CAA Baseball Weekly Awards - March 30
Rob Washburn
CAA BASEBALL WEEKLY REPORT - MARCH 30
RICHMOND, Va. (March 30, 2021) – Northeastern junior outfielder
Ben Malgeri was selected as the CAA baseball Player of the Week, Elon sophomore right-hander
Brian Edgington and UNCW junior right-hander
Landen Roupp shared CAA Pitcher of the Week accolades and Charleston freshman infielder
Joseph Mershon was named the CAA Rookie of the Week.
CAA Baseball Player of the Week
Ben Malgeri, Northeastern– Jr., OF – Stratham, N.H./Exeter
Malgeri batted .600 (6-10) and drove in four as Northeastern extended its winning streak to six with a three-game sweep of UMass. The junior outfielder recorded multiple hits and drove in at least one run in all three victories, raising his average to .316. He also stole three bases to increase his league-leading total to 10 for the season.
CAA Baseball Co-Pitcher of the Week
Brian Edgington, Elon – So., RHP – Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham
Edgington gave up three hits and struck out 10 in 6.0 shutout innings over two relief appearances against ACC foe Wake Forest and No. 8 East Carolina. The sophomore didn’t allow a hit and fanned four in two frames vs. Wake. He earned the save in a 2-1 win over ECU after keeping the Pirates scoreless over the final four innings and striking out six.
CAA Baseball Co-Pitcher of the Week
Landen Roupp, UNCW – Jr., RHP – Rocky Mount, N.C./Faith Christian
Roupp surrendered three hits over 6.0 shutout innings and struck out six to earn the win in UNCW’s 6-1 victory at Charleston last Friday. The junior didn’t allow a runner past second base before having his night cut short due to a weather delay. Roupp has allowed just three runs over his last 20.2 innings and is 2-0 over that stretch.
CAA Baseball Rookie of the Week
Joseph Mershon, Charleston – Fr., IF – Taylors, SC/Taylors
Mershon batted .500 (8-16) with three doubles, five runs scored and two RBI’s in Charleston’s four games last week. The freshman infielder recorded multiple hits in three of the four contests and extended his overall hitting streak to seven games. Mershon went 6-for-12, scored four times and drove in two in the Cougars’ CAA series with UNCW to raise his team-leading average to .361.
Conference notes:
DIVISIONAL PLAY IN THE CAA THIS WEEKEND: Conference play in the North Division gets underway this weekend as Delaware visits Towson for a four-game series. James Madison and Elon play their South Division openers as the Dukes host first-place Charleston and the Phoenix travel to UNCW.
ELON DEFEATS #8 EAST CAROLINA: Spencer Bauer and Brian Edgington combined to limit No. 8 East Carolina to one run and Nick Cicci hit a two-run homer as Elon beat the Pirates, 2-1, last Saturday. Bauer allowed one run and struck out eight over 5.0 innings and Edgington fanned six while tossing 4.0 shutout frames. Cicci’s two-run shot in the fourth provided all of the offense Elon would need as it beat a Top 10 foe for the first time since 2013.
CHARLESTON (7-11, 4-2 CAA): The Cougars moved atop the South Division at 4-2 after winning the final two game of their series with UNCW. Harrison Hawkins went 5-for-9 with two homers, eight RBI’s and five runs scored in the two victories over the Seahawks. Freshman Joseph Mershon batted .500 over the four-game week with three doubles and five runs scored. Ari Sechopoulos smacked a two-run homer on Saturday. Jared Kirven was a career-best 3-for-4 with an RBI on Sunday and was 2-for-4 on Saturday. Connor Campbell came out of the bullpen and allowed two earned runs over 7.0 innings while striking out five.
DELAWARE (3-5, 0-0 CAA): The Blue Hens were swept in a doubleheader by Fordham last Saturday in their only action. Kyle Baker hit a solo homer in the opener, while Austin Riley was 1-for-4 and scored a run. Jack Goan was 2-for-4 with a solo homer in the nightcap. Delaware opens CAA play this weekend with a four-game series at Towson.
ELON (6-10, 0-0 CAA): The Phoenix defeated No. 8 East Carolina, 2-1, last Saturday as part of a 1-2 week. Senior Nick Cicci belted a two-run homer to provide all of the offense in the win over ECU and also drove in two with a pinch-hit single in a 4-2 setback to Wake Forest. Cole Reynolds was 2-for-3 and scored a run in the finale vs. the Pirates. Spencer Bauer (5.0 IP, 1 R, 8 K’s) and Brian Edgington (4.0 IP, 0 R, 6 K’s) combined on the win over ECU, with Bauer evening his record at 1-1. It was the first victory over ECU since 2016.
HOFSTRA (7-5, 0-0 CAA): The Pride had its four-game series with Fordham last weekend cancelled due to CoVID and won’t play this weekend vs. St. John’s. Hofstra Austin Gauthier is off to another good start offensively, batting .410 with two homers and a team-high 14 runs scored. Ryan Morash (.341) and Rob Weissheier (.333) are both hitting over .300 and Brian Goulard has driven in 12. Jack Jett has paced the pitching staff, posting a 1.03 ERA over 26.1 innings and has fanned 32. Jimmy Joyce is 1-1 with a 3.25 ERA and 21 strikeouts.
JAMES MADISON (3-6, 0-0 CAA): The Dukes had their second straight CAA series with Elon postponed last weekend, but hope to start league play on Friday as they host Charleston in a three-game set. JMU has five players batting over .300, led by Fox Semones (.353) and Chase DeLauter (.346). Conor Hartigan is batting .333 with a team-high nine RBI’s. Donovan Burke has been impressive out of the bullpen, posting a 2-0 record with a 1.64 ERA and has struck out 19 over 11.0 innings. Liam Grubbs has recorded a pair of saves and has nine strikeouts in 6.1 innings.
UNCW (13-8, 2-4 CAA): The Seahawks went 1-3 last week, dropping a 5-3 decision to NC State before losing the final two games of their CAA series at Charleston. UNCW beat the Cougars, 6-1, on Friday as Trevor Marsh went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI and Matt Suggs smacked a two-run homer. Landen Roupp picked up the win after tossing six shutout innings and striking out six. Brooks Baldwin was 2-for-4 with a double, homer and five RBI’s in Sunday’s finale. Kip Brandenburg was 4-for-7 in the first two games at CofC before having his 22-game hitting streak end on Sunday. Suggs took over the CAA lead with seven homers after going deep twice in the series.
NORTHEASTERN (10-5, 0-0 CAA): The Huskies are riding a six-game winning streak following a three-game sweep of UMass last weekend. Ben Malgeri paced NU offensively, batting .600 with four RBI’s. Jeff Costello went 2-for-4 and drove in two in the series finale, including an RBI single in the 8th that gave NU a 4-3 victory. Corey DiLoreto and Ian Fair both went 3-for-6 with three RBI’s in an 18-1 win on Friday. Kyle Murphy got his first win after holding UMass to a run on two hits over 6.0 innings and fanning a career-high 10. Cam Schlittler also earned his first victory on Saturday after allowing one run over 5.0 frames and fanning a career-best nine.
TOWSON (7-16, 0-0 CAA): The Tigers took three-of-four from George Mason last weekend, including two walk-off wins. Nolan Young’s RBI single lifted Towson to a 6-5 victory on Sunday and Danny Becerra’s RBI single capped a three-run 9th-inning rally as Towson won Friday’s opener, 3-2. Becerra had a hit in all four games and drove in five. Javon Fields batted .417 (5-12) in the Mason series with three runs scored and extended his on-base streak to 10 games. Danny Madden picked up his first Towson win after giving up just one run on five hits over 6.0 innings and striking out five in Saturday’s 5-1 triumph.
WILLIAM & MARY (4-12, 3-3 CAA): The Tribe was swept in a three-game series with VCU last weekend. Outfielder Jack Cone continued to swing a hot bat, hitting .600 (9-15) in the series with a homer and five RBI’s. He was 4-for-5 in each of the first two games and drove in four in the opener. Cone is now batting .397 for the season. Ben Williamson also had a good series, hitting .538 (7-13), including a pair of 3-for-4 efforts, to raise his average to .361. Michael Zubovich and Matt Howat combined for 4.2 innings of scoreless relief in last Friday’s 8-6 setback to the Rams.