BOSTON – In the midst of its 21st 20-win season, the Suffolk baseball team takes its talents to Babson Monday for a midday contest. These two Massachusetts teams will fittingly hit the diamond together on Patriots Day.
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LAST TIME OUT
The Suffolk baseball team knocked 21 hits and tallied 19 runs, while only allowing Norwich to score twice in back-to-back wins over the Cadets Sunday at Garrity field. The Rams shutout the host 10-0 in the opener and took the nightcap by a 9-2 score.
MORE READNG: Baseball Dominates Sunday Doubleheader at Norwich
RUN DOWN ON THE RAMS
Suffolk, who is 22-6 overall, has produced league (GNAC) leading numbers in every statistical category except two; runs (224), hits (312), home runs (14), RBI (197), stolen bases (71), batting average (.338), on-base percentage (.423) and slugging percentage (.463).
Drew Carter's team-best .419 batting average also leads the league, with the senior third baseman bringing in 21 runs and scoring 19 himself. Jon Lapolla is second on the team and fourth in the conference with a .391 batting average with the senior captain pacing the Rams' and GNAC in hits (42) to go along with 26 RBI and 27 runs. Freshman Jake Frasca's 28 RBI sits atop the team and conference with the freshman producing 36 hits, 13 for extra bases including 10 doubles.
Kevin Sinatra's 5-0 record is atop the GNAC for pitchers with the freshman southpaw owning wins in each of his starts this season. He has throw 31.0 innings, three complete games, two shutouts with 19 strikeouts to his credit and a conference best 1.45 ERA. Worth Walrod, also a southpaw, is 4-1 on the year with a 1.95 ERA, good for second amongst the conference. Kyle Turner and Chuck Gibson, who are one-two for the Rams' in strikeouts, are third and fifth in the GNAC with 36 and 31 Ks, respectively. Cal Carroll owns the single-season save record with the senior producing seven this season.
IMPROVING THIEVES
In 28 games this season the Rams have surpassed their total of 54 from a year ago, successfully stealing 71 bags, the most in the GNAC, and have been caught in the act 17 times. On the flip side, Suffolk opponents have just 28 steals in 34 attempts.
Individually, Brady Chant and Jon Lapolla have swiped 13 bags apiece, a number that ties for second in the GNAC.
THE .300 CLUB
Nine Suffolk batters are swinging the bat well, hitting .300 or better in 2.5 dish appearances per game: Kevin Belskie (.366), Sean Cameron (.325), Drew Carter (.419), Brady Chant (.372), Seth Coiley (.313) Jake Frasca (.346), Jon Lapolla (.391), Rob Marks (.345) and Julien Plana (.345).
As a team, the Rams are hitting .338, the best average in the league, and the 15th highest amongst all Division III programs.
The three top hitters for Suffolk – Drew Carter, Jon Lapolla and Brady Chant - rank amongst the GNAC's best bats. Carter is first (.419), Lapolla is fourth (.391) and Chant is ninth (.372).
TEN HITS AND COUNTING
The Rams have put together double-digit hits in 67.8 percent (19-28) of their games this season, including seven straight contests with double figure hits from March 16 through March 26. Suffolk is averaging 11.1 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).
| HITTING STREAKS ATTACHED | ||||||||
| PLAYER Matt Brenner Sean Cameron Drew Carter Brady Chant Alec Costanza Jon Lapolla Rob Marks Julie Plana Luke Ronchi Austin Stansbury |
GAMES 2 2 5 7 2 2 2 2 1 1 |
HITS DURING STREAK 3 2 9 12 2 4 4 2 2 1 |
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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.
BEAVER BASICS
Babson (15-11-1) snapped a three-game skid with a 6-2 victory over MIT to wrap up a three-game series Saturday.
Sophomore Adam Ayala is batting .373 with four extra-bases hits, 14 stolen bases and 21 runs scored. Classmate Mark Webber is hitting .354 with five homers, 21 walks and 22 RBI and Jack Halpin enters the day with a .353 average to go along with eight doubles, three home runs and 22 runs batted in.
Junior Graham Stack is 2-0 and has not allowed an earned run in 10 appearances out of the bullpen, while sophomore Matt Cueno has five saves this spring, leaving him just one short of tying the single-season program record.
COMING UP
Suffolk has another non-conference tune-up before a GNAC as the Rams entertain MIT Thursday afternoon in Eastie.