Lea, Kirkpatrick Take Home Week 7 NECBL Awards
July 19, 2021 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) News Release
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- North Adams catcher Jeremy Lea (Pacific) and Bristol right-handed pitcher James Kirkpatrick (Harvard) have been named the New England Collegiate Baseball League's (NECBL) Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for the seventh edition of the 2021 season.
Lea's hot bat has helped a resurgent North Adams squad climb up the North Division rankings and sit within two games of Keene for the top spot. The rising senior at Pacific posted the top batting average in the New England League last week (.583) after totaling seven hits in 16 at-bats. Three of those hits were doubles - one off the league lead - and another was a homer, as he drove in six RBIs on the week, also one back of the league's high-water mark on the week. The Pleasanton, California, native also scored five runs and added a stolen base and a walk while posting a staggering 1.698 OPS thanks to a 1.083 SLG% and .615 on-base percentage.
Through 25 games, Lea owns a .330 batting average thanks to 33 hits and has scored 19 runs while drilling seven doubles, five homers and 14 RBIs. He owns a .941 OPS to date while slashing .330 / .391 / .550. A rising senior at Pacific, Lea batted .248 (37-149) for the Tigers this past spring with 20 runs, seven homers and 30 RBIs.
Kirkpatrick factored into a pair of Bristol wins last week, as the Blues have begun to catch fire with four straight wins. The righty and rising junior at Harvard first earned a two-inning save in the Blues' 9-6 road win at Danbury last Monday; he struck out four of the six batters he faced in that span in shutting down the Westerners. He then added another scoreless inning with only a strikeout and walk yielded at Mystic four days later. He did not allow a hit in three innings of work, posting a 15.00 K/9 and 0.33 WHIP, both of which ranked among the league leaders last week.
The right-hander is now up to three saves on the summer; in 10 appearances, he has fanned 16 over 13-1/3 innings, and opponents are batting only .178 against him.
Week 7 Honor Roll - Position Players
Brendan Cumming (Mystic), Travis Holt (Valley) Noah Martinez (Keene), Alex Ramirez (Ocean State), Matthew Wood (Newport)
Week 7 Honor Roll - Pitchers
Jordy Allard (Upper Valley), Jake Berry (Keene), Jackson Emus (North Shore), Mark Faello (Bristol), Lenny Washington (Keene)
The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the New England League started play in 1994 and has sent over 150 alumni to the Major Leagues with nearly 30 alumni taken in the first round of the MLB Draft. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on Twitter, Instagram and on Facebook.
• Discuss this story on the New England Collegiate Baseball League message board...
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 19, 2021
- Lea, Kirkpatrick Take Home Week 7 NECBL Awards - NECBL
- North Tops South, 6-2, in 2021 NECBL All-Star Game - NECBL
- Six Gulls Shine at Home in NECBL All-Star Game Festivities - Newport Gulls
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
