BOSTON - Stony Brook continued its hot start to conference play and took a commanding lead on first place in the America East with a three-game sweep of UMBC, earning its fifth-straight series win to begin league play. Binghamton and UMass Lowell also earned important series wins, while Albany split four non-conference games. America East teams are 13-3 in non-conference games since April 1. Here are the week nine award winners:
Player of the Week
Zach Blanden, Binghamton, Sr., OF, Homer, N.Y.
- Hit .478 over five games last week with eight RBI, eight runs scored and a pair of home runs as the Bearcats went 4-1 including a series win over Hartford in conference play.
- Finished the week with a .913 slugging percentage totaling four doubles, two home runs and five singles. Also had a .538 on-base percentage.
- Had four hits and four RBI in an 11 inning, 18-15, win over Canisius.
- Went 6-for-13 in the series vs. Hartford including back-to-back three-hit games to close the series.
- Went 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored in game two of the series followed by another 3-for-4 performance with three doubles and an RBI in the series clinching win.
Pitcher of the Week
Tyler Honahan, Stony Brook, Jr., Parker, Colo.
- Tossed 6.2 innings of shutout baseball with seven strikeouts in a win over UMBC.
- Scattered three hits and issued just one walk.
Rookie of the Week
Ben Bengston, Hartford, Fr., Concord, N.H.
- Hit .450 (9-for-20) with a .750 slugging percentage and a .522 on-base percentage in a 3-2 week for the Hartford Hawks.
- Drove in five runs, scored three and had five extra-base hits during the week.
- Went 8-for-14 in the three-game conference series vs. Binghamton that included two multi-hit games.
- Finished 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored in the series opener.
- Had four hits and two RBI in the series finale.
Notes
- Over the past two seasons, Stony Brook has lost just one conference series of 13 total. They have won 11 of those and split one. The Seawolves are 9-2 in the America East and have won all five conference series this year.
- Eight of the 31 conference games have been walk-offs. Eight games have also been decided in extra innings and nine have been won in a team's final at-bat.
- Maine's Luke Morrill leads the conference and ranks 17th in the country with a .405 batting average.
- UMBC's Conrad Wozniak is fourth in the country with a 0.90 ERA.
Weekly Awards
Feb. 17 - Player of the Week: Jake Thomas, Binghamton; Pitcher of the Week: Tyler Honahan, Stony Brook; Rookie of the Week: Andruw Gazzola, Stony Brook
Feb. 24 - Player of the Week: Danny Mendick, UMass Lowell; Pitcher of the Week: Kyle Gauthier, Hartford; Rookie of the Week: Teddy Rodliff, Stony Brook
March 3 - Player of the Week: Hunter Dolshun, UMBC; Pitcher of the Week: Sam McKay, Hartford; Rookie of the Week: Shawn Blake, Albany
March 10 - Player of the Week: Shane Bussey, Maine; Pitcher of the Week: Conrad Wozniak, UMBC; Rookie of the Week: Danny Diaz, Maine
March 17 - Player of the Week: Reed Gamache, Binghamton; Pitcher of the Week: Joe Vanderplas, UMBC; Rookie of the Week: Andruw Gazzola, Stony Brook
March 23 - Player of the Week: Andrew Casali, UMBC; Pitcher of the Week: Joey Moore, Albany; Rookie of the Week: Brady Zinda, UMBC
March 30 - Co-Players of the Week: Jack Parenty, Stony Brook & Anthony Gatto, UMBC; Pitcher of the Week: Tyler Honahan, Stony Brook; Rookie of the Week: Matt Chanin, UMBC
April 7 - Player of the Week: Toby Handley, Stony Brook; Co-Pitchers of the Week: Stephen Woods, Albany & Cameron Stone, Stony Brook; Rookie of the Week: Teddy Rodliff, Stony Brook
April 13 - Player of the Week: Zach Blanden, Binghamton; Pitcher of the Week: Tyler Honahan, Stony Brook; Rookie of the Week: Ben Bengston, Hartford