CCBL Players of the Week ending July 5th
Posted by: Brian Foley in ACC, Cape Cod League, Players of the Week, SECFROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Ricky Bowen had just completed a less-than-satisfying season as a red-shirted sophomore at Mississippi State University when he reported to the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League. But the 6-3, 197-pound right-hander improved his record to 2-1 and lowered his earned run average to 2.65 as he pitched the Braves to a 13-4 win over Wareham on July 1 to earn Coca-Cola Pitcher of the Week honors for the week ending July 5. Working the first six innings, Bowen allowed just two singles and a pair of walks while striking out seven Gatemen. In three starts encompassing 17 innings, he has scattered 16 hits, fanned 21 and issued just three bases on balls — this from a pitcher who was 3-6 with a 7.61 ERA in 13 starts for Mississippi State’s 23-33-0 Bulldogs this spring. Bowen was a 38th-round draft choice of the Cincinnati Reds on June 6 and is hoping a strong showing in the Cape League will convince the Reds to make an acceptable offer before the Aug. 15 deadline for signing drafted players. Otherwise, it’s back to Starkville, Miss., to play for new head coach John Cohen next season.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Although he was born in Miami, most Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox fans consider catcher/DH Tony Sanchez to be a “New England kid.” After all, he’s a Boston College standout, who hit .313 this spring and led the Eagles in most major offensive categories, including hits (66), RBI (45), total bases (109) and home runs (9). Picking up where he left off with BC, Sanchez hit his first two home runs of the Cape Cod Baseball League season - both grand slams - and was named Coca-Cola Player of the Week for the week ending July 6. The 6-foot, 220-pound junior-to-be crushed his first grand slam on June 29 as Y-D blanked Orleans, 5-0. It came with one out in the fifth inning and broke open what had been a close, 1-0 game. Four nights later, Sanchez’s first-inning blast with three aboard got the Red Sox off and running as they cruised past Bourne, 10-6. Sanchez is hitting .308 with 12 RBI in 13 games for Y-D. In his two college seasons, Sanchez managed to take first base as a hit batsman on 28 occasions, including a team-leading 18 times in 2008. He’s been hit four times so far to lead Y-D in that category.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Tim Federowicz went 2-for-5 with three RBI and then recorded the game-ending strikeout with the tying run on third base to lift No. 2 North Carolina to a 12-11 win over No. 1 Miami and a series victory Saturday at Mark Light Field. Behind a home run and five RBI from Tim Fedroff and four hits and two RBI from Kyle Shelton, the Tar Heels (45-10, 22-7 ACC) built an eight-run lead through five innings and held off a late rally by the Hurricanes (43-8, 23-5) to win their third straight series against UM. 
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Center fielder Seth Williams jump-started North Carolina’s offense with a pair of early run-scoring doubles, and the No. 2 Tar Heels held on for a 10-6 win over No. 1 Miami Friday at Mark Light Field. Dustin Ackley, Tim Fedroff and Kyle Seager each had three hits as Carolina (44-10, 21-7 ACC) pounded out 16 hits to even the series at a game apiece. 
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Freshman left-handed pitcher Chris Hernandez won for the 10th time with a seven-strikeout performance in 7 2/3 innings and junior first baseman Yonder Alonso hit his second career grand slam - which also was the second one against a team ranked No. 2 - as No. 1 Miami (43-6, 23-3 ACC) cruised to a 12-2 win over the second-ranked Tar Heels (43-10, 20-7 ACC) Thursday night to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division. Jemile Weeks and Dave DiNatale each added two hits for Miami, which snapped a four-game losing streak to the Tar Heels. 
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Jeremy Farrell’s two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning provided the No. 24 Virginia baseball team with the go-ahead runs in a 5-4 win over No. 2 North Carolina Sunday in a rain-shortened game at Davenport Field. Shortly after the sixth inning was completed, play was halted because of inclement weather, and just over an hour later the game was called. 
Game 1: Boston College 5 Maryland 4 (10 innings)
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Junior second baseman Jemile Weeks set a new school record with his 18th career triple and freshman lefty Chris Hernandez won for the eighth time as No. 1 Miami won its 11th straight Friday night game with a 10-2 win over St. Mary’s (Calif.) in the first of a three game nonconference series at Mark Light Field. Weeks, Yonder Alonso, Dennis Raben and Adan Severino combined to go 9-for-14 with six RBI and eight runs scored as Miami (37-5) scored at least 10 runs for the 19th time season. 
The Florida State Seminoles head to Clemson SC for a Saturday-Monday series against the Clemson Tigers. The Seminoles enter with a 37-7 overall record while being 19-5 in the ACC. The Seminoles have been one of the better hitting teams in the country with a team batting average of .346. All-American catcher candidate Buster Posey is the top hitter on the team with a .470 average and a team leading 13 homers on the year. Matt Fairel has been the ace of the staff with an 8-1 record with a 2.81 ERA. 
Brookline, Mass. - Matt Rogers’ decisive eighth inning home run powered Harvard to a 7-6 victory over Northeastern in the Crimson’s regular season finale Wednesday afternoon at Friedman Diamond.
DeLand, Fla. - Third-ranked Florida State (36-7) registered its seventh consecutive non-conference victory with a 13-3 win over Stetson (19-27) Tuesday night in front of 2,751 at Melching Field, the eighth largest crowd in stadium history. The Seminoles reached the double-digit run plateau for the fourth straight game against the Hatters outscoring Stetson 60-9 during the stretch. The win was the tenth straight for Florida State in the series. 
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Sophomore third baseman Mark Sobolewski tied a career-high with six RBI and senior right-hander Enrique Garcia tossed seven scoreless innings as No. 1 Miami (36-5, 20-2 ACC) shut out No. 16 Virginia, 10-0, completing a three-game series sweep of the Cavaliers (32-15, 13-11 ACC) Sunday afternoon at Mark Light Field.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Junior second baseman Jemile Weeks scored the game-winning run from third on a throwing error as No.1 Miami edged out a 4-3 extra-inning victory over No. 16 Virginia Saturday night in front of a sell-out crowd of 3,000 at Mark Light Field. Miami (35-5, 19-2 ACC) clinched its 10th straight series win this season and its first against Virginia (32-14, 13-10) since 2005 when UM took two-of-three over the Cavaliers in Charlottesville. 
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