ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Mar. 10, 2016) - Taking three games in a row versus a vaunted Merrimack College club has put the Molloy College baseball team on the map of the East Region voters of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. The question now stretches to whether or not the Lions have the wherewithal to stay inside the top-10 of the NCBWA's poll---and inside the top-5 of
D2Baseball.com's East Region rankings. The answer will come after this weekend's five-game trip to Boca Raton, Fla. beginning Friday (Mar. 11) and ending on Tuesday (Mar. 15).
About the Lions- The Lions are 7-3 following the three-game sweep of Merrimack last weekend. Pitching was the story as all three starters---
Ronald Bauer (Hicksville, N.Y.),
Bobby Kelly (Mineola, N.Y.) and
Anthony Catinella (Middle Village, N.Y.)---picked up convincing victories over the Warriors at Mitchel Field. The triumvirate of starters pitched 20 scoreless innings versus Merrimack, with Bauer tossing a complete-game shutout to boot.
- Not only is the Molloy starting rotation very good, but the bullpen has done a nice job in helping to limit opponents to a .224 batting average against the maroon and white so far this season.
- The offense continues to produce in the early going, as junior outfielder
Anthony Galanoudis (Farmingdale, N.Y.) is leading the team with a .556 batting average while sophomore
Christian Todd (Staten Island, N.Y.) has a team-high eight RBIs.
The Opponents- Friday's opponent, Bloomfield (1-4), is on a three-game losing streak, falling to LIU Post on Thursday (Mar. 10) in West Palm Beach, Fla. Sophomore catcher Christopher Cabral (Lodi, N.J.) has a team-best .375 batting average while four players have contributed two RBIs thus far. Odds are that the Bears will throw out a first-time starter this season, as its three main rotation arms have all pitched within the last three days.
- Saturday will be a top-10 regional showdown as the Lions face off with a 9-0 Southern New Hampshire squad that was ranked No. 2 in the NCBWA Writers Tally for the East Region and No. 11 in the nation. The Penmen are plus-50 in run differential thus far this season, scoring 75 runs while surrendering just 25. Graduate student and starting shortstop Mike Mastroberti (Ramsey, N.J.) is hitting .395 with eight extra-base hits, including a home run, and 11 runs batted in this season.
- Molloy will get a Sunday showdown with local rival and No. 5 team in the NCBWA East Region Adelphi. The Panthers are 5-3 overall but 1-2 in regional contests as well as 1-2 against Northeast-10 opponents (though those games do not count towards conference standings). Adelphi's charge has been bolstered by freshman Michael Cattani (Warwick, N.Y.) who is boasting a .600 batting average through five games played. Molloy will have a bevy of arms to prepare for in the Panthers, who have a five-man rotation at their disposal.
- The Monday contest will be Molloy's fourth out-of-region game as the Lions face the team that is hosting them this coming weekend, the Fighting Knights of Lynn University. The hashtag #Lynning is appropriate for the 11-8 hosts, as Lynn has won four games against top-10 opponents this season (including a three-game sweep of No. 9 Florida Southern two weekends ago). The Fighting Knights are paced by two over-.400 batters in Corey Gibson (Fort Myers, Fla.) and Kyle Schindler (Land O' Lakes, Fla.) while pitcher Frank Grandinette (Orlando, Fla.) is 3-0 in four starts this season with a 1.59 ERA and 34 strikeouts.
- Caldwell University marks the final game of the trip for the maroon and white, with the Cougars just getting their season underway in Florida this weekend. The CACC representatives from New Jersey are looking for a rebuild after an 11-27 season in 2015, which actually represented the most wins for the program since a 12-win campaign back in 2012.
