BNN Report
News from the CBO, Minors, College, and Youth Leagues
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
1 August 2308
The August Super Post, Part 2
BMU Analysis
Teams are now through 69 of their scheduled 88 games. Division leaders are Taffington Boathouse (Egr) of the Dark Hollow Pond League, Mystic Pines (Obe) in the Cambridge League, Neponset Park (Sal) in the Downtown Boston League, and Forest Grove (FtH) in the Glowing Sea League.
BMU Players of the Month
CA Hitter - When Major Mette stepped up to the plate in July he did it with confidence, and today he was honored with the Commonwealth Association Batter of the Month award.
The young Mystic Pines catcher posted a .452 batting average with 5 home runs, 17 RBIs and scored 18 runs. Mette also worked pitchers for 11 walks to post a .541 on-base percentage.
So far this year Mette has 14 home runs and a .339 batting average.
MA Hitter - For a rookie just breaking in, Zero Nought certainly put together a successful month. It was good enough to win the MA Batter of the Month award for July.
The 19-year-old third baseman for the Somerville Place Sentry Bots hit .429 with 14 home runs, 35 RBIs and 21 runs scored.
In 69 games this season Nought has batted at a .385 pace with 99 hits and 33 home runs.
CA Pitcher - In July Fiddler's Green starter Elliot Ben-Refael mystified Commonwealth Association hitters and carried off the Pitcher of the Month honors by chalking up a 4-0 record in 5 starts.
The 27-year-old Ben-Refael added 30 strikeouts in 40 innings and 15 walks to his season record and compiled a 3.60 ERA. Opposing batters hit .233 against him.
In 17 starts this season Ben-Refael has recorded a 7-6 record and a 4.59 ERA.
MA Pitcher - Cooch Pace is the latest Massachusetts Association Pitcher of the Month award winner. The Mass Pike starter shone on the hill repeatedly last month and finished July with a sparkling 5-0 record.
In 5 starts he tossed 41.1 innings, posted 26 strikeouts, and put up a 2.18 ERA.
For this year Pace has chalked up 8 wins and no losses in 8 starts with 45 strikeouts in 67 innings and a 2.28 ERA.
GBRL Analysis
Through 69 games, there are a couple of tight divisions, but one team is close to clinching. In the Southeast Division, the Park Street AntAgonizers (Sal) have a 15-game lead and a Magic # of 5. Other division leaders are Greentop Nursery (JP) in the Northeast, Nuka Express (Star) in the Northwest, and Greater Mass (FHE) in the Southwest.
GBRL Players of the Month
NL Hitter - Cypher Raige has a lot going for him. The Corvega right fielder just broke into the majors this year and now the North League has just picked him as its top hitter for July.
In 18 games last month this outstanding rookie batted .324 with 9 home runs, 17 RBIs and 18 runs scored.
Raige is batting .333 this year with 26 home runs, 61 RBIs and 58 runs scored. He has 90 hits in 270 at-bats.
SL Hitter - Shoe Kiesel is not used to being associated with Batter of the Month-caliber players, but today the Big John first baseman joined that select company when the South League announced the results of July's voting.
Kiesel totaled 22 hits, 20 walks, 6 home runs, 14 RBIs and 19 runs scored last month to put together a .393 batting average and .544 on-base percentage.
So far this year Kiesel has hit .304 with 20 home runs, 52 RBIs and 59 runs scored.
NL Pitcher - Mister Burns of the Parsons Asylum Greasers outdistanced his peers on the mound this month. He fashioned a fine 5-0 won-lost mark and 3.07 ERA in 5 starts to get the North League Pitcher of the Month honors.
Burns had a very impressive July, finishing with 34 strikeouts in 41 innings and holding opposing hitters to a .199 average.
On the year Burns has worked 141.2 innings with 140 strikeouts en route to a 12-3 record and 2.86 ERA.
SL Pitcher - The South League scribes have picked July's Pitcher of the Month and have given the trophy to Skulvar Sablehilt of Roadside Pines. He was devastating on the mound last month with a standout 4-0 mark.
The Cosmos star hurler made 5 starts with a 1.73 ERA and surrendered 23 hits in 36.1 innings. He struck out 29 and walked 21.
So far in 18 appearances this season, Sablehilt has recorded 10 wins and sustained 5 losses. He has pitched 106.1 innings, yielded 103 hits, fanned 120 and has a 4.40 ERA.
BCAC Analysis
One division is settled and one division comes down to the last week of play on the way to the first College Series. In the North Division, the CIT Engineers have clinched one spot. In the South Division, Northeastern University leads by two games over Boston College with just five games remaining. The Huskies and Eagles face off in the final three-game series for the division.
BCAC Players of the Month
BCAC Hitter - Snap, crackle and pop! In July, Hot Pie Hawkey snapped up the Boston Collegiate Athletic Conference Batter of the Month trophy by cracking 36 hits and popping 13 home runs.
For the month he hit a solid .414 with 32 RBIs and 28 runs scored. The CIT third baseman also picked up 12 walks to compile a .485 on-base percentage.
Hawkey is hitting .364 this year with 22 home runs, 72 RBIs and 63 runs scored. He has 107 hits in 294 at-bats, 37 walks and a .443 on-base percentage. Hawkey has played in 80 games.
BCAC Pitcher - Capping off a whirlwind month in which he went 4-0 with a 1.87 ERA, Alley Cat Preciado was selected as July's Boston Collegiate Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Month today. Reporters caught up with the elated CIT starter as he left the clubhouse.
"I know it's difficult for pitchers -- when you have a bad start or two, people start wondering if you've lost it. Then you ride stretches like this one for all you can. You find it easier to come to the park every day because know you're contributing to the club, not just waiting for your turn in the rotation to make up for your last start."
Alley Cat Preciado definitely contributed to the club. He had 5 starts, throwing 33.2 innings, striking out 31, and holding the opposition to a .228 average.
His record for the year is 14-3 in 21 starts and Preciado has a 3.00 ERA.
BYDL Analysis
The divisions and playoff places are all now secured, and the playoffs have begun.
North Region
Division Winners:
Franklin - Beantown (2)
Emerson - Woburn (4)
Fuller - CIT Academy (1)
Revere - Saugus (3)
Wildcards:
5. North Charles Bank
6. Lowell
7. South Charles Bank
8. Beerthirty
Notes: All four wildcard teams are from the Margaret Fuller Division, meaning the entire division is in the playoffs. The Lowell Frags won their final 16 games to earn a berth, and the Beerthirty Sippers knocked off Lynn Pier and Concord-Lexington to clinch the final wildcard spot.
South Region
Division Winners:
Adams - Needham (2)
Alcott - Castle (4)
Morse - Brockton (3)
Attucks - Spectacle Island (1)
Wildcards:
5. GSP
6. Jamaica-U Point
7. Weymouth
8. Diamond City
Notes: The Brockton Claws were hot down the stretch to hold off both Thompson Heights and South Beach to win the Samuel Morse Division. Both the Earthlings and Waves missed the playoffs due to their cold finish.
BYDL Playoffs
We're only in the Regional Quarterfinals, aka First Round, of the BYDL playoffs. This far, the #4 Woburn Diners swept the #5 North Charles Bank Goonies and the #6 Lowell Frags continued their winning ways to upset and sweep the #3 Saugus Launchers. All other series are still in play.
BYDL Players of the Month
NR Hitter - Natick Inhousing may be much younger than other hitters in the North Region, but he performed like a seasoned veteran in July to win the Batter of the Month award.
The 15-year-old Concord-Lexington center fielder hit .536 with 10 home runs, 27 RBIs and 27 runs scored.
So far in 2308 Inhousing is batting .413 with 23 home runs, 69 RBIs and 63 runs scored. He has 125 hits in 303 at-bats and a .483 OBP.
SR Hitter - Javen the Raven Coleman made his presence known as one of the best young stars in the South Region this past month.
The Spectacle Island Specters left fielder shined through the month of July and has won the Batter of the Month award.
The 15-year-old hit .402 with 9 home runs, 29 RBIs and 32 runs scored.
This season in 75 games Coleman is batting .388 with 32 home runs, 91 RBIs and has scored 84 times.
NR Pitcher - Malcolm Stein of the Lynn Pier Gamers is the North Region Pitcher of the Month. In July, he sparkled and shined on the mound with 7 wins and no losses in 7 starts.
Stein checked opposing batters on 53 base hits and a .264 batting average. He rang up 51 strikeouts in 53.2 innings of work, surrendered 17 walks and fashioned a 2.18 ERA.
To date this season Stein is 8-6 with 20 starts and an ERA of 4.25 with 114 strikeouts in 127 innings.
SR Pitcher - Rob Geter is the latest South Region Pitcher of the Month award winner. The Boston Common starter stood out on the hill time and again last month and finished July with a sparkling 5-0 record.
In 6 starts last month, he fanned 27, walked 10 in 36.1 innings and posted a 1.24 ERA. Geter held opposing teams to a .254 batting average when he was on the mound.
Up to now Geter has recorded a record of 10-4. In 19 starts he has fanned 84 batters in 103.2 innings with a 3.21 ERA.
SCYL Analysis
We already showed the final standings of the SCYL and the
Here are the Final Standings once again:
The Pawtucket Paw Sox downed the Woodlawn Gnomes to move to the Southern Commonwealth Series. After one game, the Truro Hatchlings have a 1-0 lead.
The stakes were high. Freshman SP Kevin Gauzeman was ready.
The left-hander turned in a performance for the ages at Truro Stadium today, pitching a 9-inning, complete-game shutout to lead the Truro Hatchlings to victory in Game 1 of the Southern Commonwealth Series. Gauzeman held the Pawtucket Paw Sox to 3 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 8. The win got the best-of-5 series off to a good start for Truro, which now leads 1-0.
The Hatchlings liked what they saw from Gauzeman. The 14-year old pitcher had a commanding presence on the mound, limiting the Paw Sox to no runs on 3 hits over 9 innings, and striking out 8.
"That was a nice win," said Gauzeman. "To quote my grandma, 'Good tarberry gravy!'"
The next game is set to be played tomorrow at Truro Stadium in Truro.
SCYL Players of the Month
CCL Hitter - Not known for his offensive prowess, Bear Hugger set the league afire in July and took home the Cape Cod League Batter of the Month award.
The Truro first baseman posted a steady .493 batting average, 8 home runs, 21 RBIs and 19 runs.
So far this season Hugger has put up a .351 batting average with 88 hits, 14 home runs and 54 RBIs.
PL Hitter - Woodlawn Gnomes fans believe they've got a talented young star in Scoops Carey.
He did nothing to dissuade that notion in July, as he hit .455 with 8 home runs, 24 RBIs and 16 runs scored.
The end result was the left fielder being named the Providence League Batter of the Month.
In 68 games this year Carey has posted a .312 average and put up these numbers: 18 home runs, 61 RBIs and 58 runs scored.
CCL Pitcher - When Kevin Gauzeman takes the mound, a Truro victory is usually the result. At least that's the way it was in July.
He excelled with a 3-0 mark and a 0.55 ERA in 4 starts, tossed 32.2 innings, fanned 40 and held opposing batters to a .159 average.
That's why the Hatchlings starter was honored today as the Pitcher of the Month by the Cape Cod League.
This year Gauzeman has fashioned a 12-3 mark, 2.11 ERA and pitched 136.1 innings. Opposing clubs are batting .220 against him and he has logged 162 strikeouts.
PL Pitcher - When Jazz Delgado takes the hill, there's a good chance for a Pawtucket victory. At least that's the way it was in May.
He excelled with a 3-0 mark and a 2.48 ERA in 4 starts, tossed 29 innings, fanned 31, and held enemy hitters to a .187 average.
That's why the Paw Sox star was honored today as the Pitcher of the Month by the Providence League.
This season Delgado has compiled a 12-2 mark, 3.47 ERA and made 18 starts.