NECBL New England Collegiate Baseball League

Plymouth's Martin, Fossas Sweep Week 4 Awards

June 30, 2014 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) News Release


NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - The Plymouth Pilgrims have been quite the story over the first month of the 2014 New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) season, and their story gets even better Monday, as the Pilgrims' Michael Martin (Harvard) and Aaron Fossas (Wake Forest) have been named the league's Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, sweeping the NECBL Week 4 awards.

Michael Martin

The last time any team swept the weekly awards came back in June of 2011, when former league franchise North Shore did so in the first week of the season. Martin and Fossas become the second and third Plymouth players to earn weekly recognition after teammate Vincent Guglietti (Quinnipiac) was named the first Player of the Week back in Week 1.

Martin excelled all across the board in six games last week, as the Harvard outfielder led the NECBL with 11 hits and finished with a .458 batting average on an 11-of-24 showing at the dish. He scored seven runs (2nd/NECBL), drove in five more (7th), drew three walks and was perfect on the base paths, going 4-for-4 in stolen bases (2nd). His .536 on-base percentage ranked fifth in the league last week while also finishing with an impressive 1.078 OPS.

The Buffalo Grove, Illinois, native and No. 3 hitter in the Pilgrims' potent lineup finished the week on a five-game hitting streak, and recorded at least two hits in each of the last four games of the week, including a pair of three-hit efforts in wins against Valley (June 26) and Danbury (June 27).

Aaron Fossas

Meanwhile on the mound, Fossas enjoyed arguably the most dominant outing by a starting pitcher so far this summer on Saturday against New Bedford. The rising senior and right-hander went the distance and, more importantly, nearly had the league's first no-hitter of the summer, going 8-2/3 frames before surrendering an infield single, the only hit allowed that evening. He fanned six and walked three of the 30 batters he faced to lead the Pilgrims to a 3-0 win over the Bay Sox.

The Plymouth pair helped the Pilgrims finish 6-1 last week, and at one point had won eight in a row before dropping a 4-3 decision to Mystic on Sunday. Still, the second-year franchise continues to be one of the best stories over the first half of the season and leads the NECBL South by a game entering the last day of June, standing at 13-3 overall after winning just 15 games all of last summer.

Honorable Mentions

Trey Amburgey (Vermont/St. Petersburg) - The Week 3 Player of the Week was solid again, batting 9-for-16 in five games with two runs, two RBI, two stolen bases and a league-leading .563 batting average.

Nicholas Berger (Plymouth/Northeastern) - Tossed league-high 11.2 innings in two starts, fanning league-best 15 while posting a 1.54 ERA.

Ryan Blanton (Ocean State/Georgia State) - Went 9-for-24 (.375) in seven games while scoring seven runs and driving in five more. Drew five walks and went 2-for-2 on the bases.

Aaron Hill (Mystic/UConn) - Finished 7-for-17 (.412) with three runs scored, three doubles, a triple and five RBI to pace the Schooners at the plate.

Nicholas Poore (Sanford/Boston College) - Made a stellar start last week, tossing 7.1 innings of eight-strikeout ball while allowing just one hit, one walk and one run in that span.

Brent Rooker (Plymouth/Mississippi State) - Tied teammate Michael Martin with 11 hits for the league lead, finishing with a .440 average in seven games. Also scored seven runs, drove in five more, blasted two homers and went 3-for-5 in stolen bases.

Blaise Salter (Newport/Michigan State) - Smashed a league-leading three home runs and drove in a league-best 10 runs in a powerful showing at the plate, finishing 5-for-19 (.263) while also adding a double and four runs scored.

Trevor Scott (North Adams/UC San Diego) - Held Keene scoreless over 7.1 innings in his lone start of the week, fanning five while allowing just five hits and two walks in a no decision.

Mick Van Vossen (Newport/Michigan State) - Remained unbeaten by winning his only start last week, tossing seven innings with eight strikeouts, five hits and one walk allowed.

Player/Pitcher of the Week News Archive

Week3: Amburgey (Vermont)/Knutson (Danbury)

Week 2: Sikes (Valley)/Van Vossen (Newport)

Week 1: Guglietti (Plymouth)/Davis (Vermont)



New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 30, 2014


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