CAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Jac Croom | 3B | UNCW

So. - Wilmington, N.C./New Hanover

Croom batted .500 (8-16) with three homers, six runs scored and seven RBI’s in UNCW’s 3-1 week. The sophomore third baseman went deep twice and drove in three in a narrow 7-6 loss at NC State and was 6-for-12 with a homer and four RBI’s in a three-game sweep of Towson. Croom’s five HR’s this season are a career-high and he’s tied his career-high with 18 RBI’s.

CAA PITCHER OF THE WEEK

William Privette | RHP | Charleston

So. - Chapin, S.C./Chapin

Privette recorded a win and a save in two relief appearances to help Charleston secure a sweep of William & Mary in a first-place battle. The sophomore allowed just one hit and struck out four over 2.2 shutout innings to earn his CAA-best 7th save in Friday’s 7-2 victory and retired all six batters he faced and got the win as Charleston rallied for a 7-5 triumph on Sunday. He’s 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA for the year.

CAA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Ryan Dooley | IF | James Madison

Fr. - Reston, Va./South Lakes

Dooley batted .455 (5-11) with a double, two homers and four RBI’s as JMU split four games last week. The freshman infielder came up big in both victories over Northeastern. He was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI’s in Friday’s 8-3 triumph and went 3-for-4 and belted the first two homers of his career in Saturday’s 8-1 win. Dooley is batting .326 for the season.

CONFERENCE NOTES:

CHARLESTON TAKES OVER THE TOP SPOT: Charleston has opened a 2.5 game lead atop the CAA standings after sweeping William & Mary to improve to 10-2 in league play. UNCW swept Towson to vault into second place at 6-3, while Hofstra and W&M are tied for third at 7-5. The Cougars are at Elon this weekend, while the Seahawks head to Delaware.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: Home teams have been dominant in CAA play thus far, with the hosts posting a combined record of 32-16. Delaware (4-2) is the only team with a winning road record in conference action. 

CLOSE GAMES IN CAA PLAY: Eight of the 12 conference games played last weekend were decided by three runs or less. For the season, half of all league contests (24-of-48) have had margins of three runs or fewer.

CHARLESTON (22-13, 10-2 CAA): The Cougars moved into sole possession of first place in the CAA following a 3-game sweep of William & Mary. CofC picked up a 4-3 walk-off win on Saturday on a Cam Dean sac fly, and overcame a 4-0 deficit on Sunday to win, 7-5. Tanner McCallister hit a game-tying pinch hit homer and Trotter Harlan was 2-for-4 with a clutch RBI single in the 8th. JT Marr homered twice on Saturday and went 5-for-12 in the series to raise his average to .343. Closer William Privette threw 4.2 scoreless innings and earned a win and a save vs. W&M. He’s 3-0 with seven saves and a 0.93 ERA. Ty Good (5-3) gave up just an unearned run over 6.0 innings to pick up the victory on Friday.

DELAWARE (20-13, 5-4 CAA): The Blue Hens lost two-of-three at Hofstra as part of a 1-3 week on the road. Bryce Greenly batted .471 (8-17) and scored five times. He had at least two hits in three contests and raised his season average to .403. Joseph Carpenter homered two more times last week to up his season total to six and extended his hitting streak to eight games. Jake Dunion was 5-for-12 vs. Hofstra and scored three times. Dominic Ragazzo was 3-for-5 and scored three runs from the leadoff spot in a loss at St. Joseph’s. Joey Silan evened his record at 3-3 after limiting Hofstra to two runs over 6.0 innings and striking out seven. Delaware faces Villanova in the Liberty Bell Classic title game on Tuesday.

ELON (17-18, 3-6 CAA): The Phoenix went 2-2 last week, including a weekend series victory over UNC Asheville. Justin Cassella batted .375 vs. UNCA with two homers and five RBI’s, highlighted by a three-run shot that was the difference in Friday’s 6-3 triumph. Charlie Granatell went 5-for-9 and scored twice in the two wins over the Bulldogs. Alex Iadisernia had a hit in all three games vs. UNCA and is batting a team-best .339. Brian Edgington improved to 5-2 after giving up a run over 6.0 innings on Saturday. Kyle Greenler fanned six over the final three frames to earn his third save. Joe Savino allowed one run in 5.1 innings of work last week and picked up the win on Friday.

HOFSTRA (15-15, 7-5 CAA): The Pride posted its third CAA series win of the year after taking two-of-three from Delaware. Hofstra rallied for a 6-5 victory on Sunday after a walk-off RBI single by Kevin Bruggeman. It was Hofstra’s fourth walk-off win of the year. Jake Liberatore had a .529 on base percentage after tallying a hit in all four games and reaching base five other times via walks or HBP’s. Anthony D’Onofrio had a hit in all three games vs. UD and has reached base in 19 straight contests. Michael O’Hanlon allowed just one run over 5.2 innings in two relief outings and earned the win on Sunday. Brad Camarda reached the 100-strikeout plateau for his career. Steven Kaenzig tossed 4.0 scoreless frames on Saturday. 

JAMES MADISON (19-16, 6-6 CAA): The Dukes were edged 8-7 by nationally ranked Maryland, but recovered by taking a series from Northeastern for the first time since 2016. Travis Reifsnider batted .353 for the week, highlighted by a two-homer, three-RBI outing in Friday’s 8-3 win over NU. Freshman Ryan Dooley followed on Saturday with a pair of long balls in an 8-1 victory over the Huskies. He batted .455 for the week. Kyle Novak added a two-run shot on Saturday and extended his on-base streak to 32 games on Sunday. Justin Showalter held NU to one run over 7.0 innings and tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts on Friday. Liam O’Donnell improved to 5-0 after throwing 5.0 shutout frames on Saturday.

UNCW (21-13, 6-3 CAA): The Seahawks bounced back from a 7-6 setback at NC State by sweeping a three-game series from Towson. Jac Croom batted .500 (8-16) for the week with three homers and seven RBI’s. He went deep twice at NC State. John Newton smacked his sixth homer on Sunday and extended his hitting streak to six games. Chris Thorburn returned to the starting lineup and hit .400 (6-15) with five runs scored and four RBI’s. Ethan Baucom had hits in all four games last week and homered twice. Cyle Phelan tossed 4.0 shutout innings vs. Towson on Saturday, lowering his ERA to 1.73. Jason Hudak worked 2.1 scoreless frames to earn the win on Friday. Hunter Hodges recorded two saves vs. TU.

NORTHEASTERN (18-17-1, 4-8 CAA): The Huskies split four road games, defeating Harvard, 10-6, in the Beanpot Tournament before going 1-2 at JMU over the weekend. Spenser Smith batted .375 for the week, including a 3-for-5 outing at Harvard and a go-ahead 2-run homer in Sunday’s 4-1 victory at JMU. Luke Beckstein smacked a three-run homer at Harvard and finished with a career-high six RBI’s. Freshman Mike Sirota batted .313 for the week and had a hit in all four games. Cam Schlittler held JMU to one run on five hits over 6.2 innings on Sunday and fanned a career-high 12 batters in Sunday’s win. Jordy Allard tossed 4.0 scoreless innings of relief against the Dukes on Saturday. 

TOWSON (9-26, 0-9 CAA): The Tigers dropped all three games in their CAA series at UNCW. Elijah Dickerson batted .400 (6-15) vs. the Seahawks with a pair of homers and four RBI’s. Burke Camper went 3-for-5 on Saturday, which was his second 3-hit game of the year. Jack McLaughlin increased his hitting streak to five and is batting a team-best .357 for the year. James Moses belted a solo homer on Sunday. Jake Pecilunas allowed just one hit over 3.2 shutout innings in two relief appearances. Pecilunas, who is 1-2 with four saves and 2.25 ERA this season, has pushed his Towson record for career pitching appearances to 97. The Tigers’ bullpen held UNCW to one run over the final five innings on Sunday. 

WILLIAM & MARY (17-15, 7-5 CAA): The Tribe topped George Washington, 11-5, last Tuesday but was swept in their CAA series at Charleston. Cole Ragone smacked three two-run homers last week, including a pair in the GW win. He has seven HR’s for the year and is batting a team-best .340. Joe Delossantos hit .400 (6-15) for the week and drove in five. Tyler Solomon extended his hitting streak to eight and batted .429 (6-14) last week. Ben Williamson had multiple hits in three of the four games and batted .421 (8-19). Jack Cone threw 4.0 shutout innings and fanned five at Charleston on Sunday. Carter Lovasz limited CofC to one run over 5.1 frames out of the pen on Saturday.