Mount Olive's Mike Mercurio (GF 2010) hit three home runs last wk to take home the Conference Carolinas POTW award. Photo courtesy MOC athletics
As the college baseball season rolls along, weekly awards continue to pour in to players affiliated with teams in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. This week, seven players were honored by their respective conferences for play in games during the period of April 15 through April 22. Four of the seven players have previously competed in the PGCBL while two others are slated to compete in the league this coming season. Five of the seven awards were claimed by players from the Glens Falls Golden Eagles and Amsterdam Mohawks, last year’s PGCBL playoff finalists.
America East – Player of the Week
Josh Nethaway (Amsterdam 2011-2012), Albany
For the second week in a row, University at Albany redshirt junior Josh Nethaway was selected as the Player of the Week in America East. Nethaway paced the Great Danes to a 3-1 week which included wins over BIG EAST member St. John’s and conference opponent Hartford. For the week, the redshirt junior batted .500 (10-for-20) and recorded five RBI. He racked up three multi-hit games and had at least one hit and one RBI in all four UAlbany contests. The former Amsterdam outfielder went 2-for-5 and drove in one run in an 8-6 victory over St. John’s on April 16. Nethaway then erupted for eight hits in a three-game home series with Hartford. He belted out three hits, including a home run, in the opening game and accounted for three UAlbany tallies. The Fonda, N.Y., native saved his best effort for last in the Hartford finale. He went 4-for-6 in seven plate appearances and ended the series with a walk-off double in the 12th inning in a 10-9 triumph for the Great Danes.
Big XII – Newcomer of the Week
Jake Matthys (Glens Falls 2013), Kansas State
Kansas State University freshman Jake Matthys (Glens Falls 2013) earned the first weekly honor of his career as the Big XII’s Newcomer of the Week. Matthys did not allow a run in two successful relief appearances against traditional powerhouse programs Wichita State and Oklahoma State. The K-State frosh pocketed a win and a save in two outings to go along with a 0.00 earned run average. He was nearly perfect retiring 16 of the 18 batters he faced. Matthys garnered his third save of the season against the Shockers on April 16. He retired the side in order in the ninth to secure a 4-1 win for the Wildcats. This past Sunday, the Spring Lake Park, Minn., native returned to the mound and spun 4.1 scoreless innings of relief to help K-State best Oklahoma State, 3-2, in Stillwater. Matthys entered the game in a fifth in the midst of a 2-2 tie. He stranded two OSU runners on base in the fifth and went onto retire 12 of the next 14 Cowboys. The K-State freshman yielded two hits, walked none and struck out three in his sixth win. In his first collegiate campaign, Matthys is 6-0 with three saves and a 1.35 earned run average. Matthys has struck out 21 batters and walked four in 26.2 innings. All 18 of his appearances have come in relief.
Big West – Player of the Week
Steven Patterson (Elmira 2012), UC Davis
UC Davis junior Steven Patterson (Elmira 2012) led the Aggies to an undefeated (4-0) week to garner his first Big West Player of the Week accolade. Patterson batted .500 (9-for-18) with 11 RBI, nine runs scored, three doubles and two home runs. He amassed a 1.000 slugging percentage with five total extra-base hits. The 2012 San Joaquin Delta College graduate posted three multi-hit efforts and he had at least one hit and one run scored in all four games. Defensively, the UC Davis second baseman totaled 19 assists and four putouts in 24 total chances. Against Nevada in non-conference action on April 16, Patterson accounted for four UC Davis runs in a 10-7 win. He went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. The Stockton, Calif., native was nearly a one-man wrecking crew in a three-game home series with UC Riverside. Patterson plated nine runs, scored six and socked out seven hits. The 2012 All-PGCBL honoree began his onslaught in the second game of the series as he went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBI. Patterson drove in the eventual winning runs in a 7-4 decision with a three-run home run in the eighth, his first home run of the season. The following day, the junior drilled two doubles and his second home run in a 3-for-5, five-RBI explosion to help theAggies rout UC Riverside 19-8. Heading into this weekend’s games, Patterson leads the Aggies with a .348 batting average and 49 hits.
Great West Conference – Pitcher of the Week
Mark Leiter Jr. (Amsterdam 2011-2012), NJIT
New Jersey Institute of Technology senior Mark Leiter Jr. (Amsterdam 2011-2012) picked up Pitcher of the Week awards from the Great West Conference, New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association and the ECAC following a complete game one-hitter at Northern Colorado on April 20. The senior was nearly perfect in a seven-inning complete game as he seated 21 of 22 batters in a 2-1 victory. Leiter walked none, struck out eight and forced nine groundouts. The Lanoka Harbor, N.J., native yielded only a lead-off single in the second which eventually turned into Northern Colorado’s lone run. Following the UNC base hit, Leiter retired the next 18 batters in a row. The PGCBL’s all-time strikeout leader currently tops NJIT with 67 strikeouts in 67.1 innings pitched.
Conference Carolinas – Player of the Week
Mike Mercurio (Glens Falls 2010), Mount Olive
Mount Olive College senior shortstop Mike Mercurio (Glens Falls 2010), a nominee for the 2013 Tino Martinez Award, helped the Trojans to an undefeated (4-0) week to close out the regular season. Nationally-ranked Mount Olive heads into the Conference Carolinas tournament with a record of 43-4. Last week, Mercurio slugged three home runs and batted .471 (8-for-17) with five runs scored and 12 RBI. The senior blasted belts in all three games of a conference series at Pfeiffer and racked up three-straight games with at least three RBI. The Brewster, N.Y., native had two hits in a 7-5 win over Francis Marion on April 16. In the opening game of the Pfeiffer series which was part of a doubleheader, Mercurio slammed a two-run double and dinged a three-run home run in a 13-1 rout. He launched a second three-run home run in the night cap which ended up in a 7-4 MOC triumph. The following afternoon, Mercurio lofted his third home run in as many days and finished 3-for-5 with four RBI. Heading into the postseason, the former Glens Falls Golden Eagle is batting .373 with seven home runs and 51 RBI.
Northeast-10 – Pitcher of the Week
Ryan Davis (Glens Falls 2013), LeMoyne
LeMoyne College sophomore Ryan Davis (Glens Falls 2013) pitched a complete game four-hit shutout against Southern Connecticut State and struck out a career-high 13 to win his third NE-10 Pitcher of the Week prize. Davis posted his fifth straight nine-inning complete game and fourth double-digit strikeout performance of the season. He scattered four hits, walked one and faced six batters over the minimum. The sophomore fanned two batters in an inning five times through nine frames. SCSU did not have a runner safely advance past second base and at no time did the Owls have more than one runner on base. Through his last five starts, the Queensbury, N.Y., native is 5-0 with a 1.00 earned run average and 50 strikeouts in 45.0 innings pitched. For the season, Davis is 6-2 with a 2.25 ERA. Against NE-10 opponents, he holds a 4-1 record and 1.00 ERA.
Colonial States Athletic Conference – Pitcher of the Week
Rob Rogers (Watertown 2011), Keystone
Keystone College senior Rob Rogers (Watertown 2011) twirled a complete game four-hitter and struck out 10 to pace the Giants to a 4-1 victory over CSAC rival Gwynedd-Mercy College. Rogers yielded one unearned run on four singles and walked none. The senior induced 13 groundouts and faced just six batters over the minimum in the nine-inning game. GMC recorded its lone tally in the third inning. Between the fourth and ninth frames, Rogers faced no more than four Griffins in a single stanza. With the win, he lowered his earned run average to 0.94 for the season. The Islip, N.Y., native also was named the CSAC Pitcher of the Week on April 14. Just one day prior, Rogers had slung a complete game three-hit shutout and struck out nine in a win over Marywood. The Keystone ace is a three-time CSAC Pitcher of the Week award winner this season. He is currently 6-2 with a 1.34 earned run average. Rogers is tied for second nationally in NCAA Division III with 86 strikeouts. He is one of just four DIII pitchers nationwide with more than 80 strikeouts.
