by Matt Plante
Vice President
Week #6 in College Baseball
Top Tier Alumni Roundup: Top Performances from the week
Bobby Seymour, Wake Forest @bobbyseymour127
Seymour collected a hit in every game played this past week, including a 4 for 5 performance with 3 RBI’s in the series finale vs. ACC opponent Notre Dame. Seymour ended up hitting two doubles and collected 6 RBI’s on the week, helping the Demon Deacons take a mid-week game vs. Appalachian State and winning 1 of 3 on the road vs. Notre Dame on the weekend. Seymour is now 2nd on the team in batting average, hitting .307 as a true freshman and leads the team in doubles with 5. Wake Forest after losing the series to Notre Dame this past weekend is now 11-13 overall and 5-4 in the ACC.
Quinn Snarskis, Illinois @SnarskiAndHutch
Snarskis picked up the win on Friday night vs. Northwestern in their opening to Big Ten play. Snarskis went 7 innings in his start giving up only one run on 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. The Fighting Illini went on to sweep all three games in their Big Ten matchup vs. Northwestern and are ranked #24 in the nation. Snarskis is now 3-0 on the year with a 3.00 ERA in 33 innings of work, while Illinois is 15-5 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten.
Luke Johnson, Bucknell @LukeJohnson_6
Johnson had a really good weekend at the plate in Patriot League play, going 5 for 12, hitting .417 with 2 RBI’s in four games. However, Bucknell lost twice to Army and split with Holy Cross to drop to 5-17 overall and 2-6 in the Patriot League. In his senior campaign, Johnson leads the Bison in batting average and slugging percentage, currently hitting .366 with a .488 slugging %.
Louis Niemerg, Maryville @LouisNiemerg
Niemerg had an unbelievable week both at the plate and on the mound. Niemerg collected a hit in all 5 games played this week, going 7 for 18 hitting .389 with a homerun, a triple, a double and collecting 4 RBI’s. On the mound, Niemerg picked up the win in the finale vs. Missouri S&T, throwing a 7 inning complete game giving up 0 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk while striking out 4. Maryville took 3 of 4 vs. Missouri S&T and improved to 11-15 overall and 3-1 in the conference.
Tommy Duddleston, Wisconsin-Stevens Point @THD_Part5
Duddleston collected a hit in all five games played this week down on their Florida trip. Duddleston went 9 for 19, hitting .474 with a double and 4 RBI’s. Wisconsin-Stevens Point went 2-3 this past week in Florida and are now 4-3 overall.
Brenden Heiss, John A. Logan CC @Heiss42
Heiss had a great start vs. Lincoln Trail CC picking up the win and improving to 3-0 on the year. Heiss threw a 6 innings giving up 0 runs on 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out a staggering 13. John A. Logan took 2 of 3 from Lincoln Trail and improved to 13-10 overall.
Richard Fordon, Northwestern
Fordon went 3.2 innings of relief in Saturday’s extra inning game vs. Illinois. Fordon gave up 0 runs on 3 hits while striking out 2 to keep the Wildcats in the game. However, it wasn’t enough as the Wildcats dropped all three to Illinois and moved to 7-11 overall and 0-3 in the Big Ten. Fordon continues to be a staple in the bullpen for the Cats with a 3.21 ERA on the year in 14 innings of work.
Anfernee Crompton, Army @ac_crompton
Crompton had a great weekend at the plate going 4 for 11, hitting .364 with a double and 4 RBI’s on opening weekend of Patriot League play. Army went on to beat Bucknell twice and Navy twice to improve to 11-12 overall and 4-0 in the Patriot League.
Collin Clayton, John A. Logan CC @WizCollifa_
Clayton went a cool 6 for 11, hitting .545 this past weekend with a double and 3 RBI’s to help John A. Logan improve to 13-10 overall.
Brady Huffman, Illinois State @brady_huffman
Huffman took the loss in his 5 innings of work vs. Creighton this past weekend but only gave up one earned run off of 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5. The Redbirds loss both games vs. Creighton this past weekend and slipped to 8-11 overall.
Matt Burch, Wabash Valley CC
Burch went a steady 5 for 11, hitting .454 this past weekend vs. Southwestern Illinois CC with a double and 2 RBI’s. Wabash Valley took 2 of 3 and improved to 20-5 overall.
Travis Upp, IPFW @TUpp_12
Upp went 3 for 9, hitting .333 this past weekend vs. Summit League Opponent North Dakota State. IPFW lost all three games and are now 4-15 overall and 0-6 in the Summit. Upp on the other hand has continued to be solid in the lineup, hitting .322 on the year, which is 2nd on his team.
Jesse Forestell, Western Michigan @jesse_forestell
Forestell went 4 for 12, hitting .333 this past week with 2 RBI’s. However, Western Michigan lost the mid-week game vs. Michigan and loss 2 of 3 vs. Toledo on the weekend. This dropped the Broncos to 10-11 overall and 1-2 in the MAC.
Michael Costanzo, Austin Peay @costanzoAP56
Costanzo took his 1st loss of the year vs. OVC opponent, Tennessee Tech. Costanzo threw well though only giving up 1 run in 6 innings off of 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 7. Austin Peay got swept by Tennessee Tech and slipped to 14-11 overall and 5-4 in the OVC.
Austin Covers, East Carolina @acovers22
Covers got one inning of relief work in this past weekend vs. #20 ranked Central Florida. In his one inning of work, Covers gave up 0 runs on 0 hits. East Carolina is ranked #18 in the nation and improved to 2-1 in the American conference by taking 2 of 3 vs. UCF this past weekend. The Pirates are currently 18-5 overall and continue to climb up the nation polls.
Joe Santoro, Army
Santoro got one inning of relief work in vs. Navy this past weekend, giving up 0 runs on 0 hits while striking out 1. Army beat Navy and Bucknell over the weekend are started Patriot League play off 4-0.
Welby Malczewski, Auburn @Welbys_World
Malczewski picked up Auburn’s only win this past weekend vs. #8 ranked Kentucky by going one inning of relief, giving up 0 runs on 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 1. Auburn however lost 2 of 3 vs. Kentucky and slipped to 3-3 in the SEC and 20-5 overall.
Brian Musielak, Concordia-Chicago @B_Moose_24
Musielak made two appearances this past weekend in relief vs. UW-La Crosse. In the 1st game, he went 1 inning giving up 0 runs on 0 hits while striking out 1. In Game 2, he went 3 innings to pick up the win in relief giving up 0 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 2. Concordia-Chicago beat UW-La Crosse twice and North Park this past week, are ranked #6 in the nation and are now 12-3 overall.
Sam Cottingham-Beard, Western Illinois @toptierboy17
Cottingham-Beard got 1 inning of relief in the mid-week game vs. Maryville. Cottingham-Beard gave up 0 runs on 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 3 and the Leathernecks beat Maryville. On the weekend, Western Illinois lost to South Dakota State on Friday, while the rest of the weekend set was cancelled due to snow and cold. The Leathernecks are currently 3-14 overall and 2-2 in the Summit.
Kevin Sullivan, Middle Tennessee State
Sullivan went 2 for 6, hitting .333 this past weekend vs. Charlotte with a double and 3 RBI’s. MTSU however, lost 2 of 3 to Charlotte and slipped to 13-11 overall and 3-3 in Conference USA.
Ben Zordani, St. Xavier @BZordani
Zordani collected a hit in all six games he played in this past week, going 8 for 22 hitting .364 with two doubles and 2 RBI’s. Saint Xavier lost twice to Roosevelt early in the week but then beat Indiana-South Bend and swept Trinity International over the weekend. St. Xavier is now 12-16 overall and 7-2 in the conference.
Preston Perry, Adrian
Perry picked up a win in relief this past weekend vs. Alma and improved himself to 2-1. Perry went 3 innings of relief giving up 0 earned runs on 0 hits and 1 walk while striking out 2. Adrian took 3 of 4 from Alma this past weekend and improved to 8-4 overall.
Dalton Parker, Purdue @daltonparker
Parker got one inning of relief work in this past weekend vs. Lipscomb giving up 0 runs on 0 hits. Purdue split with Lipscomb and are 10-10 overall on the year, and Parker continues to progress.
Andrew Zapka, Heartland CC @Andrew_Zapka
Zapka went 2.1 innings of relief vs. ICC giving up 0 runs on 1 hit while striking out 2. Heartland split with ICC and Lincolnland CC this past week.
Sean Hjelle, Kentucky @Hjellebean
Hjelle got a No-Decision in his Friday matchup vs. SEC opponent and #9 ranked Auburn. Hjelle went 6.1 innings in his start giving up 4 runs on 8 hits while striking out 7. Kentucky took 2 of 3 from Auburn and are currently ranked #6 in the nation with a 17-7 overall record and are 2-4 in the SEC.
Brett Newberg, Austin Peay @BrettNewb
Newberg pitched really well in the two mid-week games vs. Kansas State, picking up a save in the second game to earn the Governors a split. In his two appearances he went a total 3.1 innings giving up 0 runs on 0 hits while striking out 1. But on the weekend, Newberg had a chance to build on his solid mid-week to get in on the weekend vs. Tennessee Tech and went 1 inning giving up 3 runs on 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 1. The Governors got swept on all three games vs. Tennessee Tech this past weekend.
Jacob Nagel, Bellarmine @jacobnag14
Nagel got the win this past weekend vs. McKendree going 6 innings giving up 2 runs on 7 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5. Bellarmine took 2 of 3 from McKendree this past weekend and improved to 14-7 overall. Nagel is 3-1 on the year with a 4.44 ERA.
Michael Kruse, Benedictine (KS)
Kruse pitched a complete game and picked up the win vs. Missouri Valley this past weekend. Kruse went 7 innings strong giving up only 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 4. Benedictine took 3 of 4 from Missouri Valley this past weekend and improved to 15-16 overall and 5-7 in the conference.
Max Maney, Carroll University @max_maney15
Maney made three appearances this past week out of the bullpen, picking up the win in one of them vs. Northland at the end of the week. Maney went a total of 5.2 innings in his three appearances giving up a total of 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 3. Carroll is now 9-2 overall.
Eric Giltz, SIUE @EricGiltz
Giltz collected 4 hits this past week with a double and an RBI. However, SIUE got beat by Southern Illinois in the mid-week game and swept by SEMO on the weekend. SIUE is now 5-16 overall and 1-8 in the OVC.
Kolton Rominski, Hillsdale @kidk1813
Rominski came in relief for one inning vs. Trevecca Nazarene on Friday giving up 0 runs off 2 hits. Then Rominski started on Saturday vs. Kentucky Wesleyan and got the win going 5 innings giving up 2 runs on 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3. Hillsdale improved to 11-13 overall and 8-0 in the conference.
Jake Huber & Gunnar Haskins, Augustana
Huber went 3 for 4 with a double and 3 RBI’s and Haskins went 1 for 3 with an RBI to help Augustana get the win vs. Cornell and improve them to 12-3 overall. This was the only game Augustana played this past week due to the weather.
Dave Navarro, IIT
Navarro went 2 for 4 this past weekend vs. MSOE, helping IIT earn the split and improving to 8-5 overall.
Pat Rumoro, Louisville @PRumoro
Rumoro went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI in the finale vs. #10 ranked Clemson. Rumoro’s performance helped the Cardinals not to get swept at home vs. their ACC opponent and move them to 4-5 in the ACC and 18-6 overall.
