Weekend Notes

Kevin Stenhouse (URI) has been on fire as of late, batting .397 with three home runs and nine RBI. But what about his mother? Sue Stenhouse has won two raffles this season taking home a gas grill and a team-signed Tuck baseball bat.

The Mavericks hosted one of the more livelier crowds this seasons with the New Hampshire Cooperstown Classic Cats in attendance to witness Saturday night's 5-4 extra inning loss to the first place North Shore Navigators. Members of the Cats stayed right to the end and provided a great atmosphere for all involved as the Mavs rallied to tie the game with runs in the home half of the eighth and ninth inning.

Community Service 

Casey Cotter, Luke Fernandes, Dionys Quezada, and Kevin Stenhouse spent their Saturday morning with kids from the Saint Charles Children's Home courtesy of Demeter's Steakhouse and Simply Green Biofuels.

The sponsors have partnered with the Mavericks to host the children on all Sunday home games, providing food and drinks, allowing them to experience a day at the park. All players involved were humbled at the response from the kids they visited and are looking forward to Sunday's game.

Record Setters

It is no secret the 2012 Mavericks have improved. Just how much remains to be seen. The Mavs have set new highs for homeruns and are on the brink of breaching the ten win mark, something that took them all season to do last year. Anyelo Roman is the new leader in homeruns for the team, eclipsing Dani Vicente's four dingers last season. Roman is also on the brink of breaking Tommy Chase's single season RBI mark of seventeen.

Speaking of Chase, the Notre Dame senior will Be in the dugout this Sunday after enduring a compression fracture in his back. His presence will add infield depth and leadership qualities that are second to none.

Notes From the Bench

Roman arrives as advertised

Anyelo Roman

The Seacoast Mavericks had high expectations for Dakota State University infielder Anyelo Roman when he signed with the team earlier this year and rightfully so. Roman ranked seventh in NAIA Division 1 baseball with 17 homeruns this spring, shattering the previous school record of 11.  He also batted .366 with 55 RBI and earned an astounding OBP of .723 for the Trojans.

After a sluggish start where he managed only three hits in first 16 at-bats, Roman has since exploded, going 11-for-20 with 4 homeruns over the last five games. He now has 5 homeruns, a new Mavericks team record (stats include yesterday’s suspended game at Martha’s Vineyard which is yet official).

To put things into perspective, only five players in the FCBL had five or more home runs last season. Single season home run recordholder Jeremy Matos’ reign (13) is in jeoprdy with Roman’s five dingers and Conor Bierfeldt (Torrington) and Chris Shaw (Nashua) at four each with only a quarter of the season completed.

On Monday, Roman was named FCBL’s Player of the Week for his performance.

Dani Vicnete led the Mavericks with 4 homeruns last season.

Dennis Torres

Former Mavericks pitcher Dennis Torres has reported to the Baltimore Orioles for rookie ball. Torres signed a deal and will be spending his first professional season playing in the Gulf Coast League. True to his roots, Torres is always quick to let us know how things are going. We will have updates through the summer.

Bobolts impresses

Kyle Bobolts has impressed the Mavericks and fans with his ‘do anything for the team’ attitude. Bobolts has played second base, shortstop, thirdbase, outfield, and recently earned his first FCBL start, a result of a solid relief effort early last week.

On June 17^th, Bobolts pitched four hitless innings, striking out five, in Seacoast’s 9-2 win over Martha’s Vineyard. Five days later, Bobolts gave Coach Bonehill six solid innings, allowing two runs, both unearned, while striking out six Wachusett batters. The Mavericks prevailed with a 10-2 win, avenging and the Dirt Dawgs walk-off win earlier in the week.

Bobolts has a perfect 0.00 ERA and has struck out 11 batters in 10 innings in his two appearances. In addition, he has been a threat at the plate, batting .324 with one homerun and 5 RBI.

Injuries

Tommy Chase continues to recuperate from a back injury that has kept him on the shelf all season. Ryan Coppinger had surgery for a broken hand late last week. The cast has been removed and he should be able to begin rehabilitating over the next week. Juan Pablo Diaz reports the muscle strain in his torso has improved and should be eligible to pitch in matter of days. Diaz long tossed earlier over the weekend and said he felt good.

Weekend Updates

Kyle Bobolts  and Spencer Marentette had strong weekends for Oakland University on the final weekend of the regular season. Bobolts was 7-for-13 with his first home run of the season in a four game series against Southern Utah. Bobolts also had six RBI. Marentette was 4-for-12 with two RBI in the series, including a double.

Ryan Coppinger continued his successful sophomore season going 4-for-10 with a pair of RBI for Canisius. Coppinger is hitting .338 with one homerun and 14 RBI for the 31-25 Griffs.

Anyelo Roman finished his first season at Dakota Sate University in stellar fashion batting .366 with 17 homeruns and 55 RBI. Roman, a junior, transferred to Dakota State from Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

Costas Tingas earned a completed game victory in tournament play for Northern Essex on Saturday allowing one run and three hits in the 9-1 win over Montgomery College - Germantown. Tings struckout four of the 30 batters he faced, only allowing four fly balls.

Kevin Stenhouse (URI) continues to improve late in the season for the University of Rhode Island. Stenhouse was 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI on Saturday. He was 7-for-11 in a three game series against Temple and has raised his average .298 for the Rhodys.

Weekend Recap

Dennis Torres (UMass-Amherst) scattered nine hits and only allowed one run in 6.2 innings of work against Richmond to earn his third win of the season. Torres (3-3) struck out four batters and walked five. The junior from Lawrence is second on the UMass squad with a 2.73 ERA and 40 strikeouts on the year.

Casey Cotter and Dionys Quezada  concluded their first seasons with Merrimack College over the weekend. Cotter led the team in batting with a .330 average, good for 19th in the Northeast 10 Conference. He led the Warriors with 36 runs scored and tied for second with a pair of home runs.

Despite missing a large portion of the season with hand and knee injuries, Quezada's freshman season was promising.  He ended the year with a .226 average with 2 homeruns and 12 RBI in 26 games and also accumulated 15 assists behind the plate in 19 games.

Weekend Recap

It’s difficult not to get excited for the season opener with the spring performances of Donnie Hissa and Dennis Torres. Hissa and Torres are holding their own for Notre Dame and UMass-Amherst respectively, each with an ERA below 3.00.

Hissa, the 6-foot-8 sophomore from Iron River, Wisconsin, received limited innings early in the season with a wealth of arms in the bullpen. However, his consistency makes it impossible for the Irish staff to overlook him as of late.

In Sunday’s game, with Notre Dame down 3-0 in the top of the sixth, Hissa was handed the ball and threw 3.1 perfect innings, closing out the game against St. Johns University.  He needed just 33 pitches to retire ten batters, four of them on strikes. Hissa did not figure in the decision as Notre Dame failed to overcome the deficit.

Hissa also pitched a perfect inning in relief on Friday against the same St. Johns squad, fanning two of three batters.

Hissa holds a 1-1 record with a 2.41 ERA and has struck out 26 of the 70 batters he has faced. Opponents are batting a mere .214 with only two extra base hits – a double and single.

Unlike Hissa, Torres has been a regular starter since the beginning of the season for the Minutemen. On Friday, the junior from Lawrence, Massachusetts, allowed six hits, two runs, one earned, in eight innings of work in a no-decision.

Despite the strong start, UMass eventually lost the game 6-3 in extra innings. 

As always, Torres took the loss in stride.

“It’s part of the game. It happens,” he said via text.

Torres is 2-3 on the season with a 2.88 ERA. He is second on the team with 36 strikeouts.

Interestingly enough, Torres did not pitch in high school for Central Catholic. He was cut all four years.

Casey Cotter was one of the lone bright spots in a weekend Merrimack College would like to forget. The Warriors were swept by division rival Franklin Pierce in a three-game series.

Cotter, who has been solid at the plate all season, was 4-for-12 in the series with a solo home run. He has thirteen hits in his last ten games and is batting .329 with a pair of home runs on the year.

Cotter’s future teammate, Anthony Peguero, was 3-for-8 on the weekend with a double, two RBI, and three runs scored.

Spencer Marentette resumed his early season form with six hits in his last three games for Oakland University this weekend. The freshman from Kingsville, Ontario, who led the Grizzlies in average for the better part of the season before slumping, raised his average to .286.