Blue Hens Take on Old Dominion in Final 2011 CAA Series at Bob Hannah Stadium
May 5, 2011
Photos courtesy of Mark Campbell _lg.jpg)
NEWARK, Del. - - The 2011 Colonial Athletic Association schedule is coming down to the wire for the University of Delaware baseball team, and they are sitting pretty in a tie for first place, and welcome Old Dominion to Bob Hannah Stadium starting a three games set on Friday at 3 p.m. ODU is in a tie for second place in the CAA standings, a game and a half back of Delaware and James Madison.
Last Time Out:
The Blue Hens (26-19, 15-9 CAA) played only one game this week, a recently added game against Princeton on Tuesday. The bats came alive for both squads, as they totaled 30 hits and 20 runs on the afternoon.
The story of the game was each team’s bullpen, as the Tigers only mustered runs in two separate innings and then was shut down by the final four pitchers from Delaware. Brandon Hinkle, Nick Stampone, Jeff Murray and Steve Richter finished the final four innings of work, only allowing two hits while striking out five batters. Richter earned his ninth save of the season.
EJ Stoltzfus brought the Blue Hens all the way back with a two run single in the eighth inning, giving the home team the 10-9 lead. His single of the head of the shortstop with the bases loaded and one out secured the team’s seventh win in their past 10 games.
The power game reared its head once again as well for Delaware as Steve Ulaky hit two bombs, along with Pat Dameron and Nick Ferdinand (above right) who each hit one. Ulaky leads the team with 13 on the season, as Ferdinand has hit eight and Dameron has four.
The Tigers scored six in the second and three in the fifth, but Delaware came from behind as they have done all season, capping it with a three run eighth inning to take the nonconference game.
The Blue Hens have one more weekend series following this home stand; a three game set at Northeastern. As a team, Delaware is seventh in the CAA with a .281 team batting average an fifth in the conference on the mound with a 4.50 team ERA.
This Weekend’s Tentative Rotation:
• Friday: RHP Eric Young (5-2, 4.42 ERA, 11 games, 11 starts, 59 IP, 30 SO) vs. LHP Kyle Hald (6-2, 3.15 ERA, 10 games, 10 starts, 68.2 IP, 82 SO)
• Saturday: RHP Danny Gatto (1-3, 4.54 ERA, 10 games, 9 starts, 39.2 IP, 22 SO) vs. RHP Ben Tomchick (6-4, 2.98 ERA, 11 games, 10 starts, 63.1 IP, 56 SO)
• Sunday: TBA vs. RHP Phil McCarthy (6-3, 3.90 ERA, 10 games, 10 starts, 67 IP, 42 SO)
Scouting Old Dominion:
Old Dominion (21-20, 13-8 CAA) returns to action with three six-game winners (Tomchick, Hald and McCarthy). Hald continues to lead the CAA in strikeouts with Towson’s Charlie Cononie just three behind. Reliever Adam Wisniewski leads the CAA in saves with 10 and is fourth in appearances with 21.
Junior shortstop Josh Wright is sixth in the CAA with 10 homers, eighth in total bases with 99 and second in slugging percentage at .723. He is also tied for tenth in the league with 13 stolen bases.
First baseman Chris Baker is hitting .296 with 44 RBI, which ranks him sixth in the CAA. Baker has six home runs and a .506 slugging percentage. Freshman designated hitter Joey Burney is hitting .263 with six homers and 25 RBI.
Old Dominion has not played since April 24 as its only midweek game last week was cancelled. The team took this prior week off to concentrate on its spring final exams. They are coming off a series win over George Mason, winning the final two games of the series to move them into second place. They still have two remaining CAA series following this weekend.
As a team, ODU is tenth in the conference in overall hitting, batting .257 in 41 games. They are slightly better on the mound as a team, having the sixth best team ERA at 4.66 up to this point in the season.
Out in Left Field:
• Mother's Day - celebrate Mother's Day at Bob Hannah Stadium! The first 25 moms in attendance will receive a special Baseball Bingo card upon entrance to Bob Hannah Stadium. Be sure to mark off your box when the Blue Hens make a play! The first mom to complete a full row (horizontal, vertical, or diagonally) and bring their card to the press box will win a gift basket from Town & Country Salon.
• Friday marks the 23rd meeting between the two schools, dating all the back to 2004 when the teams first met. Delaware hold a slight advantage, 12-10, but lost two of three last season to the Monarchs. The teams are 6-6 over the previous 12 meetings.
_lg.jpg)
• Nick Ferdinand is the first person since Bill Merkler in 2009 to drive in at least one RBI in 10 straight games. He hit a home run on Wednesday to continue the streak he started on April 20 against St. Joseph’s. He has 29 RBI’s on the season.
• Saturday is Alumni Day at Bob Hannah Stadium. Come out and support all the great alumni that will be in attendance as the Blue Hens take on ODU at 1 p.m.
• Along with Mother’s Day, Sunday is Senior Day for the Blue Hen class of 2011. Come celebrate the great careers of the six seniors (Dave Anderson, Aaron Mascoe, Nick Young, Pat Dameron, Matt Harden, and Steve Ulaky) as well as manager Sam Spuhler.
• Pat Dameron (below right) now has 237 career hits as a Blue Hen, ranking him tied for 13th on the all-time list with Mike Gomez (1989-92). Scott Waibel (1977-80) is the only Blue Hen player to have over 300 career hits (303), leading the program. He is the 34th player to reach at least 200 career hits.
• Pat Dameron’s three RBI’s Tuesday gave him 157 for his career. He is now in the top 15 on the all-time RBI list in Delaware program history. He moved ahead of Brad Eyman for 15th all-time. Scott Waibel holds the all-time record with 231 career RBI’s. Head coach Jim Sherman is second with 227.
• Pat Dameron’s 3-for-5 day on Wednesday continued his stretch of reaching base at least once in every game this season. April 10 against UNC Wilmington, he reached on a fielder’s choice, and he was hit by a pitch on February 26 against Arizona State marking the only games where he did not get a hit or a walk to reach.
• Dave Anderson etched his name in the record book last weekend at Towson, belting three home runs in Friday’s 16-7 victory. He became the 20th player in Blue Hen history to hit three home runs in a game, matching the feat by fellow seniors Steve Ulaky and Pat Dameron.
• Delaware has now had three freshmen capture at least a share of the CAA Rookie of the Week award as Danny Gatto brought home the award this past week after dominating UNC Wilmington. He pitched six innings of four hit ball, striking out six batters in the no decision. EJ Stoltzfus was last week’s award winner, and Chad Kuhl has also won the award earlier in the season.
• Ulaky went 7-for-14 with four home runs, a double and nine RBI’s in four games and was named a “Louisville Slugger’s” National Co-Player of the Week on March 28. He added to his homerun totals in his first at-bat against Temple on Tuesday with a two-run shot to right, making it five in five games.
• Although the team got off to a slow start with the new bat regulations mandated by the NCAA, Steve Ulaky powered through with an NCAA record tying performance against Delaware State on March 22. His two homeruns in the same inning tied an NCAA record, held by numerous players. His three homeruns in one game also tied a Delaware program record, as he became the 19th player in Blue Hen history to hit three jacks in a single contest.
• The Blue Hens made the most of their trip to the west coast in February, knocking off the then ranked no. 9 Arizona State Sun Devils in the first game of the four-game series. The Blue Hens’ last win against a ranked team was in 2001 against no. 18 East Carolina. The victory over the Sun Devils marks the highest ranked opponent the Blue Hens have defeated since beating no. 8 North Carolina in the 1983 NCAA East Regional Baseball Tournament.
Back To Baseball Home Baseball Story Archive
