BIDDEFORD, Maine – 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.
The recognition comes after standout showings by the rookies in the blue-and-gold's first full week of New England action, which included its league opener.
Both Painter and Reiser received the first weekly awards of their collegiate careers. They are also the first Suffolk baseball players to pick up weekly nods from the CCC. It marks the first time that a Ram was honored for their performance in a seven-day stretch since Michael Muscarella collected Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Pitcher of the Week March 9, 2020. The pair is the first two players to grab weekly awards in the same week since Charles Batchelder and Will Hopkins garnered GNAC pitcher and rookie of the week, respectively, March 26. 2018. Painter is a league's best weekly player since Brady Chant's GNAC selection April 23, 2018, while Reiser is the best rookie in a week's span since Steven Rossi earned the GNAC title March 12, 2019.
Painter was strong at the plate in the three-game stretch in which Suffolk went 2-1 with multiple hits in every game with five of his eight knocks going for extra bases. He batted .571/.571/1.214 with six RBI and five runs scored. The right-handed batter opened the action with a 4-for-5 day against Emerson, a 16-3 win. He was just a home run shy of the cycle in that Boston battle, however, he did help Suffolk make history as he contributed a pair of triples to the team's six total, a program record, and the most by a NCAA Division III team in 2022. He scored three times and drove in four against the Lions as well. In the CCC doubleheader at Curry, the Essex, Massachusetts, local went 4-for-9. In the night cap, he had one double, one homer, two runs scored and a pair of RBI.
Reiser, meanwhile, shoved Suffolk to victory in game two against the Colonels. In his second start in a Rams jersey, he went 7.0 innings, allowed just five hits and struck out five batters. He allowed two runs to Curry, but only one was earned. The performance by the right-handed hurler was plenty to lead the Rams to an 8-2 victory.
Suffolk is set to get back in action with three games over the next three days. First a stop at Endicott Tuesday, March 29 precedes non-conference clashes at Babson (March 30) and Johnson & Wales (March 31).