The NECC Knights just keep on winning. The Knights closed out the season with an incredible 20-game winning streak and finished the year with a 25-2 record. Both losses occurred back on April 18 when they were still in Florida for spring training. The Knights are 13-0 in conference play.
In 27 games this year, the Knights have scored 203 runs. They average roughly 10 hits per game (271 total), but they have only hit four home runs on the season. The key to their success is timely hitting and good baserunning.
With a .339 team batting average and a .449 on base percentage, it’s hard to keep these guys off the basepaths. NECC has also stolen 81 bases as a team this year. They’ve only been caught 18 times for an 82 percent success rate.
Sophomore catcher Harrison Smoske has been a big part of the offensive success this year, leading the team with a .462 batting average. He leads the team with four triples on the year and has driven in 16 runs. He is also second on the team with 13 stolen bases.
Freshmen Colby Maiola and Ellidio Reyes have continued to make an impact in their first year with the Knights.
Maiola leads the team in home runs (3), RBIs (26) and stolen bases (16), while Reyes is hitting .370 with 34 total hits and 22 RBIs. MacDaniel Singleton has knocked in 18 runs and leads the Knights with 10 doubles this year.
The pitching has also been stellar this year. Knights pitchers have thrown three shutouts and have a collective 3.87 ERA with a .263 opponent batting average.
Ryan McAuliffe and Zarif Pajazetovic continue to lead the way on the mound for NECC, and it’s almost hard to tell who is the ace of the staff.
McAuliffe leads the team in innings pitched (44), strikeouts (46) and ERA (1.84) and has notched a 5-0 record this year.
But Pajazetovic isn’t far behind. He has thrown 40 innings this year and leads the team with a 6-0 record, and his ERA is 2.03.
While it may be hard to pick an ace, it is certainly a good problem for coach Jeff Mejia to have.
Freshmen Anthony Dally, Robert Barry and Gianni Esposito have also made an impact for the Knights this year. Dally, a lefty, is 2-0 with a 4.23 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 27.2 innings pitched.
Barry and Esposito are both right-handers and have both pitched 19 innings this year. Barry has put up a 3.28 ERA, while Esposito has a 1.89 ERA.
The Knights will look to continue their success into the playoffs, hopefully culminating in another trip to Tyler, Texas for the NJCAA World Series.
With the quality depth both on the mound and at the plate, the Knights will look to be a serious contender to win it all in 2015.
