CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- Ranked opponents were a common theme over the season-opening weekend of the America East baseball slate, and the season's first weekly award winners performed at a high level against the strong competition. University of Hartford senior third baseman Simon Kudernatsch (Czach Republic/Prague West) picks up Player of the Week, Stony Brook University senior Evan Stecko-Haley (Coral Springs, Fla./Coral Glades) earns Pitcher of the Week and University at Albany freshman infielder Gordon Madej (Santa Clara, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) is recognized as the Rookie of the Week.
Kudernatsch finished the three-game weekend series against #15 Oklahoma hitting .615 (8-of-13) with three runs scored and six RBIs out of the number two batting spot. He also had a 1.000 slugging percentage, .643 on-base percentage and .923 fielding percentage at third base. Four of his eight hits went for extra bases including a team-best three doubles as well as a triple.
Kudernatsch opened his senior campaign with a 4-for-5 performance at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI. He then drove in four runs on a 3-of-4 effort Saturday. He added another RBI in Sunday afternoon's game. Kudernatsch was also successful in his only stolen base attempt.
Stecko-Haley pitched eight shutout innings to pick up his first win of the 2012 campaign for the Seawolves on Saturday against Alabama State. In the 6-0 victory, the senior allowed just two hits, walked one and struck out six. Stecko-Haley allowed a leadoff hit in the bottom of the first inning before retiring 24 of the final 26 batters he faced.
Madej opened his collegiate career in a three-game series against #12 Miami, hitting .500 against the Hurricanes. He started all three games at shortstop with a .929 fielding percentage (one error), while finishing the weekend with a .600 slugging percentage and .545 on-base mark.
Madej's best game came in the series opener Friday night where he led the Great Danes going 3-for-4 with a run scored and a double. He knocked in three RBIs and belted his first career double in that game.
Team Notebooks:
Albany (0-3) dropped
all three games of the season-opening series against #12 Miami... The Great
Danes were led by rookie Gordon Madej (Santa Clara, Calif./Archbishop Mitty),
who hit .500 against the Hurricanes... He recorded five hits, including a
double, and drove in three runs... Senior Mike Tirri (Lake George, N.Y./Lake
George) went .429 with three hits... Senior Pete DiResta (Mahopac,
N.Y./Mahopac) hit .400 for the weekend, including two home runs against the
Hurricanes... On the mound, Kasceim Graham (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Ford)
recorded a staff-high four strikeouts in five and two thirds innings of work...
Reliever Greg Lutton (New Haven, Vt./Mt. Abraham) did not allow a run in three
appearances... Lutton gave up just one hit and struck out one opposing batter
in one and two thirds innings versus Miami... The Great Danes will return to
action over the weekend, visiting Wofford, USC-Upstate and Gardner Webb.
Binghamton (0-3)
opened what will wind up being a 51-game season on the road with three games in
Richmond against CAA-member VCU. The Bearcats play their entire season away
from home while their new multi-million dollar facility is completed on
campus... The Bearcats' two starters gave up just three combined earned runs in
each of the first two games but strikeouts (14, 13) hurt the team's offense in
duplicate 5-1 losses... In the final game of the series, Binghamton jumped
ahead 3-0 before surrendering 12 straight runs over the final six innings in a
12-3 loss. The Bearcats produced 10 hits but stranded 12 and suffered another
double-digit strikeout (10) game... Freshman catcher Jake Thomas (Merrick,
N.Y./Calhoun) hit a team-best .455 for the series (5-for-11)... Thomas also had
two RBI... Senior No. 1 starter Mike Augliera (Old Bridge, N.J./Old Bridge) was
strong in his start of the spring. He went six innings before departing on
pitch count and allowed one run on four hits. Augliera gave up the run in the
first inning before pitching five straight scoreless innings with five
strikeouts and no walks... Binghamton returns to Virginia this weekend for
three games at Norfolk State.
The Hartford baseball
team (0-3) opened up the 2012 season with three losses to #15 Oklahoma
in a weekend series in Norman, Okla... The Hawks held significant leads in
the second and third games of the series but suffered a total of 10 errors over
the three-game series which allowed Oklahoma to sweep the series ... At the
plate, Hartford was led by senior Simon Kudernatsch (Czech Republic/Prague
West) who finished with eight hits in 13 at bats for a .615 average... The
infielder finished with four extra base hits and drove in six runs while
scoring three... Kudernatsch opened the season with a 4-of-5 effort at the
plate and then followed that up going 3-of-4 with four RBI in the second game
of the series... Also in the season opener, sophomore Ryan Lukach
(Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) had an impressive afternoon going 2-of-3 at
the plate with three RBI... Senior Andy Drexel (Pequea, Pa./Penn Manor)
smacked the first long ball of the season for Hartford in the series finale... On the mound, freshman left-handed hurler Sean Newcomb (Middleboro,
Mass./Middleboro) had the best outing among the Hawks' three starters.
Newcomb, who pitched the series finale, allowed just one hit in 5.2 innings of
work, while also allowing five runs, only one of which was an earned run.
Newcomb sports a 1.59 ERA following his first action of the season... The
Hawks will return to the field for a three-game series against the VMI Keydets
next weekend... The series is scheduled to open on Friday, March 2, at 4
p.m. at Gray-Minor Stadium in Lexington, Va.
Maine (1-2) opened the 2012
season with a 6-5 win over then-#16 Clemson... Maine jumped out to a 4-0 lead
in the game on both Friday and Saturday and then a 6-0 lead on Sunday... Colin
Gay (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) led the Maine offense as he hit .571 in the
three games... Gay hit his first career home run on Friday to give Maine a 2-0
lead in the game... All six of Maine's runs on Friday were scored with two outs
in the inning... Maine, playing outside for the first time this season, made
just three errors in the series against Clemson, while the Tigers made six in
the three-game series... Maine junior pitcher Stephen Perakslis (Abington,
Mass.) went 6.1 innings on Friday night to pick up the victory over the
Tigers... Shaun Coughlin (Northford, Conn.) got the save in the game for the
Black Bears... Rookie Brian Doran (Ayr, Ontario/Southwood Secondary) hit .364
in the three-game series.... Maine now travels to Florida where it will play a
pair of games at Florida A & M and then three games at Florida State.
UMBC (0-4) lost all
four of its games at the season-opening Wake Forest Invitational against host
Wake Forest of the ACC as well as Big East foes Georgetown and Cincinnati...
Senior Max Himmelstein (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) led the Retrievers at the
plate, hitting .286 (4-for-14) with two homeruns and a triple... He also scored a
team-high four runs over the weekend... Junior Tom Gilchrist (Olney,
Md./Sherwood/Chesapeake CC) was also a factor for UMBC, picking up five hits in
14 at-bats (.386), while also walking once... Himmelstein and Gilchrist, along
with freshman Ian Glassman (Basking Ridge, N.J./Rutgers Prep) each homered in
the 13-6 season-opening loss to the Hoyas... Himmelstein added his second
home run of the year in game two of the day, a 10-2 loss to the Demon Deacons...
Freshman Gavin Gibbons (Vienna, Va./James Madison HS) excelled for the
Retrievers in the first two relief appearances of his career, throwing three
scoreless innings, while striking out two batters... The Retrievers now return
home to open their home schedule with a three-game series this weekend... The
series opener with the Black Knights is scheduled for Fri., Mar. 2, with first
pitch at the Baseball Factory Field set for 5 p.m.
Stony Brook opened
its season by going 4-0 at the Colonel Round Robin over the week... SBU beat
Alabama State 3-2 in the opener and then 6-0 on Saturday... The Seawolves
also defeated host Nicholls State 8-6 on Friday and 4-1 on Sunday... The
Seawolves' pitching staff posted an ERA of 2.00 for the weekend and allowed just
25 hits in 36.0 innings... Senior Evan Stecko-Haley (Coral Springs, Fla.)
allowed just two hits in 8.0 shutout innings in Stony Brook's 6-0 win over
Alabama State on Saturday... Sophomore Frankie Vanderka (Levittown, N.Y.)
pitched 3.0 shutout innings in relief on Friday against Alabama State to earn
the win... He then tossed 2.0 perfect innings against Nicholls State on Sunday
to earn the save... Junior Travis Jankowski (Lancaster, Pa.) hit .400 with
five runs scored and three steals for the weekend... Junior William Carmona
(Hempstead, N.Y.) had a home run and then drove in the go-ahead run with a
double in the seventh in the 3-2 win over Alabama State... Stony Brook returns
to action this weekend for a three-game series at East Carolina.