Virginia Tech’s Carson DeMartini couldn’t stop hitting home runs, Will McEntire and the Arkansas pitching staff continued to dominate, and Rutgers’ Joshua Kuroda-Grauer piled up hits as the Knights cruised this past weekend. All that and more in this week’s look at the stat leaders throughout D1 baseball.
Inspired by a recurring NBC Sports column, this weekly piece will serve to highlight the leaders throughout the country both at the plate and on the mound. For rate stats, the minimum is 12 ABs (average of three at-bats per game for a typical four-game week). The dates considered are Tuesday-to-Monday, capturing both weekend series and midweeks.
Without further ado, let’s get into the leaders!
Hitting Leaders (Week of March 11th)
Hits
1. Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, Rutgers — 14 hits
2. Nick Gooden, Morehead State — 12 hits
3. Ryan Grabosch, Morehead State — 12 hits
4. Tyler Bischke, Pitt — 12 hits
5. Tyler Cotten, Saint Peter’s — 12 hits
6. Rafe Perich, Lehigh — 12 hits
Rutgers, after dropping a two-game set to North Carolina — in which they lead in the first game and then lost by one in the second — unleashed a 56-run weekend on Delaware in a sweep. Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, a junior shortstop hitting cleanup, went 14-for-26 (.538) with 11 runs and eight RBIs. After back-to-back years of hitting just below .300, Kuroda-Grauer is at .442 through 19 games. The Scarlet Knights are 13-6 with a five-game week ahead of them, highlighted by a three-game series against UConn.
RBIs
1. Garret Pike, Toledo — 14 RBIs
2. Roman Kuntz, Morehead State — 14 RBIs
3. Justin Butler, Lehigh — 14 RBIs
4. Jerry Barnes III, William & Mary — 13 RBIs
5. Jimmy Keenan, St. John’s — 13 RBIs
6. Rafe Perich, Lehigh — 13 RBIs
7. Four hitters with 12 RBIs, including Jay Luikart (Wright State), Seth Cox (Memphis), Nick Wang (Boston College), and Ben Vore (Wright State).
It was an up-and-down week for Toledo, who sits at 8-12 (4-12 MAC) overall. The Rockets dropped a pair of midweek games before going 1-2 over the weekend against Western Michigan. Center fielder Garret Pike — Toledo’s two-hole hitter — played a big role in the club’s lone win. He piled up eight RBIs — his fourth straight game with a run driven in — on three hits and two home runs. Pike, an All-MAC Second Team selection last year, drove in 14 of his season total 15 RBIs last week and is hitting .338.
Home Runs
1. Carson DeMartini, Virginia Tech — 7 home runs
2. Roman Kuntz, Morehead State — 5 home runs
3. Nate Bach, Utah Valley — 5 home runs
4. Eddie Micheletti Jr., Virginia Tech — 4 home runs
5. Nate Stocum, Western Carolina — 4 home runs
6. Nick Wang, Boston College — 4 home runs
7. James Quinn-Irons, George Mason — 4 home runs
8. Tyler Cotten, Saint Peter’s — 4 home runs
The “Hammerin’ Hokies’ vaulted into the Top 25 this week on the strength of a 5-1 start in ACC play, highlighted by a road series win at Louisville. Carson Demartini played a big part in a three-win week, clubbing seven home runs in just five games. He’s hit second in the Tech lineup for all but one game this year and is slashing .368/.494/.985 with 12 home runs. Eddie Micheletti Jr., the Hokies clean-up hitter and a transfer from George Washington, had four of his own. They face Boston College and Nick Wang this weekend — the two-hole hitter is coming off a .435 week with four bombs.
Stolen Bases
1. Trent Rice, Oakland — 9 stolen bases
2. Justin Sierra, FDU — 8 stolen bases
3. Austin Overn, USC — 7 stolen bases
4. Jake Whitlinger, Lehigh — 6 stolen bases
5. 10 players with five stolen bases, including Reggie Bussey (Oakland), JT Benson (Louisville), David Mershon (Mississippi State), and Kerrington Cross (Cincinnati).
Oakland’s Trent Rice opened up a three-bag lead in the national stolen base leaderboard, swiping nine to bring his total to 19-for-21 on the year. Rice, a true freshman, has split time between left field and center field and causes havoc even as a mid-game substitute. He swiped seven of those bases in midweek action against Rochester and Cleary.
Top Hitters
1. Carson DeMartini, Virginia Tech – 2.700 OPS ( 7 HR, 11 RBI)
2. Grant Knipp, Campbell – 2.100 OPS ( 3 HR, 11 RBI, 2 SB)
3. Zane Zielinski, UIC – 2.058 OPS ( 2 HR, 4 RBI)
4. Alex Luccini, UMass Lowell – 1.985 OPS ( 3 HR, 7 RBI, 1 SB)
5. Gino D’Alessio, Abilene Christian – 1.933 OPS ( 3 HR, 5 RBI, 1 SB)
6. Ethan Mann, DBU – 1.924 OPS ( 3 HR, 9 RBI, 1 SB)
7. Walker Janek, Sam Houston – 1.900 OPS ( 3 HR, 6 RBI, 1 SB)
The nation’s leader in RBIs (37) and home runs (14), Campbell’s Grant Knipp has had quite the season. It’s not often that your leadoff hitter is a) a catcher and b) also capable of running it up into the upper-90s on the mound. Knipp only has three relief outings under his belt, but still worth noting. Knipp’s split time between the catcher and DH role for the Camels and has moved from the clean-up role to the No. 1 spot in a strong lineup. He clubbed three home runs and drove in 11 last week.
Pitching Leaders (Week of March 11th)
Game Score
1. Tommy Boba, Cincinnati (vs. Kansas) — 86
2. Coltin Atkinson, Sam Houston (vs. New Mexico State) — 84
3. Owen Boerema, Kansas State (vs. Missouri State) — 83
4. Zac Capps, FDU (vs. Stonehill) — 83
5. Randy Reyes, Grambling (vs. Alcorn) — 83
6. Teddy Brennan, George Washington (vs. Presbyterian) — 83
7. Jesse Barker, Central Arkansas (vs. Eastern Ky.) — 83
Cincinnati and first-year head coach Jordan Bischel logged its first Big 12 series win, rallying from a Friday loss to take two of three from Kansas. The Bearcats leaned on Tommy Boba on Saturday as he outdueled Dominic Voegele, going eight scoreless with eight strikeouts. Boba allowed just one hit and two walks, bouncing back impressively after Kansas State got to him for six runs the prior weekend.
Strikeouts
1. Everett Catlett, Georgetown — 15 K (10.2 IP)
2. Riley Huge, Winthrop — 14 K (6 IP)
3. A.J. Wilson, Charlotte — 14 K (6.2 IP)
4. Jesse Barker, Central Ark. — 14 K (8 IP)
5. Colby Allen, Southern Miss — 13 K (7.2 IP)
6. Jaxon Jelkin, Houston — 13 K (6 IP)
7. Nic McCay, South Dakota St. — 13 K (7 IP)
8. Chase Burns, Wake Forest — 13 K (7 IP)
Southern Miss has won four straight — including a midweek win over No. 14 Alabama — and top reliever Colby Allen was his usual dominant self. Allen served in a bulk reliever role against the Crimson Tide and Marshall, logging almost eight innings while piling up 13 strikeouts and allowing a single run. Allen’s gone two-plus innings in all but one relief outing and is a unique weapon: He has a 31:6 K/BB ratio through 25.2 IP (third on the team) and a 1.75 ERA with two saves.
Saves
1. 20 players with two saves, including Connor Spencer (Ole Miss), Kros Sively (Southern Miss.), Alex Walsh (Maryland), and Ethan Bates (Louisiana Tech)
2. 165 players with one save
After starting the year a sterling 12-0, Louisiana Tech dropped five of six — four against quality opponents like Southern Miss, Louisiana, and Xavier. They rebounded nicely last week with a sweep of Northwestern State and leaned on trusty two-way player Ethan Bates to do so. Bates, who is firmly entrenched in the cleanup spot in the lineup as the starting designated hitter with a .384 average and 32 RBIs, also serves as the team’s closer. Last week, he logged three appearances and faced 13 batters without allowing a hit while posting two saves. Bates has five saves (T-3rd nationally) and a 0.63 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 14.1 IP.
Top Relievers
1. A.J. Wilson, Charlotte — 3 G, 1-0, 6.2 IP, 0 R, 1 BB, 14 K
2. Brandon Neely, Florida — 3 G, 1-0, 1 SV, 6 IP, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 K
3. Kurt Barr, Michigan — 2 G, 2-0, 11 IP, 1 R, 7 BB, 7 K
4. Nolan Stevens, Mississippi St. — 2 G, 1-0, 6.2 IP, 1 R, 2 BB, 9 K
5. Colby Allen, Southern Miss — 2 G, 1-0, 7.2 IP, 1 R, 2 BB, 13 K
6. Will McEntire, Arkansas — 2 G, 1-0, 6.1 IP, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K
Top-ranked Arkansas made it look easy over the weekend, allowing just one run in a three-game sweep of Missouri to open SEC play. The Razorbacks have won 13 straight and show no signs of slowing down. A big part of that has been the absolutely dominant pitching from top to bottom that they’ve had: They rank first in overall ERA (2.35), first in rotation ERA (1.63), and fourth in bullpen ERA (3.05). In the backend, Will McEntire has played a big role. He leads the team in innings pitched (25.2 IP) with 27 strikeouts to just three walks — good for a 1.75 ERA and 0.78 WHIP. On Saturday, McEntire through four-plus innings of hitless relief to combine with Brady Tygart for a one-hit shutout of the visiting Tigers.
Featured Image via Virginia Tech Athletics