning decision at the RussMatt Center Florida Invitational March 13, 2015. 
• Suffolk is 1-2 against RWU in the Anthony Del Prete era.  

LASERS LOOK
Lasell has put together a four-game win streak to move to 6-8 on the year. The Lasers schedule features a double feature with Colby Sawyer Saturday prior to its Sunday action with Suffolk.  

Over the four games, Lasell has put up 49 runs. Half a dozen bats have over double-digit hits in Byran Baumann (14 H, 11 RBI, 9 R), Vaun Larisa (13 H, 9 RBI, 8 R), Ross Audet (12 H, 7 RBI, 10 R), Jordan Martinez (12 H, 10 RBI, 6 H), Matthew Bischof (11 H, 6 RBI, 11 R) and CJ Mills (11 H, 6 RBI, 10 R).  

Matthew Fletcher headlines Lasell's staff. The freshman holds a 4.61 ERA in 13.2 frames with 14 strikeouts. Darek Lallo (12.2 IP, 7.11 ERA, 9 Ks), Chris O'Connor (10.0 IP, 14 Ks, 6.30 ERA) and Mills (10.1 IP, 6.97 ERA, 11 Ks) make up the main starting rotation for the Lasers. 

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Suffolk went 3-1 in the four-game series with Lasell a year ago to move to 31-2 in the all-time series. 
• The Rams outscored the Lasers 33-9 in the four outings last season. 
• Under Anthony Del Prete, the Rams are 16-2 versus the Lasers.  

RAMS RECOGNITION
Suffolk baseball scooped up a pair of weekly awards yesterday as the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) recognized freshmen Harry Painter and Nick Reiser as the league's player and rookie of the week, respectively.  

MORE READING: CCC Awards Painter Player, Reiser Rookie Weekly Nods

RAM OF THE WEEK
Harry Painter of the Suffolk baseball team garnered the department's weekly honor as he grabbed 56 percent of the 40-plus votes cast after his performance at the plate in a 2-1 week for the Rams.  

MORE READING: Painter Picks Up Ram of the Week

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Rams will have one day's rest before getting back at it when Suffolk travels to Gordon, Tuesday, April 5 for a 3 p.m. CCC clash.