ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Apr. 18, 2016) - The Molloy College baseball team was ranked fourth in the NCBWA East Region poll on Monday (Apr. 18) due to a strong conference record and a double-digit win total in non-conference action. The Lions can do more to up their non-conference resume this week when the team faces Dominican (N.Y.) and Post University on back-to-back days. The maroon and white will head up to Orangeburg to play Dominican on Tuesday (Apr. 19) before returning home to face the Eagles of Post on Wednesday (Apr. 20) at Mitchel Field.
About the Lions- Molloy is 22-11 overall this season. The 22 wins equals the performance from the entire 2015 season, and 16 games remain in the season and the Lions are also in the mix for a playoff position in the East Coast Conference Tournament coming up on May 12-14 at Dowling College.
- Sophomore first baseman
Angelo Navetta (Staten Island, N.Y.) is leading the team and the East Coast Confeence with a .390 batting average. Navetta has slugged a team-high three home runs and has driven in 19 runs with a .528 slugging percentage; the sophomore has also recorded 291 putouts without an error for a fielding percentage of 1.000.
- The Lions are hitting .305 on the season, with a plus-60 margin (186-126) in the category of runs batted in. Molloy's pitching staff is led by juniors
Ronald Bauer (Hicksville, N.Y.) and
Bobby Kelly (Mineola, N.Y.), who are both sporting identical 6-0 records on the season.
The Opponents- Dominican (N.Y.) is 12-22 and on a three-game losing streak, including losing two games to Post University on Sunday (Apr. 17). The Chargers were defeated by Molloy earlier this season in back-to-back 4-1 decisions on Apr. 2.
- Freshman outfielder Anthony Bartolomei (Oakhurst, N.J.) and junior Arbely Soto (Bronx, N.Y.) are the two best hitters for the Chargers this season based on average. Bartolomei is hitting .346 while Soto is hitting. 328 with 20 RBIs. Senior first baseman Carlos Lopez (Miami, Fla.) has a team-high four home runs and 24 runs batted in as well. The best pitcher for the Chargers is Corey Pic (Montvale, N.J.) as the junior boasts a record of 4-2 with a 1.66 ERA in six starts and 10 appearances. Dominican, as a team, is yielding an average of 5.11 earned runs per game.
- Post University, meanwhile, is 10-24 with a 1-14 record away from Waterbury, Conn. where the Eagles play their home games. Sophomore infielder Don Walsh (Hamilton, N.J.) has a team-best .282 average with nine home runs and 24 runs batted in. The Eagles as a team, however, are batting .215 with 290 strikeouts and only 94 runs batted in. The pitching staff for Post is also having its issues, as the Eagles are sporting a team earned-run average of 6.28.
