CAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Alex Iadisernia | OF | Elon

So. - Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial

Iadisernia batted .643 (9-14) with four doubles, a triple and six RBI’s in Elon’s 2-2 week. The outfielder, who had multiple hits and drove in at least one run in each contest, also walked four times and was hit by pitch twice for a .714 OB%. Iadisernia has reached base in 15 straight games and is tied for the CAA lead in RBI’s (31).

CAA CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Joey Silan | RHP | Delaware

Jr. - Newark, Del./Caravel Academy

Silan limited Towson to one hit over 6.0 shutout innings and struck out a season-high seven in Delaware’s 4-1 victory on Saturday. The right-hander gave up just a 2nd-inning single, retired the Tigers in order three times and had a strikeout in five of the six frames to earn his first win of the season and help UD sweep the series. 

CAA CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Shea Sprague | LHP | Elon

Fr. - Hanover, Mass./Boston College HS

Sprague went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA over 9.0 innings in a pair of starts last week. The left-hander held High Point to one hit and struck out two over 3.0 frames as part of a 7-0 shutout win last Tuesday. In a 10-2 triumph at JMU on Sunday, he gave up three hits over 6.0 scoreless innings and struck out a season-high six.

CAA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

John Newton | DH/OF | UNCW

Fr. - Waxhaw, N.C./Cuthbertson

Newton batted .455 (5-11) with three homers, a double, six runs scored and seven RBI’s in UNCW’s 3-1 week. The freshman was 3-for-3 and went deep twice in a victory over VMI last Friday and became the first Seahawk to drive in six runs in a game since 2016. Newton scored a run in all four contests and also drew four walks, finishing the week with a .625 OB%.

CONFERENCE NOTES:

FIVE TEAMS TIED FOR FIRST PLACE: It’s very early, but the CAA baseball race is setting up to be extremely competitive. Five of the league’s nine teams - Charleston, Delaware, Hofstra, James Madison and William & Mary - are tied for first place at 4-2. The Cougars and Blue Hens are the only teams to record a series sweep over the first two weekends. Road teams are 12-12 in CAA play thus far.

CONFERENCE ACTION RESUMES ON FRIDAY: Conference play resumes on Friday, highlighted by a first-place battle between Charleston and James Madison. Hofstra travels to UNCW, William & Mary hosts Towson and Elon heads to Northeastern. Delaware steps out of conference to face Saint Peter’s this weekend in a three-game series.

JMU RETIRES BABCOCK’S NO. 16: JMU retired the No. 16 of former head coach Brad Babcock last Saturday. Babcock guided the Dukes to the College World Series in 1983 and finished his career with a school-record 558 wins over 19 seasons. 

NORTHEASTERN PICKED TO REPEAT AS CAA CHAMPIONS: Northeastern, which won a pair of 10-inning thrillers to capture its first CAA baseball title in 2021, has been picked to repeat as the conference champion this season. The Huskies received six first-place votes and 62 total points in a vote of the league’s head coaches to edge out perennial power UNCW, which got three first-place votes and 59 points. Charleston (48 points) and Elon (43) took the next two spots, followed by James Madison (30), William & Mary (27), Towson (24), Delaware (18) and Hofstra (13). 

UNCW’S BALDWIN, NU’S SCHLITTLER TOP PRESEASON ALL-CAA TEAM: UNCW infielder/outfielder Brooks Baldwin and Northeastern pitcher Cam Schlittler were chosen as the CAA Preseason Players of the Year by the league’s head coaches. Baldwin batted .325 with 15 homers and 45 RBI’s in 2021, while Schlittler was 8-1 with a CAA-best 1.88 ERA and struck out 85 over 76.2 innings. Northeastern and Elon each placed five players on the preseason All-CAA team, while Charleston and UNCW each had three.

CHARLESTON (16-12, 4-2 CAA): The Cougars had a 1-3 week, including a pair of losses at Hofstra. Charleston beat Hofstra, 4-0, in the middle game as Daniel Brooks and William Privette combined on a six-hit shutout. Brooks (2-2) scattered five hits and fanned six over 6.0 innings. Privette earned his fifth save after allowing one hit and striking out three in the final 3.0 frames. Privette is 1-0 with a 0.63 ERA and has 38 K’s in 28.2 innings. Donald Hansis hit a two-run homer in the opening game of the HU series and a solo shot in Game 2. Trotter Harlan was 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBI’s in the finale vs. HU. He leads the team with 21 runs scored. JT Marr hit his fourth homer on Friday and is batting .368.

DELAWARE (15-10, 4-2 CAA): The Blue Hens are on a five-game winning streak for the first time since 2019 after getting past Saint Joseph’s, 8-7, and sweeping a three-game series at Towson. Delaware’s pitching staff held Towson to four runs in three games, which was its fewest in a series since 2014. Joey Silan allowed just one hit over 6.0 innings in Saturday’s 4-1 triumph at TU, while Chris Ludman gave up four hits and no earned runs over 7.0 innings in Friday’s 4-1 victory. Zach Klapak improved to 4-0 after surrendering one hit and no runs over the final 5.2 innings on Sunday. Offensively, Bryce Greenly batted .500 (7-14) with four runs scored and two RBI’s. JJ Freeman smacked a go-ahead three-run homer in the 8th as the Hens erased a six-run deficit at Saint Joseph’s. 

ELON (14-13, 2-4 CAA): The Phoenix blanked High Point, 7-0, last Tuesday, but lost two-of-three at CAA foe James Madison. Lefty Shea Sprague went 2-0 for the week, giving up just four hits over 9.0 shutout innings, including six in the 10-2 triumph at JMU. Elon recorded double-digit hits in all three games at JMU and batted .321 as a team. Alex Iadisernia led the way, batting .643 (9-14) with four doubles, a triple and six RBI’s. He’s batting .370 for the year and has reached base in 15 straight games. Connor Coolahan was 3-for-6 and drove in a season-high three in Sunday’s win. Jake Nolan (2.0 IP, 1 H), Ben Sieracki (3.0 IP, 2 H) and Ben Simon (1.0 IP, 2 H) combined with Sprague on the shutout of HPU.

HOFSTRA (12-10, 4-2 CAA): The Pride is off to its best CAA start since 2012 after winning two-of-three from Charleston to cap a 2-2 week. Anthony D’Onofrio batted .333 and drove in four, including a game-tying two-run double in the series finale with CofC. Steve Harrington belted his second walk-off homer of the season in the 9th to give the Pride a 7-6 victory. Kevin Bruggeman batted .375 for the week and extended his hitting streak to 10. Nick Marrero went deep for the second straight weekend. Brad Carmarda tied his season-high with 7 K’s over 6.1 innings on Saturday. Michael O’Hanlon earned his second save in the opener vs. CofC and then picked up his first win in the series finale. 

JAMES MADISON (16-11, 4-2 CAA): The Dukes had a 3-1 week, including taking two-of-three from Elon. Chase DeLauter batted .400 (6-15) for the week with a double, homer, six runs scored and three RBI’s. He also drew six walks and tied a school record on Saturday with four stolen bases. Kyle Novak, who is tied for the CAA lead in RBI’s (31), has reached base in 24 straight games. Fenwick Trimble batted .313 and drove in eight last week, including a walk-off RBI double in the 11th to beat Longwood, 7-6. JMU has won its first two CAA series for the first time since 2016. Lliam Grubbs gave up just one hit and struck out four over 4.2 innings of scoreless relief last week.

UNCW (16-11, 1-2 CAA): The Seahawks lost 6-4 at #18 North Carolina, but came home to sweep a three-game series from VMI. UNCW exploded for 33 runs in the VMI series. Brooks Baldwin batted .438 (7-16) with four doubles, a homer and nine RBI’s, while Taber Mongero was 9-for-14 (.643) and scored six times vs. the Keydets. Matt Suggs smacked his 7th homer on Sunday and has driven in a run in eight straight games. John Newton homered twice and drove in six against VMI on Friday, which was the most RBI’s in a game since Gavin Stupienski in 2016. Zane Taylor fanned seven in 7.0 innings on Sunday and retired 13 in a row at one point. RJ Sales (3-1) hasn’t allowed an earned run over his last 18.2 innings. 

NORTHEASTERN (14-13-1, 1-5 CAA): The Huskies split four close games last week, edging Rhode Island (4-3) last Wednesday and holding off William & Mary, 3-2, on Sunday to take the series finale. Wyatt Scotti improved to 6-1 after giving up four hits and two runs whie fanning seven over 8.0 innings against the Tribe on Sunday. Thomas Balboni threw a scoreless ninth to pick up his fifth save and also struck out the side for a save at URI. Max Viera had a big two-run double in the win and batted a team-best .429 (6-14) for the week. Mike Sirota scored  a run in all three W&M games and also stole two bases. Nick Davis held W&M to two hits in 4.0 innings of shutout relief on Friday. 

TOWSON (8-20, 0-3 CAA): The Tigers fell in all four games last week, including three to Delaware over the weekend. Jack McLaughlin recorded a pair of two-hit games against the Hens. He has nine multi-hit games this season and tops the team with a .386 batting average. Danny Becerra has hit safely in five straight games, raising his average to .268. Elijah Dickerson hit his fourth triple on Sunday, which is tied for the CAA lead. The Tigers’ pitching staff only surrendered seven earned runs and had 22 strikeouts in the Delaware series, with the bullpen allowing one earned run over 12.0 innings. Nolan Bolt held UD to two hits over 4.2 scoreless frames last Friday.

WILLIAM & MARY (13-12, 4-2 CAA): The Tribe had a 2-2 week, bouncing back from a 4-2 loss to VCU by taking two-of-three at Northeastern. Matt Thomas went 6-for-11 (.545) with four RBI’s in the NU series. He had a two-run double in Friday’s 6-2 victory and then belted a game-winning solo homer in the 9th in a 4-3 triumph on Saturday. He’s tied for the CAA lead with 7 HR’s. David Hogarth’s 3-run homer - his first of the year - broke a 1-1 tie at NU on Friday. Ben Williamson returned to the lineup and had four hits in two games against the Huskies. Zach Tsakounis (5.1 IP, 1 R) and Carter Lovasz (3.2 IP, 1 R) combined on a 3-hitter on Friday at NU. Tsakounis is now 3-0 for the year with a 3.07 ERA.