2024 Baseball Season
- Thread starter MDspider8
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The first win of the Mik Aoki era is finally in the books!
Spides improbably score 4 runs in bottom of ninth to win 9-8 and sweep series against MSM.
walk off single by a true FR to win the game. Coach put in pinch runner for speed on what was winning run and went to pinch batter, true FR. Good calls
Watched a couple of innings of Game 2 on Saturday, there was good energy despite the cold cloudy day. Great series sweep!
Now the boys get four days to rest and on Friday we kick off the Central Virginia Challenge at home against a really solid Boston College team.
Now the boys get four days to rest and on Friday we kick off the Central Virginia Challenge at home against a really solid Boston College team.
Good morning Spider Baseball fans! The Central Virginia Challenge kicks off today at 1:30 ET at Pitt Field, as the Spiders take on the Boston College Eagles. Since we only play one game against each opponent this weekend, I will just keep it to 1 Player to Watch on each team.
Friday (1:30 ET) vs Boston College: Parker Landwehr, could see him at Catcher or DH. Had a really disappointing season last year, striking out in nearly half his at bats. But 2022 was a successful Junior campaign, where he hit 9 home runs and drove in 36, securing an OPS of .905. He is hoping for a repeat of that in 2024, and is so far off to a solid start, slashing .333/.364/.619, with 3 doubles, 1 HR, and 5 RBIs.
Saturday (Noon ET) vs Sacred Heart: This is a team that is off to a really slow 0-6 start (as a team they are slashing .186/.304/.247), but the player to call out here would be Sophomore Michael Simonelli. He does not have much pop, but is getting on base with solid consistency (.458 OBP) and has swiped three bags already.
Sunday (Noon ET) vs Central Connecticut State: Another NEC team, but one that was picked to finish first and has a lot of talent on the roster. They actually start their season this weekend, so I am relying on last season's stats and expectations when I pick Hunter Pasqualini, the Senior 3rd baseman. He has been a staple in this CCSU lineup since 2021, appearing in over 30 games each of the last three seasons. He hit 4 homers in 2022 and 2023, and also showed some speed in 2023, when he stole 19 bases. Also shows some solid plate discipline, and based on the numbers appears to be solid in the field.
Would love to take two this weekend, but keeping my expectations at one win against Sacred Heart, and competitive games on Friday and Sunday.
Friday (1:30 ET) vs Boston College: Parker Landwehr, could see him at Catcher or DH. Had a really disappointing season last year, striking out in nearly half his at bats. But 2022 was a successful Junior campaign, where he hit 9 home runs and drove in 36, securing an OPS of .905. He is hoping for a repeat of that in 2024, and is so far off to a solid start, slashing .333/.364/.619, with 3 doubles, 1 HR, and 5 RBIs.
Saturday (Noon ET) vs Sacred Heart: This is a team that is off to a really slow 0-6 start (as a team they are slashing .186/.304/.247), but the player to call out here would be Sophomore Michael Simonelli. He does not have much pop, but is getting on base with solid consistency (.458 OBP) and has swiped three bags already.
Sunday (Noon ET) vs Central Connecticut State: Another NEC team, but one that was picked to finish first and has a lot of talent on the roster. They actually start their season this weekend, so I am relying on last season's stats and expectations when I pick Hunter Pasqualini, the Senior 3rd baseman. He has been a staple in this CCSU lineup since 2021, appearing in over 30 games each of the last three seasons. He hit 4 homers in 2022 and 2023, and also showed some speed in 2023, when he stole 19 bases. Also shows some solid plate discipline, and based on the numbers appears to be solid in the field.
Would love to take two this weekend, but keeping my expectations at one win against Sacred Heart, and competitive games on Friday and Sunday.
Jordan Jaffe is not in the lineup today - he's clearly not at 100%, I assume the offseason wrist injury is stil bothering him. He will have only played in 5/9 games including today.
Aaron Whitley is starting his 3rd straight game at CF - I assume he was injured to start he season and is now a full go. He looked good for us last weekend and hopefully can help pick up some slack.
Aaron Whitley is starting his 3rd straight game at CF - I assume he was injured to start he season and is now a full go. He looked good for us last weekend and hopefully can help pick up some slack.
13-3 win today over CCSU. Rodriguez went 5.2 innings in relief of Corso, striking out 7. Whitley and Bernstein continue to produce at the top of the order and Jake Topolski is seemingly breaking out in a full-time role at 2B. Great to see young guys Arcamone and O'Keefe hit their first collegiate HR's. Overall, a really promising weekend, especially without Jaffe.
We'll have a tough midweek @ JMU on Wednesday before hosting 1-8 Marist next weekend.
We'll have a tough midweek @ JMU on Wednesday before hosting 1-8 Marist next weekend.
Congrats to Brian Reinke on winning A10 pitcher of the week for his performance on Saturday! As @TobiasCatsup tracked last year, we surprisingly had 4 different pitchers win this last year.
#RichmondPitchingLab... I kid. But congrats to Brian, his Saturday performance was really fun to watch.
In other news, tomorrow's game against JMU has been postponed to April 10. By that time, we will already be into conference play, and there is an outside chance the Dukes will be a projected NCAA At Large team if they keep up their hot start.
First game against Marist on Friday at 1:30 ET!
In other news, tomorrow's game against JMU has been postponed to April 10. By that time, we will already be into conference play, and there is an outside chance the Dukes will be a projected NCAA At Large team if they keep up their hot start.
First game against Marist on Friday at 1:30 ET!
Good morning Spider Baseball fans! We kick off a three game set against our third MAAC opponent of the year, the Marist Red Foxes. This is a team that was picked 8th out of 11th in the preseason poll (just behind Niagara and Mount St. Mary's), but do possess the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year (and last year's MAAC Rookie of the Year), Bayram Hot.
While Hot is off to a rather cold start (I had to...), slashing .174/.269/.174 with five RBIs, he still should be in the lineup every day, and the Red Foxes still have some solid bats in the lineup, including the first 2024 MAAC Rookie of the Week Lewis Rodriguez and most recent MAAC Player of the Week, Marco Ali. Rodriguez has started in all 11 games, and is slashing .326/.400/.419, including four doubles and two stolen bases. Ali had a monster series last weekend, hitting .615 in 13 at bats with four doubles and three RBIs. He followed that up with a 1-4 day in their mid-week game against Fordham, collecting two more RBIs.
Pitching appears to be the real weak spot for Marist in their first 11 games, and as a staff they have a staggering 10.30 ERA and a WHIP over 2. I think this should be another series where we can take two of three. I am putting the Niagara series behind me, and am choosing to think of the Spiders team that has taken care of business recently against lesser teams.
While Hot is off to a rather cold start (I had to...), slashing .174/.269/.174 with five RBIs, he still should be in the lineup every day, and the Red Foxes still have some solid bats in the lineup, including the first 2024 MAAC Rookie of the Week Lewis Rodriguez and most recent MAAC Player of the Week, Marco Ali. Rodriguez has started in all 11 games, and is slashing .326/.400/.419, including four doubles and two stolen bases. Ali had a monster series last weekend, hitting .615 in 13 at bats with four doubles and three RBIs. He followed that up with a 1-4 day in their mid-week game against Fordham, collecting two more RBIs.
Pitching appears to be the real weak spot for Marist in their first 11 games, and as a staff they have a staggering 10.30 ERA and a WHIP over 2. I think this should be another series where we can take two of three. I am putting the Niagara series behind me, and am choosing to think of the Spiders team that has taken care of business recently against lesser teams.
Already without Jordan Jaffe, Aaron Whitley was just removed from the game in the top of the 4th. Didn't see any obvious injury to him, he looked fine making a catch in CF in the 3rd. Worth keeping in mind he missed the first few games on the season.
Can't seem to escape the injury bug so far.
Can't seem to escape the injury bug so far.
Four score for Marist in the top of the 6th, after two errors by the Spiders. Roche's day is likely done for the Spiders, with a pitch count of 86.
6 IP, 4 R (1 Earned), 5 Hits, 4 Ks, and still no walks on the season!
6 IP, 4 R (1 Earned), 5 Hits, 4 Ks, and still no walks on the season!
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