July 28, 2011

July 28, 2011

With summer leagues well underway, Stanford baseball players are performing strongly all across the country, with three hitters batting over .300 and two pitchers posting ERAs below 3.00.

After a good showing in the Alaska League in 2010, Stephen Piscotty has put up a .320 average and knocked in18 runs to lead all Cardinal players, as the rising junior continues to contribute to the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. His efforts earned him a spot on the Cape Cod League All-Star Game, to be played tomorrow. Teammates A.J. Vanegas and Mark Appel have had solid pitching numbers for the Red Sox, with ERAs of 3.27 and 2.25, respectively, and a combined 34 strikeouts. Appel’s fastball has surprised onlookers with its velocity because the right-hander pitched extensively last season.

“After throwing more than 100 innings for Stanford this spring, one would assume that the lanky sophomore would be a little fatigued, but he still managed to sit 93-97 mph in six shutout innings in his first start against Orleans,” said ESPN’s John Birtwell.

Also pitching strongly in the Cape Cod League is Dean McArdle, who has gone 2-1 in five starts with Hyannis. The league features Austin Wilson in Harwich and Jake Stewart in Orleans as well, with each of the two hitting a home run and batting in the low .200s to this point.

In the New England Collegiate Baseball League, Brett-Michael Doran’s .311 average leads Mystic amongst players with at least 20 at-bats. The sophomore had one hit in two at-bats in the NECBL All-Star Game on July 28. Doran is joined on the Schooners by Sahil Bloom, who has impressed with a 1.96 ERA and 19 strikeouts. League competitor Holyoke boasts four Cardinal players, including Eric Smith, who is the only Stanford athlete to belt three home runs so far this summer.

Appel and Brian Ragira both started the summer with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, which played for two weeks in late June and early July. The squad beat Mystic 5-2 in a game with a combined five Stanford players on the rosters, with Ragira and Doran both scoring runs for their respective teams.

Rising sophomore catcher Brant Whiting is one of five Cardinal players in the Coastal Plain League, and has posted a .311 average in limited action this summer. Danny Diekroeger of Morehead City and Bryan Guymon of Westhampton are also both hitting above .270, and have been in their teams’ starting lineups a combined 54 times.

Stanford on Various Summer Leagues (click team for stats)
 

Team USA
Appel and Ragira (alternate), Team USA

Cape Cod League
Listen to League Broadcasts Here

Piscotty, Vanegas and Appel*, Yarmouth-Dennis
Wilson and Ragira*, Harwich
Stewart, Orleans
McArdle, Hyannis

Alaska League
Kauppila, Fairbanks

New England Collegiate League
Doran, Griffiths and Bloom, Mystic
Jenkins, Byers, Smith and Ringo, Holyoke

Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League
Guymon, Whiting and Talt, Westhampton

Coastal Plain League
D.Diekroeger, Colton, Linquist, Morehead City, NC

Penny, MLB Baseball Academy/Compton (California Collegiate League)
Hughes, SoCal/San Diego (Western Baseball)