GNAC Baseball Athlete of the Week Report #7

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Jacob Paschetto, Dean (Sr.)

Senior Jacob Paschetto had a monster week at the plate in a 3-3 week for the Bulldogs, batting .500 (15-for-30) with a 1.033 slugging percentage on nine extra base-hits, including three homers with 17 Runs Batted In. Paschetto went 7-for-10 in the doubleheader sweep over Elms including seven RBIs, a homer, five extra base hits, and a stolen base in which he hit for the cycle across the two games. He went 3-for-5 for five RBIs, including a homer against Lesley and finished with another dinger and four RBIs in game 2 win over Albertus Magnus.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Brycen Diaz, Elms (So.)

Sophomore Brycen Diaz pitched a no-hitter for the Blazers in his lone appearance on the mound with 14 strikeouts against Norwich in the first game on Wednesday, April 8th and hit a home run at the plate in the next game of their doubleheader.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Sam Balducci, University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (Fr.)

Freshman Sam Balducci batted .407 with a .448 on-base percentage and .704 slugging mark in a 3-3 week for the Blue Jays. The rookie started his week going 4-for-5 with two doubles, two RBIs, and two runs scored in a road win at WestConn on Monday (4/6). He followed that up with a 2-for-5 day at the plate with two RBIs in a loss at Trinity (4/8). Balducci continued his success at the plate in a split GNAC doubleheader at Lasell on Saturday (4/11), going 2-for-6 with a pair of home runs, six RBIs, and three runs scored. He carried that momentum into Sunday’s (4/12) split doubleheader at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, finishing 3-for-8 with an RBI and a run scored.

WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

Eric Galazra, Albertus Magnus - Galarza delivered a highly efficient and disciplined offensive week, batting .458 with a .618 on-base percentage while driving in 10 runs, scoring eight times, and drawing eight walks to anchor the Albertus Magnus lineup.

Mike McLeer, Colby-Sawyer - McLeer led the Chargers to a 5-1 week within GNAC play. The Senior batted .579 over those six games with two games batting 1.000. His 4-4 game against Rivier ended with a walk off that would give the Chargers the first win over Rivier. He totaled 11 hits, 4 rbi's, 6 walks, and a .704 obp and .632 slugging while scoring 8 runs.

Declan Silva, Lasell - Silva went 11-for-25 on a .440% average for the Lasers, including five multi-hit games across a seven game week with nine RBIs.

Nicholas Bracale, Mitchell - Senior Nicholas Bracale (East Haven, Conn.) turned in a dominant all-around week at the plate, helping lead Mitchell to a 4-1 record, including a GNAC sweep of Elms College and Lasell University. He batted an impressive .647 (11-for-17) with seven runs scored, two triples, five RBI, and a .684 on-base percentage to go along with an .882 slugging percentage. Bracale recorded hits in all five games and posted three multi-hit performances, highlighted by a perfect 4-for-4 effort with three runs scored and a triple in the series finale against Lasell. He also went 3-for-3 with two runs scored in the opener against Elms and added a triple and three RBI in the nightcap of the doubleheader. The senior reached base safely in each contest and delivered timely production throughout the week, totaling 15 bases while striking out just once in 19 plate appearances.

Thai-ler Sestokas, Mitchell - Senior Thai-ler Sestokas (Danbury, Conn.) turned in a strong outing to earn the win in a key GNAC matchup against Lasell University, helping lead Mitchell to an 8–5 victory. The righty worked 6.2 innings, allowing just one earned run on eight hits while striking out seven and issuing only two walks. Despite some traffic on the bases, he limited damage effectively and kept Lasell off the board in key moments, finishing with a 1.35 ERA for the week.

Brady Philibotte, New England College - Brady Philibotte posted a ridiculous .529 batting average with a .636 on-base percentage across five games this week for the Pilgrims. He totaled nine hits, including two doubles, while adding four walks and zero strikeouts. He scored three runs and drove in two. He was steady all week with three multi-hit games while extending his active hitting streak to eight games and his on-base streak to 11 straight.

EJ Baker, Rivier - Across two appearances, first-year EJ Baker logged 7.0 innings, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out eight. He finished the week with a 1.29 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP, highlighted by a 4.0-inning hitless outing with six strikeouts against Albertus Magnus (4/6).

Nathan Innerfield, Rivier - Innerfield turned in a dominant all-around offensive week, batting .560 (14-for-25) with 11 runs scored and six RBI. He showcased his power with six extra-base hits, including four doubles, a triple, and a home run, finishing the week with a .920 slugging percentage and a .656 on-base percentage. He tallied five multi-hit games, highlighted by a three-hit effort with two doubles and two RBI in a win over New England College. Consistently applying pressure at the plate, Innerfield reached base 20 times in 31 plate appearances while drawing six walks and striking out just twice.

Nic Frink, Saint Joseph's (Maine) - Frink fueled the Saint Joseph’s offense during a 5-1 week for the Monks, batting .409 (9-for-22) with three home runs, a triple, seven RBIs, and eight runs scored across six games. The sophomore catcher posted a .500 on-base percentage and a .909 slugging percentage while totaling 20 bases and adding a stolen base. He also contributed on the mound, making one relief appearance and one start, earning the win while combining for 3.2 scoreless innings with one strikeout.

Jack Kane, University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) - Kane put together a strong week across six games as the Blue Jays went 3-3. The sophomore finished the week 14-for-28 (.500) at the plate with a .516 on‑base percentage and a .786 slugging percentage. He opened the week with a 1-for-4 performance that featured a three-run home run and two runs scored in a 16-15 win at WestConn on Monday (4/6). Kane stayed hot on Wednesday (4/8) at Trinity, going 3-for-4 with another home run and three runs scored. In Saturday’s (4/11) split GNAC doubleheader at Lasell, Kane continued to produce, finishing 5-for-10 with a pair of extra-base hits, four RBIs, and two runs scored. He closed out the week in similar fashion on Sunday (4/12) at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, going 5-for-10 with an RBI and two runs scored in another split conference doubleheader.

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 14 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

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