summer ball roundup - Baseball The Magazine

SUMMER BALL ROUNDUP
By Bill Ballew
Atlantic Collegiate League
With stellar pitching, sound defense and a five-run
seventh-inning outburst, the Staten Island Tide
claimed the 2011 Atlantic Collegiate Baseball
League championship with a 7-1 triumph over the
Westhampton Aviators, the champion of the
Hampton Division. Staten Island had endured a difficult test in the Kaiser Division championship series
while holding off the New York Atlantics in three
games with a 4-3 victory in the finale. The Tide compiled a 21-14 record during the regular season, good
for the second-best mark, behind Jersey, in the 11team field. Kevin Heller (Amherst) of the
Westhampton Aviators was named the Santy
Gallone Most Valuable Player and won the slugging
award after posting a .645 average while hitting at a
.319 clip. The senior outfielder also topped the ACBL
in home runs (11), runs scored (31) and total bases
(91). Alex Maruri (Delaware) of the New York
Staten Island Tide
Atlantics won the hitting award with a .410 average
and led the ACBL with a .490 on-base percentage.
ner infielder doubled in his final at-bat of the season to finish with a .414
Rob Corsi (Rutgers) of the Jersey Pilots received the Darrin
batting average. Barry demolished the league record for hits in a seaWinston Most Valuable Pitcher Award. The junior lefthander
son with 67 and broke the record for RBI in a season with 43. Bowman
topped the ACBL in strikeouts with 56 and tied for the league
pitched at least seven innings in seven of his eight regular-season
lead in wins with five while posting a 1.54 ERA. Brandon Kuter
starts, en route to a 5-2 record. He allowed a combined two runs in his
(George Mason) of the Westhampton Aviators was selected as
two losses, only one of which was earned, and posted a 0.82 ERA for
the outstanding reliever after posting 10 saves in 21 appearthe season. Bowman logged two seven-inning shutouts along the way.
ances. He allowed only one run in 22.1 innings for a 0.40 ERA.
All-CRCBL Team: Hunter Renfroe, c, (Mississippi State), Bethesda; Bill
The 6-foot-7 righthander whiffed 36 and earned the save in the
Gerstenslager, 1b, (Mercyhurst), Silver Spring-Takoma; Cory Jensen,
ACBL All-Star Game. Robert Bernardo (Queens) of the Jersey
2b, (Florida Southern), Baltimore; Adam Barry, 3b, (Cal State
Pilots and Matt Carroll (San Jose State) of the North Fork
Northridge), Bethesda; Alex Frederick, ss, (Armstrong Atlantic),
Ospreys were named co-MVPs for the ACBL All-Star Game.
Baltimore; Jacob Morley, of, (VMI), Vienna; Sean Godfrey, of, (Ball
Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League
State), Southern Maryland; Cole McInturff, of, (James Madison), Vienna;
The Bethesda Big Train’s Adam Barry (Cal State Northridge)
Brian Eggleston, of, (Stetson), Herndon; Mike Mandarino, dh,
and Matt Bowman (Princeton) were named the Cal Ripken
(Cumberland), Southern Maryland; Angel Ibanez, util, (Texas-Pan
Collegiate Baseball League Most Valuable Player and Most
American), Rockville; Matt Bowman, sp, (Princeton), Bethesda; Kelly
Outstanding Pitcher, respectively, for the 2011 season. The
Secrest, sp, (UNC Wilmington), Bethesda; John-Austin Shepard, rp,
season awards, along with the All-League Team, were voted
(Tusculum); Southern Maryland; Mike Aldrete, rp, (San Jose State),
on by the Ripken League coaches. Barry posted record-setting
Bethesda.
numbers at the plate in helping the Big Train establish the franCalifornia Collegiate League
chise mark with 33 regular-season wins and its third straight
Kris Kaplan drove a first pitch fastball into left field with the bases
Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League championship. The corloaded in the top of the ninth inning to give Team Vegas a 4-2 lead over
the Santa Barbara Foresters, marking the first
time in nine years the Foresters cannot claim
sole ownership of the league title. By virtue of
Vegas taking two of three games versus the
Foresters during the final weekend of the season, the San Luis Obispo Blues matched
records with Santa Barbara and, for the first
time in their history, can claim a league championship.
CCL All-Star Team: Jo Jo Sharrar, c, (Utah),
SLO Blues; James Wharton, 1b, (Cal State
Los Angeles), SB Foresters; Zac Elgie, 1b,
(Kansas) SLO Blues; Michael Ratterree, 2b,
(Rice), SB Foresters; Derek Legg, 3b, (Cal
State Fullerton), SB Foresters; Nick Boggan,
3b, (Cal Lutheran), Conejo; Scott Heineman,
util, (Oregon), Conejo; Adam Frazier, ss,
(Mississippi State), SLO Blue; Shane Kroker,
Bethesda Big Train
Page 52 • Baseball The Magazine • Issue 4 2011
ss, (Chico State), SB Foresters; Wynton Bernard, of,
(Niagara), Orange County; Aaron Brown, of,
(Pepperdine), Glendale; Jeff McVaney, of, (Texas State),
SB Foresters; Greg Zebrack, of, (Penn), Orange County;
Greg Bird, util, (Arkansas), Team Vegas; Chipper Smith,
sp, (Cumberland), Team Vegas; J.C. Aguayo, sp, (Conejo),
Azusa Pacific; Austin Kubitz, sp, (Rice), SB Foresters;
Mitchell Mormann, sp, (Wichita State), SB Foresters;
Patrick Smith, sp, (Cal Baptist), Academy Barons; Travis
Huber, sp, (Nebraska), SLO Blues; Kyle Martin, rp, (Texas
A&M), SLO Blues; T.J. McGreevy, rp, (Wichita State), SB
Foresters; Kyle DeMartino, rp, (Dixie State), Texas Vegas.
Cape Cod League
The Harwich Mariners edged the Falmouth Commodores,
7-5, to sweep the Cape Cod Baseball League
Championship Series and take home the Arnold Mycock
Championship Trophy for the second time in four years.
The CCBL recognized Travis Jankowski (Stony Brook) of
Bourne, who hit .329 with 22 RBI for the Braves, as its
most valuable player. Top Pro Prospect Award winner Victor
Roache (Georgia Southern) of Cotuit was also named to
the All-League team after he batted .316 with six homers
and 28 RBI, while sportsmanship winner Patrick Cantwell
Gastonia Grizzlies
Coastal Plain League
Gastonia’s Michael Heesch was named the 2011 CPL Defensive Player of
the Year after the junior from the University of South Carolina Beaufort led
the Grizzlies to their first-ever CPL Petitt Cup championship. Heesch finished the summer with an overall ERA of 2.08, a league-best 9-0 record
and 79 strikeouts. Chase McDonald of the Morehead City
Marlins received CPL Offensive Player of the Year honors.
A freshman from East Carolina, McDonald was an offensive machine while leading the league in batting average
(.403), RBI (51), slugging percentage (.663) and on-base
percentage (.469). McDonald was second in the league in
home runs (13) and total bases (120), while his 73 hits
ranked third in the CPL. He also had eight doubles,
scored 36 runs and walked 22 times.
Florida Collegiate Summer League
The Sanford River Rats defeated the Winter Park
Diamond Dawgs, 7-5, to become the 2011 FCSL
Champions at Tropicana Field. Fifteen days earlier, the
River Rats had fallen to last place after a loss to the
Winter Haven Loggerheads. Sanford then proceeded to
go 9-4 in the rest of the way to achieve a feat that
appeared to be difficult at best. Winter Park’s Ted
Blackman (Coastal Carolina) was named the FCSL Most
photo by Bob Prew
Harwich Mariners
Valuable Player while breaking five single-season records.
He batted at a .425 clip in 33 games and finished the
season with 38 runs, 45 hits, 10 doubles, three home runs, and a league(Stony Brook) of Bourne was also selected after hitting
leading 28 stolen bases. Teammate Ben Brown (Tampa) was named the
.277 with eight RBI. The CCBL Top Pitcher Award went to
loop’s top pitcher, appearing in eight games and starting six while also makRyan Eades (LSU), who was 3-0 with a 0.84 earned run
ing an appearance in the All-Star Game and tossing in two contests during
average, and Trevor Gott (Kentucky) of Orleans, who compiled a 1.29 ERA with 12 saves, was tabbed the loop’s premier reliever.
CCBL All-League Team: Dane Phillips, c, (Oklahoma State),
Chatham; Patrick Cantwell, c, (Stony Brook), Bourne;
Stephen Piscotty, 1b, (Stanford), YD; Tommy Coyle, 2b,
(North Carolina), Bourne; Logan Vick, 3b, (Baylor), Cotuit;
Matt Duffy, ss, (Long Beach State), Orleans; Richie Shaffer,
util, (Clemson), Chatham; Robert Refnsyder, util, (Arizona),
Wareham; Travis Jankowski, of, (Stony Brook), Bourne;
James Ramsey, of, (Florida State), YD; Jeremy Baltz, of,
(St. John’s), Falmouth; Jason Monda, of, (Washington
State), Brewster; Victor Roache, dh, (Georgia Southern),
Cotuit; Daniel Palka, dh, (Georgia Tech), Wareham; Joe
Bircher, p, (Bradley), Falmouth; Anthony Bucciferro, p,
(Michigan State), Brewster; Carter Capps, p, (Mount Olive),
Harwich; Ryan Eades, p, (LSU), Bourne; Dietrich Enns, p,
(Central Michigan), Hyannis Harbor; Scott Firth, p,
(Clemson), Hyannis Harbor; Trevor Gott, p, (Kentucky),
Orleans; Chris Overman, p, (N.C. State), Harwich; John
Simms, p, (Rice), Falmouth; Nick Wittgren, p, (Purdue),
Hyannis Harbor.
Sanford River Rats
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SUMMER BALL ROUNDUP
the playoffs. He posted a team-best 1.35 ERA, which tied for second in the
Florida League, while going 4-1. The most outstanding pro prospect was
Garrett Nuss (Central Florida); Stephen Bellantoni (USC-Aiken) won the batting championship; and Ethan Bader (Lake Sumter CC) was the league strikeout leader and most outstanding reliever.
Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League
Lefthander Adam Clark threw 4.2 innings of no-hit shutout relief to lift the
Lima Locos to a 2-1 victory and a two-game sweep over Southern Ohio in the
series championship of the Great Lakes Collegiate League at Bob Wren
Lima Locos
Stadium. The triumph marked the Locos’ third league title.
Alex Radon (Toledo) of Lake Erie was named the loop’s
pitcher of the year, while Licking County outfielder Alex
Johnson (Miami University) was tabbed the top position
prospect. Stark County’s Mark Lapikas (Toledo) received
the Gary Henschen Player of the Year award.
All-GLSCL First Team: Wes Meadows, c, (Otterbein), Licking
County; Mark Lapikas, 1b, (Toledo), Stark County; Caleb
Palensky, 2b, (Nebraska-Omaha), Xenia; Mike August, 3b,
(Millersville), Southern Ohio; Dustin Dunlop, ss, (Eastern
Kentucky), Lima; Alex Johnson, of, (Miami University),
Licking County; Tyler Grogg, of, (Toledo), Southern Ohio;
Jake Proctor, of, (Cincinnati), Cincinnati; J.T. Riddle, util,
(Kentucky), Lexington; Andy Chriscaden, dh, (Kennesaw
Oneonta
State), Lima; Aaron Hilt, p, (Ashland), Southern Ohio;
Chuck Ghysels, p, (Maryland), Hamilton; Alex Radon, p,
(Toledo), Lake Erie; Tyler Vaske, p, (Denison), Licking County; Zach Botjer, p,
(Ashland), Southern Ohio; Adam Clark, rp, (Eastern Illinois), Lima.
New England Collegiate Baseball League
The Keene Swamp Bats won the New England Collegiate Baseball League
title with the help of Jeff Thompson, who was named the Top Pro Prospect on
Keene Swamp Bats
Page 54 • Baseball The Magazine • Issue 4 2011
the circuit. Holyoke had two players receive year-end
honors, with Ron Freeman garnering the Sportsmanship
Award and Ben Mount taking the Robin Roberts Award
as the circuit’s top pitcher. Laconia’s Chris Costantino
received the Rick Ligi Most Valuable Player award, while
Andrew Gamer of Danbury won the league batting title.
Billy Bereszniewicz of Old Orchard Beach was named
the Christopher Ashmos 10th Player Award; Alex
Chittenden of Keene was the Defensive Player of the
Year; Trey Mancini of Holyoke was tabbed Rookie of the
Year; and Dario Pizzano of North Shore garnered Most
Improved Player honors.
All-NECBL First Team: Ron Freeman, c, Holyoke; Tim
Kiene, 1b, Newport; Brett Mollenhauer, 2b, Sanford; Alex
Chittenden, ss, Keene; Brett Doran, 3b, Mystic; Dario
Pizzano, of, North Shore; Tyler Horan, of, Danbury;
Andrew Gamer, of, Danbury; Dave Ciocchi, dh, Danbury;
Ben Mount, p, Holyoke; Jacob Lee, p, Newport; Jeff
Thompson, p, Keene; Kyle Grana, rp, Vermont.
New York Collegiate Baseball League
Webster’s Chris Bostick, who was headed to St. John’s
prior to signing late in the summer with the Oakland A’s,
was named the NYCBL Most Valuable Player. Bostick
led the league for nearly the entire season in batting
average, finishing with a .413 norm. He added 17 extrabase hits, including five home runs, and drove in 32
Outlaws
runs. One of the fastest players in the league, he also
swiped 18 bases. Other year-end award winners include
Pitcher of the Year Jacob Petitt of Utica and Webster’s
Dave Brust, who was tabbed the NYCBL Coach of the
Year. The Oneonta Outlaws won the NYCBL championship, with Chase Compton earning offensive MVP
honors and Bryan Galligan garnering defensive MVP
accolades.
All-NYCBL First Team: Derek Sprout, c, (Bradley),
Allegany County; Brendan Consantino, inf, (Seton Hill),
Sherrill; Chris Bostick, inf, (Aquinas), Webster; Caros
Asuaje, inf, (Nova Southeastern), Oneonta; John Howell,
inf, (Binghamton), Oneonta; Chase Compton, inf,
(Louisiana Lafayette), Oneonta; Scott Krutel, inf,
(Missouri Baptist), Utica; Leon Stimpson, of, (Alvernia),
Geneva; Dan Scahill, of, (Buffalo), Rome; Ben Bostick,
of, (St. John Fisher), Webster; Chase Presley, dh,
(Harding), Hornell; Matt Chavez, util, (San Francisco),
Oneonta; Jacob Petitt, sp, (Warner Southern), Utica; Joe
Greenfield, sp, (Eastern Illinois), Webster; Scott
Weathersby, sp, (Mississippi), Oneonta; Tyler Mann, sp,
(Alfred State CC), Rome; Jeff Croteau, sp, (Bentley),
Geneva; Kevin Johnson, rp, (Monroe CC), Webster;
Kenny Frosch, rp, (Palm Beach Atlantic), Rome; Tyler
Brunneman, rp, (Harden-Simmons), Rome.
Northwoods League
The Battle Creek Bombers won the league crown by
sweeping through the Divisional Series and the
Summer Collegiate World Series while winning their
final 11 games of the summer, which culminated with a
13-0 blowout victory at home against the Mankato
MoonDogs at C.O. Brown Stadium in front of 1,202
fans. Mankato outfielder Shaun Cooper was named the
Northwoods League MVP while fellow MoonDog righthanded pitcher Blake Schwartz was named Pitcher of
the Year. Cooper flirted with the Triple Crown by leading the NWL in home runs and RBI. Schwartz
(Minnesota State-Mankato), in his second summer with
the MoonDogs, led the NWL in ERA and strikeouts
and was the starting and winning pitcher for the North
Acadiana Cane Cutters
Division in the NWL All-Star Game.
NWL All-Star Team: Chris Manship, c, (Kansas), Duluth;
Collegiate League titles, the Gems have won five championships
Andrew Knapp, c, (California), La Crosse; Nate Theunissen, 1b,
in franchise history since 1996.
Battle Creek Bombers
(Central Michigan), Madison; Johnny Coy, 1b, (Wichita State),
Rochester; Brett Wiley, 2b, (Evansville); Battle Creek; Cullen
Mahoney, 2b, (South Mountain CC), Thunder Bay; Dan Olinger, 3b,
(Minnesota), Brainerd Lakes Area; Cameron Perkins, 3b, (Purdue),
Waterloo; Ty Forney, ss, (New Mexico State), Eau Claire; Jason
Leblebijian, ss, (Bradley), Wilmar; Daniel Rockett, of, (Texas-San
Antonio), Battle Creek; Steven Brault, of, (Regis), Brainerd Lakes
Area; Billy Moon, of, (Gonzaga), Green Bay; Shaun Cooper, of,
(Utah), Mankato; Carlos Lopez, of, (Cal State Fullerton), St.
Cloud; Danny Susdorf, of, (California San Diego), Wisconsin;
Eduardo Gonzalez, dh, (Alcorn State), Willmar; Carlos Escobar,
dh, (Nevada-Reno), Wisconsin; Anthony Bazzani, rhp, (Eastern
Kentucky); Alexandria; Jason Forjet, rhp, (Florida Gulf Coast),
Brainerd Lakes Area; Joey Novak, rhp, (Harvard), Duluth; Andy
Hunter, rhp, (Gonzaga), Green Bay; Tim Giel, rhp, (Columbia),
Green Bay; Adam Cimber, rhp, (Washington), Green Bay; Dan
Child, rhp, (Oregon State), La Crosse; Rusty Shellhorn, lhp,
(Texas Tech), Madison; Blake Schwartz, rhp, (Minnesota StateMankato), Mankato; Patrick Goelz, rhp, (Bethune Cookman),
Mankato; Michael Fagan, lhp, (Princeton), St. Cloud; Mike
Wisecarver, lhp, (Nicholls State), Waterloo.
Prospect League
The Quincy Gems rode the arms of starting pitcher Taylor
Robson and reliever Josh Janway, who combined on a two-hit
shutout to lead the Gems to a 5-0 victory over the West Virginia
Miners in Prospect League Championship Game at QU-Stadium.
The triumph gave Quincy its second Prospect League title in
three years. Coupled with the Gems’ three Central Illinois
Texas Collegiate League
Outfielder Taylor Dugas highlighted the Acadiana Cane Cutters’
inaugural season by earning the TCL Player of the Year award.
Dugan finished second in the league with a .336 batting average
and led the circuit with a .475 on-base percentage. The two-time
All-SEC performer from Alabama was also second in the TCL
with 28 steals in just 40 games, and he walked 34 times while
striking out on only nine occasions. Brazos Valley Bombers lefty
Damian Rivera was tabbed the TCL Pitcher of the Year. Rivera
was a perfect 7-0 with a 2.01 ERA, tying for the league lead in
wins and finishing a shade behind teammate Alec Mills for the
ERA crown. The Saint Louis University freshman won consecutive TCL Pitcher of the Week awards late in the season, kicking
off a streak of four straight weekly honors for a Bombers staff
that helped lead Brazos Valley into the postseason. Hunter
Dozier and Ben Taylor, both of East Texas, were named the
Freshman and Coach of the Year, respectively.
All-TCL Team: Joe Andrade, c, Coppell; Grant Dozar, c, Acadiana;
Terry Porras, 1b, Brazos Valley; Freddy Villalobos, 2b, Victoria;
Hunter Dozier, 3b, East Texas; Nick Smelser, ss, Coppell; Taylor
Dugas, of, Acadiana; Seth Granger, of, East Texas; Chad Kruse,
of, Victoria; Tyler Migl, dh, Coppell; Jaden Dillon, rhp, East Texas;
Damian Rivera, lhp, Brazos Valley; Jason Jester, rp, East Texas;
Garrett Shepperd, rp, Brazos Valley.
Quincy Gems
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SUMMER BALL ROUNDUP
Valley League
The Covington Lumberjacks won the 2011 Valley Baseball League by
defeating the fourth, second and sixth seeds in the circuit’s three
rounds of playoffs. Strasburg first baseman Brad Zebedis was named
the Valley League MVP after leading the loop with a .420 average for
the first-year Express. Zebedis was first in hits, doubles, total bases
and OBP, second in slugging percentage and tied for third with 36
RBI. Aaron Luchterhand was tabbed the VBL Most Valuable Pitcher
after he helped Harrisonburg post the league’s best regular-season
record. Luchterhand, from Arkansas Tech, had a league-best 1.60
ERA, held opponents to a .168 batting average, and threw a leaguehigh 73.0 innings. He was 4-1 with 48 strikeouts against 18 walks.
West Coast League
The Corvallis Knights won the West Coast League championship by
sweeping the Walla Walla Sweets. The Knights won their second WCL
championship in the league’s seven-year history while making their
fourth appearance in the title series. Alex Stanford of Walla Walla was
named the WCL Most Valuable Player. The senior second baseman
Corvallis Knights
Page 56 • Baseball The Magazine • Issue 4 2011
Courtesy of Haymarket Joe Photography
Covington Lumberjacks
finished second in the league in hitting with a .340 average
while setting the circuit’s single-season mark with 66 hits.
Stanford smashed two home runs, drove in 11 runs, and stole
15 bases. Righthander Owen Jones of Wenatchee earned WCL
Pitcher of the Year honors. Jones, a senior at the University of
Portland, set a league record for wins by going 7-1 with a 2.00
ERA while striking out 78 batters over 77 innings pitched.
All-WCL First Team: Corey Davis, c, (Wright State), Corvallis;
Brock Gates, 1b, (Pacific Lutheran), Wenatchee; Alex Stanford,
2b, (Gonzaga), Walla Walla; Adam Nelubowich, 3b (Washington
State), Wenatchee; Trent Oleszczuk, ss, (Seattle), Corvallis;
Payden Cawley-Lamb, of, (Gonzaga), Wenatchee; Breland
Almadova, of, (Hawaii), Wenatchee; Kyle Garlick, of (Oregon),
Cowlitz; Michael Benjamin, util, (Arizona State), Bend Elks;
Adrian Sampson, p, (Bellevue College), Bellingham; Alex
Phillips, p, (Kentucky), Wenatchee; Owen Jones, p, (Portland),
Wenatchee; Daniel Chavez, p, (College of San Mateo), Bend
Elks; Jeff Gold, p, (Oregon), Cowlitz; Mark Trentacosta, rp, (UC
Irvine), Corvallis.