RE: UNCW Baseball - 2018 Thread
Quinnipiac, the only D-I baseball team that begins with "Q", enters this weekend with an 8-6 record. They are coming off an impressive 2-game midweek sweep @ Charleston, which pushed their RPI up to # 33. Earlier in the season, they swept a 3-game series @ W&M. They are NOT a pushover northern school like Princeton was.
The Bobcats are definitely a bit of a surprise, however, if early results are an indication of future success. QU was picked to finish 8th in the 11-team MAAC by the league coaches. They also only had one selection to the pre-season All-MAAC team, Designated Hitter Liam Scafariello. And while the Junior slugger is leading the team in RBI (13), he's only batting .193, and hasn't been the biggest reason for their success so far in 2018.
The Quinnipiac pitching is what has really been the driving force for the Bobcats. The weekend rotation of senior righty Taylor Luciani (2-1, 3.91 ERA, 16 K's, 23.0 IP), righty grad student Brandon Shileikis (2-1, 3.97 ERA, 14 K's, 4 BB's, 22.2 IP) and junior lefty Tyler Poulin (2-2, 1.77 ERA, 20 K's, 20.1 IP) has been solid. And out of the bullpen, freshman righty Arthur Correira (2.16 ERA, 4 K's, 8.1 IP) and righty senior closer Mike Davis (2.57 ERA, 3 Saves, 7 K's, 7.0 IP) have made the most of their appearances.
Offensively, junior outfielder Brian Moskey has been the team's best hitter, slashing .400/.450/.618 for an OPS of 1.068. He's hit 2 HR, knocked in 12 runs and also stolen 2 bases. Senior Ben Gibson leads the team in HR's, with 3, and sophomore Evan Vulgamore is hitting .327 with 12 RBI. Averaging 5.6 runs per game as a team, the Bobcats are doing just enough to support their pitching staff.
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