Waves Report - Week of 5/15
Waves Report - Week of 5/15
By Zach Austin
With the summer right around the corner, the Waves have saved their biggest and best performances for last.
Donovan Cash had some of his best performances to date for Kennesaw State this past week, earning ASUN Player of the Week honors. In the Owls’ 8-5 win over Western Carolina on Wednesday, the freshman from Sharpsburg, Georgia notched season-bests in hits (four), and RBIs (four). He matched those totals in their 23-5 win over Stetson on Friday, while also adding a season-best four runs. He capped off the weekend on Sunday with another win, coming in with his first two-home run game of the season to close out the Hatters 14-3 on Sunday.
Nick Cimillo continues to be one of the country’s top hitters for Rutgers, coming in as D1Baseball’s 12th ranked hitter nationally. His best performance of the weekend came on Saturday in a 12-5 victory over Bowling Green. The Suffern, New York native had his second two-homer performance of the month and added a season-high four runs, as well as matching his best totals in hits (four) and RBIs (three).
Winthrop’s Khyree Miller has broken out for his team in recent weeks. On Wednesday at The Citadel, the sophomore outfielder put together his second multi-homer game of the year, picking up three hits and four RBIs in a 9-6 win. Miller followed that up with a pair of solid performances against North Carolina A&T. In game one of the series sweep, he recorded an RBI, a double, and a triple in three hits on the day He followed this up in game two with another home run on two hits, totaling two runs and three RBIs.
Northeastern’s Justin Bosland and Minot State’s Matt Malone both hit their second home runs of the season this past week. Bosland hit a grand slam that helped lift his team to a 9-4 victory over Connecticut in a battle of the Huskies, while one of Malone’s three hits went yard in Sunday’s 6-4 loss to Minnesota Duluth.
Other top performers of the week include Rhode Island’s Alex Ramirez, who put up four runs on four hits in Saturday’s 19-13 marathon win over Saint Louis. Guy Lipscomb and Brodey Heaton also played well for Belmont. Heaton had at least two hits and three RBIs in Wednesday’s victory over Northern Alabama and Friday’s win to start the series against Eastern Illinois. The Newburgh, Indiana native also recorded two doubles in Wednesday’s win. His teammate, Lipscomb, added a double in three of the Bruins last four games.
On the mound, Seton Hall’s Nick Payero had his best outing of the year on Friday. Facing off against Villanova, the righty from Monroe, New Jersey lasted five innings and struck out a season-high six batters while not allowing a walk and only giving up one run. Despite this, the Pirates fell short to the Wildcats 3-2.
His Pirates teammate and the newest addition to the Waves, Joe Cinnella, got the start in the third matchup of the weekend against Villanova. In his ninth start of the season, the redshirt junior put together three strikeouts and only one walk to pick up his fourth victory of the season, this time on the right side of a 3-2 effort.
Jalen Borders also got the start on Sunday for Belmont and lasted for just over six innings of work. The sophomore lefty finished the afternoon with five strikeouts in a 5-3 win over Eastern Illinois.
In relief, Fairfield’s Jack Erbeck and Virginia Tech’s Christian Worley both had strong showings. On Friday in one of two appearances of the weekend against Quinnipiac, Erbeck tied his season-high with four strikeouts while not giving up a walk or an earned run in a 10-8 Stags victory. Worley appeared for the Hokies in a close 2-1 victory over Liberty on Wednesday, setting a new season-best with four strikeouts while not allowing any runs in two innings of action.
Donovan Cash - Kennesaw State (Credit: KSUOwlsBaseball/Twitter)
Nick Payero - Seton Hall (Credit: Seton Hall University Athletics)
Khyree Miller - Winthrop (Credit: Winthrop University Athletics)
