Posted: Mar 21, 2019
Boston, MA- The Roberto Clemente Cup is set to kick off this weekend with the festivities kicking off Friday, March 22 at 3:00pm when Fisher College Athletics team up with The Red Sox Foundation to host a free Play Ball clinic for youth ages 5-12 at Fraser Field. The Play Ball clinic, free and open to the public, provides an opportunity to learn about baseball from college players and professionals. Throughout the weekend there will be an opportunity to donate gently used baseball and softball equipment as part of the Marines Toys for Tots program. Donations will be accepted beginning Friday at 3pm during the Play Ball clinic through the end of the tournament on Sunday – all happening at Fraser Field in Lynn, MA.
The baseball action starts on Saturday morning with the schedule as follows:
10am - SUNY-Canton vs Fisher College
1pm - SUNY-Canton vs University of Maine-Presque Isle
4pm - Northern Vermont University-Lyndon vs University of Maine-Presque Isle
7pm - Northern Vermont University-Lyndon vs Fisher College
Sunday
10am - University of Maine-Presque Isle vs Fisher College
1pm - Northern Vermont University- Lyndon vs SUNY-Canton
4pm - Consolation Game
7pm- Championship Game
The Fisher Falcons are 17-10 this season, after starting the season 13-0. The team has faced competition that is nationally recognized in the NAIA polls, including a four-game set with Rio Grande University and a win over the #11 ranked Cumberland Patriots. Most recently, the team traveled to the midwest to take on teams in Kentucky, North Carolina and Ohio on their Spring Break. The Falcons came back winning three of seven, finishing with a back-to-back sweep over the University of Northwestern Ohio Racers. FC hosts the spring season opener this Saturday at the Clemente Cup and will look to go 4-0 to take the Clemente Cup Championship.
This season to date, the Falcons are led offensively by junior first baseman Mitchell Lundholm (Plymouth, MA) who will enter this weekend's action with the lead in batting average (.450), hits (50), runs (32), RBI's (40) and HR's (2). Over his last six games he has gone 14 for 25 (.560) at the plate, while collecting 14 RBI's and scoring seven runs, and will look to stretch his hitting streak to 10 games over the weekend. Leadoff man Jorge Sanchez (Caguas, PR) has performed all season in that role, as he has led off the game with a hit 13 times this season. He is now batting a solid .406, while leading the team in stolen bases (10) and is second on the team in both hits (39) and runs (30) and is currently riding an 11-game hit streak. Freshman outfielder John Batista (Lawrence, MA) has come on strong of late, collecting a hit in all but one of the spring trip contests. He has brought his average up to .395, going 10 for his last 18 at bats, including four extra base hits. Jacob Deziel (Merrimac, MA), Ismael Perez (Brooklyn, NY) and Ivan Rivera (Brooklyn, NY) are the other Falcons who have 20+ hits this season combining for 71 hits, 16 doubles, and 31 RBI's.
The pitching staff is led by senior Zach Leblanc (Salem, MA) who leads the team in both wins (5) and strikeouts (51) and will look to get his first win since shutting down Anna Maria College on February 16th. Norberto Ceballos (Loiza, PR) is just behind Leblanc with four wins, and has an ERA of 4.35 while striking out 24 batters in 20 innings of work. Senior Yamil Delgado (Caguas, PR) has been solid coming out of the bullpen, holding his ERA to 2.40 in 15 innings pitched, and striking out 19 batters. Junior Randolf Flores (Brooklyn, NY) pitched well over the Spring Trip helping his team to victory over the #11 Cumberland Patriots, allowing just six hits and two earned runs while striking out four for his first win of the season. Coach Dulin has utilized his roster to its fullest and will look to maximize his bench over the four game tournament. The first test of the weekend will be against the SUNY-Canton Roos at 10am on Saturday morning.
SUNY-Canton Roos (2-8 Overall, 0-0 Conference)
The Roos are currently 2-8 this season, kicking off their season with a pair of losses to NYU back on March 8th. The team then headed south for their Spring Trip to Port Charlotte, FL finishing with a pair of wins against Bridgewater State University (W 11-5 and W-10-6). SUNY averages 4.5 runs per game this season, while giving up an average of 11.6 to their opponents. They are not playing this week and will head to Lynn looking for their third win of the season.
Overall Leaders - Min. of 15 AB's/3 Innings Pitched
Batting Average - Brandon Bautista -.368
Hits - Jesse Iocavetta - 10
RBI's - Edward Malinoski - 7
Runs Scored - Edward Malinoski - 7
Doubles - 2 Tied with three
Stolen Bases - 2 Tied with two
ERA -Eirik Levine - 0.00
Wins -2 Tied with one
Strikeouts -Collin Trathen - 13
Hits - Jesse Iocavetta - 10
RBI's - Edward Malinoski - 7
Runs Scored - Edward Malinoski - 7
Doubles - 2 Tied with three
Stolen Bases - 2 Tied with two
ERA -Eirik Levine - 0.00
Wins -2 Tied with one
Strikeouts -Collin Trathen - 13
Northern Vermont University-Lyndon Hornets (1-11, 0-0 Conference)
The Hornets are currently 1-11 this season. They started the season with a 4-1 win over Capitol to start their Spring trip in Auburndale, FL, but have lost 11 in a row since. Upon returning from Florida, the Hornets lost twice to Salem State Vikings including a 7-6 heartbreaker on Friday, March 15th. NVU averages 3.5 runs per game while giving up an average of 7.25 runs to their opponents over 12 games. The Hornets kick off their action Saturday at 4pm against the University of Maine-Presque Isle.
Overall Leaders - Min. of 15 AB's/3 Innings Pitched
Batting Average - Zak Johnson -.326
Hits - Zak Johnson - 14
RBI's - Jason Doris - 7
Runs Scored - Ben Rollins - 8
Doubles - 3 Tied with two
Stolen Bases - Ryder Thornton - 4
ERA - Jake Jourdain - 3.71
Wins - Jake Jourdain - 1
Strikeouts - Jake Jourdain - 19
University of Maine- Presque Isle (0-6, 0-0) Conference
The UMPI Owls are currently on their Spring Trip down South and will circle back up to New England with their last stop at the Clemente Cup at Fraser Field this weekend. The Owls are 0-6 to start the season in North Carolina with one more game on Friday afternoon against Stratford College before heading back North Friday evening. Over their first six games the Owls have averaged just over two runs per game, while giving up 15 runs per game having faced some tough teams down South. The Owls will take on SUNY-Canton in their first game on Saturday at 1pm.
Overall Leaders (Includes only four games of stats)
Batting Average - Justin Mason - .333
Hits - Jacob Moreno- 4
RBI's - Jacob Moreno- 2
Runs Scored -2 Tied with two
Doubles - 2 Tied with one
Stolen Bases - 2 Tied with one
ERA - Roberto DeLaPena- 2.70
Strikeouts -2 Tied with five
Follow all the action on the Falcons social media outlets this weekend and support the Fisher Falcons as they look to take home their first ever Clemente Cup.