Teams of The Week
Here is a look at the teams that made the biggest moves or had huge weeks as a team for each division
Div 1: Howard (4-0)
Howard started off the season as one of the top teams in the country. But due to a tough early schedule, injuries, and the difficulty of playing in Region 5 they fell out. They were uncertain how their season was going about halfway through it but in the last 2 weeks where it has mattered, the most they have pulled of 2 straight series sweeps to get into the Regional. To say Howard is a team to watch out for in that region might seem obvious due to their history. But if you take a look at their last 10 games they have scored 117 runs while only allowing 23 runs and everyone knows that when it comes to playoff baseball its not always the best team but the hottest team that is the team to watch out for. This past week they swept their 4 game series with Luna outscoring them by an average of just over 7 runs. Leading that high powered offense this past week was the Ben McLain, Lance Russell (New Mexico), and Parker Wayne. McMclain was 6-10 with a Double, Triple, 12 RBIs, 10 Runs, and 3 stolen bases. Russell was 7-15, with a triple, homer, 7 RBIs, and 5 runs. While Wayne was 5-7 with 3 Doubles, Homer, 5 RBIs, 6 runs, and a stolen base. On the mound for Howard, both Nicco Cole (Cal State Fullerton) and Rickey Apodaca had big performances. Cole threw a complete game in their 16-1 win over Luna, going 5 innings, striking out 10 with no walks and 1 unearned run. Apodaca threw a complete game shut out in the next game with 6 strikeouts, 1 walk, and only 2 hits.
Div 2: Kankakee (6-0)
Kankakee is another team that started out ranked high but fell due to a tough schedule and a young team. They recently though have made it back into the Top 25, going 21 for their last 23 (Including a tough one-run loss last night to Parkland). This past week however over those 6 games they put up 58 runs while holding their opponents to just 24, with the bulk of those coming in their last game of the week against Morton where they won 17-16. Leading the way for them this past week at the plate was the trio of Wade Rankin (Northern Illinois), Dylan Post, and Koltan Moore. Rankin was only hitting .200 this past week had 2 doubles, with 8 RBIs, 4 runs, and 2 stolen bases. Post hit .381 with a double, homer, 8 RBIs, 6 runs, and 3 stolen bases. Moore finishes out the trio hitting .500 with a triple, homer, 6 RBIs, 9 runs, and 2 stolen bases.
Div 3: St. Cloud Tech (6-0)
This weeks theme seems to be teams that started out high, fell off then have come back with runs to put them selfs in the best positions going into the postseason. St. Cloud Tech broke back into the Top Ten this week after being out of it since the start of the season. They are currently riding a 20 game win streak dating back to February. This past week in their 6-0 week they put up 78 runs while only allowing 17. They were led by three of the top hitters at the Division 3 level in Luis Massa, Will Funk, and Logan Aleshire. Massa was 12-21 with 5 doubles, a homer, 10 RBIs 12 Runs, and a stolen base. Funk hit 9-22 with a homer, 9 RBIs, 9 runs, and 4 stolen bases. Aleshire was 11-17 with 4 doubles, a homer, 15 RBIs, and 9 runs. On the mound for them in 11-0 win against Mesabi Range, Brad White threw a No-Hitter striking out 11 over his 6 innings of work with just 3 walks.
Players of the Week
This is a quick look at some of the top 4-5 weeks as both Hitters and Pitchers across the country.
Hitters
Mercer County-Domenic Boselli-.536, 4 Doubles, 4 Homers, 13 RBIs, 10 Runs, 2 SB
Bismark State-Ryan Moormeier-.600, Double, 5 Homers, 14 RBIs, 10 Runs
St. Cloud Tech-Logan Aleshire- .647, 4 Doubles, Homer, 15 RBIs, 9 Runs
Howard-Ben McMclain-.600, Double, Triple, 12 RBIs, 10 Runs, 3 SB
St. Cloud Tech-Luis Massa-.571, 5 Doubles, Homer, 10 RBIs, 12 Runs, SB
Pitchers
St. Cloud Tech-Brad White- 6.0 IP, 11 K, 3 BB, No-Hitter
Cuyahoga- Brock Beuge- 5.0 IP, 12K, 1 H, CGSO
Catawba Valley- Logan Bender- 8.0 IP, 18 K (School Record), 1 BB, 1 H
Howard-Ricky Apodaca-5.0 IP, 6K, 1 BB, 2 H, CGSO
Southeast-Calvin Graag-9.1 IP, 9K, 3 H, 1-0, 3 Saves