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Co-Players of the
Week: Week #8 ending 8/1
The final week of the
season, though short, was packed with games. It saw a NECBL
first, a 3-way tie for the final North Division playoff
spot. The Lowell All-Americans won 4 of the 5 games to
capture that spot and their catcher Brendan Akashian
(Holy Cross) helped them get there batting .389 with 7 hits,
1 double, 2 HRs and 7 RBI capturing his second Player of the
Week Award.
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The
North Adams SteepleCats were in the thick of things in the
South Division. Though they lost 2 of their final 3 games
they were solidly in 3rd place. That was no
comfort to Williams College outfielder Max Pinto who
tore it up batting .571 getting 8 hits, scoring 4 while
belting 2 doubles, a triple, 2 HRs and 4 RBI.
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Pitcher of the Week:
Week #8 ending 8/1
In its first 13
years the NECBL saw one 7-inning no-hitter and 1 9-inning
no-no. In 2007 Holyoke Giant righty Mike Thompson (Bellarmine)
threw the second 9-inning no-hitter of the season, beating
Sanford 5-0 on the 30th.
Thompson walked 7 but induced 3 double plays, striking out 5
capping the Giants successful season capturing the best
overall record and home field throughout the playoffs.
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Player of the Week:
Week #7 ending 7/29
In a week full of
rained-out make-up games the Sanford Mainers came through
with a 6-1 record in their battle for the last North
Division playoff spot. For the second consecutive week
Brian Michael Kemp put the team on his shoulders
standing out among a group of very talented league-wide
players. Kemp’s average for the week was .485 and in the 7
games he had 16 hits, scoring 10 times, belting 2 doubles
and 2 triples while driving in 7. He was again perfect on
the base paths stealing 5 bases. Kemp, a freshman out of St.
John’s, leads the league in batting average, hits, runs
scored, total bases and stolen bases.
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Pitcher of the Week:
Week #7 ending 7/29
Another freshman stood
out this week. In his only 2 save chances Torrington closer
Steve Strasburg came through keeping his team in the
hunt for a first-place finish in the South Division.
Strasburg (San Diego State) set down all 6 batters he faced
striking out 4 of them. One of the saves, coming the day
before his college coach Tony Gwynn was inducted into the
Hall of Fame, was a nail-biter against the Twisters’ rival
for the top spot, the Newport Gulls. Stephen struck out 2 of
3 to preserve a 2-1 victory for teammate Chris Anderson on
July 28th. |
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Player of the Week:
Week #6 ending 7/22
In a week cursed by rain
and shortened by a day for the All-Star Game teams were
lucky to play four games. In the three that Sanford’s
Brian Michael Kemp (St. John’s) played he made the most
of it batting .643 for the week. In 14 at-bats he got 9 hits
and scored 3 runs. Kemp, the winner of the Fastest Runner
competition at the All-Star Game, was 4-4 in stolen bases. |
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Pitcher of the Week:
Week #6 ending 7/22
In his one start for the
week Concord’s Joe Testa pitched a gem. The Wagner
College lefty shutout the Keene Swamp Bats going the
distance in a complete game 1-0 victory. Joe gave up just 4
hits, walking only 1. The league-leader in strike outs,
Testa got 14 Ks en route to an impressive 3-1 record. |
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Co-Players of the
Week: Week #5 ending 7/15
Ben Paulsen
(Clemson) led a resurgence of the Swamp Bats as they climbed
to within 1 game of division leading Holyoke. The
first-baseman batted .520 for the week in a grueling 7 games
scoring 4, knocking in 9. Ben belted 2 doubles and 2 HRs
achieving a .840 slugging percentage.
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The
Dukes are having a tough season but this week they picked up
3 of their 9 total wins thanks in part to the hot bat of
shortstop Scott Savastano (Franklin Pierce). Scott
hit an amazing .632 in 5 games with 12 hits in 19 at-bats
driving in 7 with a .737 slugging percentage. He was also
2-2 in stolen bases.
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Co-Pitchers of the Week:
Week #5 ending
7/15 |
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Rob Hallberg (Brown) was a dominating closer for the
Silkworms this week with saves against the red-hot Twisters,
the surging Mountaineers as well as the Quarry Dogs. His
opponents got no hits or runs and 3 were stuck out by
Hallberg on his way to a league-leading 9 saves.
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The
Newport Gulls are in a classic duel with Torrington for the
top spot in the Southern Division. The Gulls lost 3 of 4
this week until Andrew Carraway (Virginia) took the
mound and blanked the Lowell All-Americans 8-0 on July 14th.
The 6’ 2” righty threw 8 innings allowing just 3 hits while
striking out 5 and walking none.
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Player of the Week: Week #4 ending 7/8
The Player of the Week is
C/DH Bubba Ruddy of the Sanford Mainers. Ruddy, from
Orange, California, attends Cypress Community College. Four
Mainers were in the top 10 in batting this week and although
Sanford’s record was 2-4 you couldn’t overlook the numbers
put up by Ruddy. His average was .333 with 13 total bases
including a home run and a league leading 9 RBI. |
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Pitcher of the Week:
Week #4 ending
7/8
The Pitcher of the Week
is an easy choice as North Adams’ right-hander Nick
McCully threw the third no-hitter (by one pitcher) in
NECBL history on July 2nd. The 18-year old McCully, from
Lakeland, Florida attends Coastal Carolina University. Nick
struck out 11 and faced the minimum 27 batters, inducing
double plays after each of two walks earning his first
no-hitter at any level, a 5-0 win over the Manchester
Silkworms. |
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Player of the Week: Week #3 ending 7/1
The
Player of the Week is Holyoke Giant Kody Hightower,
6’ 2” 190 pound Infielder out of South Wesleyan University.
Kody’s hometown is Lenoir, North Carolina. Kody capped the
week with a 5 game .500 batting average and led the league
with 11 hits and 4 doubles, while also knocking in 7 runs.
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Pitcher of the Week:
Week #3 ending
7/1
The Pitcher of the Week is Danbury Westerner,
Tom Davis, 6’ 2” 220 pound right hander from Fordham
University. He hails from Madison, Connecticut. Tom pitched
8 shutout innings, allowing just 3 hits while registering 7
strikeouts on route to an impressive victory against the
Torrington Twister on June 30th. |
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Co-Players of the
Week: Week #2 ending 6/24
Vermont's Curt Smith
(Maine/Willemstad, Curacao NE) was versatile on the field
(3B, 1B, OF, DH) and brilliant on offense helping the
Mountaineers to a 4-2 record for the week. Smith drove in 2
runs with a triple on June 19 vs. Sanford and beat the
Giants on June 20th with a lead-off, walk-off home run in
the 11th inning. For the week Curt had 8 hits, scored 5
runs, drove in 6 and had 2 home runs while batting .363. |
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Lowell All-American
catcher/DH Brendan Akashian (Holy Cross/Lowell, MA)
was at or near the top of most offensive categories for the
week. He led the league with 3 home runs, 10 RBI, 6 runs
scored and a .409 batting average (min 20 AB) earning him
Co-Player of the Week honors. |
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Pitcher of the Week:
Week #2 ending 6/24
Holyoke Giant Shawn
Gilblair (Eastern Connecticut State/Windham, CT) helped
the Giants rise to the top of the Northern Division
standings with a victory over the second place Lowell
All-Americans on June 21st. Shawn pitched 8 innings of 2-hit
ball allowing only 1 unearned run in the first. He walked
just 1 and struck out 8 of the 27 batters he faced. |
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Player of the Week: Week #1 ending
6/17The Player of the
Week is Manchester Silkworm Ryan Lavarnway, OF/C out of Yale
University. Ryan’s hometown is South Woodland Hills, California.
Ryan capped the week with a 10 game .459 batting average and led
the league with 17 hits and 5 doubles. The 6’ 4” 225 pounder had
a slugging percentage of .595 and an outstanding On Base
Percentage of .535. |
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Pitcher of the Week: Week #1 ending
6/17
The
Pitcher of the Week is Lowell All-American righty Steve Smith
from Ouachita Baptist University. He hails from Texarkana,
Arkansas. Steve pitched a complete game 2-hit shutout against
the Concord Quarry Dogs on June 16th. The 6 foot, 200 pound
Smith gave up back to back singles in the third and 2 walks but
struck out 10 Concord batters on route to an impressive victory.
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