Three Games Over Three Days in Store for Baseball

BOSTON – Winners of four straight games, the Suffolk baseball team will travel around the Bay State over the next three days for a trio of non-conference games. The Rams will traveling Western New England, Bridgewater State and Curry. Action gets underway Tuesday, March 29 at Western New England with the Rams visiting the Bears and Colonels the following two days.  All three contests are scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. first pitch. 

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LAST TIME OUT
The Suffolk baseball team took both ends of its doubleheader at Rhode Island College on Saturday, as the Rams defeated the Anchromen consecutively, 5-2 and 13-0 at Anchromen Field.

Once again, Suffolk received solid efforts from its staff on the hill, with both starters Chuck Gibson and Kevin Sinatra picking up victories on the day. In the first game, Gibson was electric, tossing a complete seven innings of two-hit ball, giving up just two runs, while walking two and striking out six. Sinatra earned the shutout, the Rams' first of the season and the first of the freshman's career. The East Boston, Massachusetts product tossed complete two-hit game with two walks and four punch outs.

Offensively, Suffolk continued its outpouring of hits in the series, combining for 23 on Saturday – 11 in game one, 12 in game two. Kevin Belskie (3-for-4, 2R, 1RBI), Sean Cameron (2-for-5, 2R, 1RBI), Drew Carter (3-for-6, 1R, 3RBI), Brady Chant (3-for-8), Jake Frasca (4-for-6, 3R, 3RBI), Jon Lapolla (2-for-8, 3R), Rob Marks (2-for-6, 2R, 2RBI) and Julien Plana (2-for-3, 1R, 1RBI) all found success at the plate; each Ram enjoyed multi-hit outings.

MORE READING: Baseball Enjoys Saturday Doubleheader Sweep at RIC

RUN DOWN ON THE RAMS
Suffolk is one win away from matching its season-high win streak of five games as the Rams have put together four victories since they have arrived back in New England. Off to an 11-3 start, its best since opening 2013 12-2, Suffolk preps for conference play with three games over three days.

Suffolk is batting .351 as a team, led by junior first baseman Kevin Belskie's .500 average. Jon Lapolla (.379/.387/.517) owns the team lead in the RBI race, driving in 17 this season, with Drew Carter (.408/.491/.531) and Brady Chant (.383, .441/.600) closely behind bringing in 14 runs each. Jake Frasca, who is hitting .440 this season, has the team lead in doubles through 14 games with seven, while also boasts seven extra-bases hits with two doubles, a team-best four triples and a solo homer.  

On the hill, a platoon of hurlers have helped out the Rams' cause. Together the Suffolk staff owns a 3.08 ERA and a combined 86 strikeouts. Worth Walrod has a stellar 1.35 ERA in 20.0 innings over three appearances, starts and wins this season, while Chuck Gibson owns a 1.80 ERA with a 2-0 record and a team-best 20 strikeouts. 

HERO OF THE WEEK
Jon Lapolla was named a nominee for Herosports.com DIII Baseball Offensive HERO Of the Week thanks to his performance ina  7-3 victory over UMass Boston on St. Patrick's Day. The nomination comes on the heels of Lapollla's 3-for-3 perforamnce against the Beacons as the senior was just a single short of the cycle with the captain hitting a double, triple and homer to his credit to go along with four RBIs. There is still time to vote for Lapolls and you can do so here.  

TEN HITS AND COUNTING
The Rams extended their double-digit hit streak to seven consecutive games last weekend after dropping 10 or more hits in each of their games at Rhode Island. Suffolk ripped 23 hits – 11 in game one, 12 in game two – versus the Anchormen and exploded for 19 against Ripon in seven innings to open the streak. Suffolk is averaging 12.1 hits per game, the most in the GNAC, this season and has notched 10 or more hits in 11 of its 14 games including a season best 23 in an 18-4 win against Clarkson March 13.

IMPROVING THIEVES
Last season Suffolk stole 54 bases all year, but in just its first 14 games this season, the Rams have successfully stolen 33 bags, the most in the GNAC and have been caught in the act just six times. On the flip side, Suffolk opponents have just 14 steals in 16 attempts.

Jon Lapolla's team-best eight steals are good for third amongst GNAC players with Brady Chant's six coming in fourth in the conference. Seth Coiley and Rob Marks are also in the league's top ten stealers, grabbing four each to tie for seventh.

THE .300 CLUB
It's early yet in the season, just 14 games into the new campaign, but seven Rams' batters are swinging the bat well, hitting .333 or better in 10 dish appearances: Kevin Belskie (.500), Drew Carter (.408), Brady Chant (.383), Seth Coiley (.333),  Jake Frasca (.440), Jon Lapolla (.379), Rob Marks (.378) and Julien Plana (.462).

WEEKLY HONORS
For the past three weeks a Suffolk baseball player has been recognized for their efforts by the GNAC with the Rams earning 41.6 percent (5-for-12) of the conference's weekly awards so far this season. Worth Walrod's two pitcher of the week accolades lead the way with Jon Lapolla earning a player of the week nod March 21. Jake Frasca and Kevin Sinatra each picked up their first weekly award of their collegiate careers with Frasca being named the best rookie over a seven day stretch and Sinatra being tabbed the best hurler March 28.

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. 

GET TO KNOW THE #21 GOLDEN BEARS
Western New England enters Tuesday's game against Suffolk ranked No. 21 in the D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) top-25 poll.  The Golden Bears opened the season 8-0, but has since been served a wake-up call, losing three of its last four. WNEC fell to Brandeis (7-4) and was swept by Plymouth State in a doubleheader (2-1, 4-2).

Eduardo Colmenares holds the bat for the Golden Bears through 12 games, hitting .447 with six extra-base hits and 17 RBI. Pitcher David Cherry threw a team leading 22 strikeouts in 19.0 innings of work, while infielder Daniel Morin (.412) currently leads in the team in RBIs 22.

BREAKING DOWN THE BEARS
Bridgewater (6-7) has won six games this season. After splitting a contest at Rhode Island (W, 5-2/L, 5-0) last Saturday, the Bears have fallen in back-to-back outings, at Gordon (6-0) and Wheaton (3-2) to bring a three-game skid into action this week.  The lineup, which is hitting .277 as a team, is producing 4.4 runs per game, but the pitching staff owns a 5.08 earned-run average. Ryan Feeney leads the team with a .469 batting average and is the top slugger on the squad with a team-leading five extra-bases hits to go along with four RBI and 10 runs.  Brandon Hoyle is at .414 with four RBI and five runs and Reed Pike hits .404 and has a team-best RBI of eight. 

CATCH UP ON THE COLONELS
Curry enters this week with a 5-8 overall record having defeated UMass Dartmouth 11-7 Saturday. Junior Alex McLean paces the team with a .342 batting average, while senior Philip Perez leads the way with RBI (9) with sophomore William De la cruz coming in at a close second with six. On the hill, 11 different arms have combined for a team ERA of 4.87. First-year Matt Fogarty has seen the most action, twirling 17.0 innings, allowing 18 hits, 11 runs and striking out 20.

COMING UP
With just one day off, Suffolk is set to open conference play Saturday, April 2 at Lasell. The Rams and Lasers' doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. with the second game slated for a 5 p.m. start.