Baseball Games of the Week (4/12 - 4/14)
Delaware at North Carolina-Wilmington (4/12 6pm ET, 4/13 2pm ET, 4/14 2pm ET)
Delaware: The Blue Hens come into this weekend's matchup between the Colonial’s top two teams on a 12 game winning streak. Delaware brings in a balanced offense, as the majority of its regulars are hitting .300 or above, including Jimmy Yezzo, who is hitting .444. He also leads the team in hits (55), doubles (18), home runs (seven) and RBI (42). Chad Kuhl is the team's top weekend starter. He carries a 5-1 record into the weekend while striking out a team-high 42 opponents
North Carolina-Wilmington: Hunter Ridge, who became UNCW’s all-time hits leader in March, is poised to take the lead in RBIs. He enters the week third all-time with 178. Jonathan Batts (2004-07) holds the school career record with 182 while former standout Matt Wright (2000-03) is second with 180. UNCW allowed just five runs in its weekend series with Davidson. It was the third time this season the staff allowed five or fewer runs in a series. Last weekend UNCW allowed just one earned run and four total in sweeping Old Dominion. Despite allowing 10 runs to top-ranked North Carolina, the Seahawks produced a 3.07 ERA for the week. On the season, Seahawk starters have produced a 16-7 record and a 2.83 ERA while opponents are hitting just .240 against them. UNCW has Jordan Ramsey (5-2, 1.60 ERA) and Mat Batts (4-2, 2.44 ERA) ranked in the CAA top-10 in ERA at second and seventh, respectively.
Navy at Holy Cross (4/13 3pm ET and 5pm ET, 4/14 12 pm ET and 2:30pm ET)
Holy Cross-Navy is a battle of the Patriot League's top two teams. The Crusaders come in with a two game lead, but the Midshipmen will have a chance to make that up, as the teams will play two doubleheaders this weekend.
Holy Cross: The Crusaders have five players hitting .300 or higher, including Jordan Enos, who is hitting .380. Enos also has team-highs in doubles (12), hits (38) and RBI (23). Patrick Puentes leads the squad in home runs with six. The team also has four players with 20 or more RBI. Holy Cross pitchers don't have the greatest of stats and that can be part of the reason the team has an overall record of 14-16. However, the pitchers have drastically improved during the conference season. Tom Marra has been the team's top pitcher during the conference play, carrying a 1-0 record and 1.38 ERA into the weekend. The win was a complete game shutout as well. He has 12 strikeouts in conference play. Donny Murray is one of only two pitchers to win both their conference starts and his 15 strikeouts are tied for a conference high.
Navy: The Midshipmen are one of three teams with a 4-4 record, two games behind their opponents this weekend. Navy had gotten out to a 3-1 start, but lost three of four to Bucknell last weekend. Kash Manzelli is the top batter among the regulars, hitting .362. Manzelli is hitting a remarkable .593 during conference play. Greg Dupell is the team's top power hitter though, racking up 12 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 26 RBI; all are team-highs. Ben Nelson is the team's top weekend starter, compiling a 5-1 record in his six starts and sporting an impressive 1.30 ERA. However, it has been Stephen Moore who has led the Midshipmen in conference play with a 1-0 record and a minuscule 0.73 ERA.
