BNN Report
News from the CBO, Minors, CCBL, and CYL
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
1 May 2314
The May 1 Super Post, Part 2
CCBL Analysis
With just two weeks and 13 games left in the 2314 regular season, the CCBL playoff journey is starting to take shape for the 16-team playoffs with four conference champions guaranteed a spot in the playoffs and then 12 teams in wildcard positions. Right now, no team has clinched a playoff spot, though we are close with the Terriers (36-16) 11 games up on the "17th" team in the wildcard race. CWU also has a four-game lead in the BCAC over Boston College, giving them the lowest Magic # of 10 for clinching a conference championship.
Conference Leaders:
BCAC - Commonwealth
MassCon - Plymouth
NoComm - Acadia College
SoComm - Yale
Looking at the rest of the field, conference races are still tight with CWU's largest lead. In the NoComm, Acadia College and Maine University are tied at 22-25 atop the conference, but the Minks have the current tiebreaker. That would put Acadia as the 16th seed based on the setup of the 2314 playoffs.
The four teams with a Magic # below 10 to clinch a wildcard spot are Boston College (7), Quincy College (8), Mass Bay University (9), and Harvard University (9).
Here are the wildcard standings with the current teams in if the postseason started today:
CCBL Players of the Month
Hitter - When Barbarus Bailey stepped up to the plate in April he did it with confidence, and today he was honored with the Commonwealth Collegiate Baseball League Batter of the Month award.
The young Mass Bay University first baseman posted a .427 batting average with 13 home runs, 35 RBIs and scored 30 runs. Bailey also worked pitchers for 17 walks to post a .496 on-base percentage.
Thus far in 2314, Bailey is hitting .361 with 17 home runs, 48 RBIs, 44 runs scored and has compiled a .423 OBP.
Pitcher - The Commonwealth Collegiate Baseball League hitters didn't have a chance in April when the Yale Bulldogs manager wrote "Vaive" on the lineup card. Outing after outing, Dave Vaive held teams in check and usually got a win.
He excelled with a 6-1 mark and 1.07 ERA in 7 starts. The talented Bulldogs star pitched 59 innings, fanned 20 and held opposing teams to a .250 average.
For his superb mound work Vaive was named the CCBL Pitcher of the Month by the baseball writers.
To date this season, Vaive sports a 9-1 mark with a 1.61 ERA in 12 starting assignments. He has held the opposition to a .246 batting average and has 35 strikeouts in 89.2 innings.
CYL Analysis
The CYL is 11 days away from concluding the 2314 season. Amazingly, no team has yet to clinch a playoff spot despite there being 16 spots were region. At 31-8, the Covenant Dandy Boys, defending champions, have the CYL's best record. Current division leaders are as follows:
Franklin - Needham Radstorm and Sturbridge Rangers (24-15)
Emerson - Lowell Frags (25-14)
Fuller - Covenant Dandy Boys (31-8)
Revere - North Charles Bank Goonies (25-13-1)
DuBois - Rockport Seafarers (25-13-1)
Adams - Hope Firestarters (26-13)
Alcott - Andrew Station Southies (24-15)
Morse - Taunton Giants (25-14)
Attucks - Dennis Menaces (24-14-1)
Hancock - Collegetown Spirits and Holyoke Mech Dragons (23-16)
Looking at the wildcard leaders, non-division leaders in the playoff hunt iare led by the Saugus Launchers (29-9-1), which has the CYL's second-best record behind their Margaret Fuller Division rivals in Covenant. The Launchers are the only team pretty much set up to earn a wildcard spot, while the other 21 wildcard spots will be a ferocious fight to the finish. We will update once we know the field.
CYL Players of the Month
NR Hitter - Knob Elded put together a good April to earn the North Region Batter of the Month prize. A virtual unknown, he made the most of his chance to prove to Sudbury officials that he belongs on the big league roster.
The Celebs right fielder posted a .409 batting average with 17 home runs, 34 RBIs and 29 runs scored.
At the moment, Elded is hitting .377 with 25 home runs and 51 RBIs. He has played in 39 games and scored 42 times.
SR Hitter - Even though he is a newcomer to Commonwealth Youth League, Sluggo Luge put up some good numbers in April and earned the SR Batter of the Month award.
He was one of Spectacle Island's offensive leaders with a .461 average in 24 games. He also racked up 15 home runs, 30 RBIs, and 24 runs scored.
So far this year, Luge has hit .410 with 20 home runs, 41 RBIs and 35 runs scored.
NR Pitcher - Last month was a very good one for T.J. A.J. R.J. Backslash of Manchester. So good that he has been picked as the Pitcher of the Month in the North Region.
Backslash throttled league hitters the entire month, completing April with an impressive 4-0 mark and a 1.14 ERA in 6 starts with 46 strikeouts in 39.1 innings.
This year, Backslash has compiled a 4-2 record with a 2.20 ERA in 11 starts.
SR Pitcher - April was a very good month for Lo Breitenstein of the Woodlawn Gnomes. He held opposing hitters for a .240 average and took home the South Region Pitcher of the Month award.
In 6 starts he claimed a 6-0 record as he put up a 3.18 ERA and struck out 46 in 45.1 innings.
This season, Breitenstein has crafted a 8-1 mark with a 2.97 ERA in 72.2 innings. Opposing clubs are batting .233 against him and he has 65 strikeouts.