Around New England – March 13

The New England baseball season is two weeks old and the intensity is already picking up around the region. This week we’ll look at the latest national rankings, unveil our first regional rankings and take a look at what teams have been doing well.

National Rankings

After back-to-back losses, Wheaton is no longer the top-ranked team in the country. The Lyons were dropped by Webster and regional foe St. Joseph’s and are ranked third in this week’s poll behind Cortland State and Marietta.

Off to a 5-0 start, the Monks find themselves ranked ninth in this week’s national poll. Fresh off a victory over then top-ranked Wheaton, St. Joseph’s has posted a 0.51 team ERA over the first five games and have shutout three teams.

Western New England and Trinity are the only other New England teams ranked in the top 25 this week. The Golden Bears are ranked 15th after a 2-1 start and the Bantams come in at No. 19 and have yet to play a game.

Southern Maine (24), Eastern Connecticut (2), Tufts (2) and Bridgewater St. (1) are all receiving votes.

NED3Baseball.com Regional Rankings

1. St. Joseph’s (5-0): Just beat top-ranked Wheaton and pitching staff has posted a 0.51 ERA.

2. Wheaton (3-2): Started with three-straight wins but have dropped back-to-back games against nationally-ranked opponents.

3. Southern Maine (2-0): The Huskies have played just two games but their offense could be the best in New England.

4. Western New England (2-1): Haven’t played since opening the season with two victories on Long Island.

5. Eastern Connecticut (5-1): The Warriors are making the most of their spring on Long Island.

6. Trinity (0-0): The Bantams have yet to play but they still warrant a ranking.

7. Suffolk (3-1): The Rams have scored 44 runs in four games and Jhonneris Mendez was great in his first start.

8. Wentworth (4-1): The Leopards have already posted games of 21 and 19 runs on the season.

Around New England

The biggest story at this juncture of the season is the Monks of St. Joseph’s College. Predicted to win the GNAC again, the Monks are off to a 5-0 start thanks to stellar pitching. Chad Rafferty earned his 22nd career victory with seven scoreless innings in his first start. He also struck out eight and did not walk a batter. The rest of the pitching staff has followed suit, posting a 0.51 ERA and a 32:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Offensively, Alex Lorenc is hitting .533 and Mike Pratt leads the team with eight RBI.

St. Joseph’s biggest challenger in the GNAC will be Suffolk and the Rams are off to a hot start as well. Suffolk has scored 44 runs in four games this season and its pitching staff has posted a 4.50 ERA. Jake Cintolo is the catalyst of the offense, hitting .421 with three doubles and eight RBI over the first four games of the year. Senior Mike Cunningham has also stepped up to the plate, providing a pair of home runs and six RBI. On the mound, classmate Jhonneris Mendez was dominant in his first start, allowing just two runs (one earned) on five hits while striking out seven over seven innings. Josh Desai matched him seven stellar innings against Washington College to earn his first win of the year.