Around the Region: April 17

First off, I have to give a big congratulations to my former coach and my uncle, Bill Holowaty. Coach Holowaty became just the 10th coach at any collegiate level to win 1,400 career games. He is 1,401-523-7 and is the winningest coach in any collegiate sport at any level in New England history. I am so proud to have played for him and even more proud to call him my uncle. It was also another great week on the diamond as the conference picture got murkier in some cases.

National Rankings

Wheaton and Southern Maine are the only two New England teams ranked in this week’s D3Baseball.com national poll. The Lyons are ranked 11th and the Huskies are 18th.

Western New England (31), Saint Joseph’s (13) and Suffolk (2) are also receiving votes.

NED3Baseball.com New England Poll

1. Southern Maine (21-3): The Huskies have won 15-straight games and have a big Thursday showdown with Wheaton.

2. Wheaton (22-7): The Lyons are starting to turn it on and just defeated Western New England 10-2 on Tuesday.

3. Suffolk (21-6): Have lost three-straight games, including a sweep at the hands of St. Joseph’s over the weekend.

4. Eastern Connecticut (19-8-1): The Warriors have bounced back with six-straight wins but a big set of games looms next week.

5. Amherst (16-5): The Lord Jeffs have won eight-straight games including a weekend sweep of Williams over the weekend.

6. Tufts (18-7): The Jumbos have won 10-straight games including a weekend sweep of preseason favorite Trinity.

7. MIT (17-6): The Engineers had a hiccup over the weekend but responded with a big win over Wesleyan University Tuesday.

8. Western New England (19-8): Despite a tough loss to Wheaton on Tuesday, the Golden Bears are still playing better of late.

Around the Region

Let’s start off in the GNAC where the Monks made things very interesting over the weekend with a sweep of Suffolk. That leaves three teams — St. Joe’s, Suffolk, Johnson & Wales — with 10-2 league records. Just four games remain for each team including a huge doubleheader in Providence this weekend between the Monks and the Wildcats. Also in GNAC news, congratulations to senior Chad Rafferty on becoming the all-time wins leader at Saint Joseph’s. In four years, Rafferty has posted a 24-3 record, breaking a 27-year old record with his 24th career victory on Sunday afternoon over Suffolk.

The Little East standings also got very tight this past weekend. ECSU’s sweep of Mass-Boston brought everyone very close together, and heading into this weekend, the 2-6 spots in the standings are separated by just one game. Three teams are tied at 4-3 and two have 3-4 records. Southern Maine sits atop the league standings with an 5-0 record.

Salem St. is starting to distance itself in the MASCAC standings, moving to 8-0 with four wins this past weekend. The Vikings have won six-straight games and currently hold a three-game lead over second place Bridgewater St and Westfield St. Worcester St. and Framingham St. are tied for the fourth and final playoff spot with 4-4 records. It could get a lot closer this weekend as Salem St. hosts Bridgewater St. in a huge league doubleheader.

In the NESCAC, it looks like Amherst (6-0) and Wesleyan (5-1) have the inside track on the playoffs. Hamilton (2-4), Middlebury (3-6) and Williams (2-7) are all below .500 and struggling. In the East, Bowdoin looks good at 7-2 and Tufts sits at 4-2 but the two teams could knock each other out of the playoff picture when they meet in two weeks. Trinity could determine its playoff fate with a big three-game series against Bates this weekend.

With just one weekend remaining in NEWMAC play, the four playoff teams have been decided. Their order of finish, however, is still up in the air. MIT and Wheaton meet this weekend to determine the regular season championship. The Engineers need to sweep, while the Lyons need just one victory to claim another crown. Coast Guard (9-6) and Babson (8-7) are within a game of each other and meet this weekend to determine their final seeding.

Western New England and Endicott are currently tied with 9-1 records in CCC play. Salve Regina is on their heels with an 8-2 league mark. With three conference doubleheaders remaining for each team, Curry (4-6) is trying to hold on to its sixth spot in the standings.

Field Pass: Eastern moves to 12-2 with win over Suffolk

Tristan Hobbes

In order to lead the lifestyle I lead in the great city of Boston I have to work at a convenience store.  Today, I was hurrying from that convenience store to catch the T and head back to Quincy to see Eastern Connecticut take on Suffolk.  It was the culmination of a tough week for the Rams as they played four games against LEC teams over a three day span, going 2-2.  Eastern Connecticut was playing their first game since returning on a red-eye flight from Arizona Saturday night.  In the end, it was the Warriors doing the little things right that led to their 8-4 victory.

My thoughts and interviews with both teams!