The Suffolk baseball team had a streaky week, playing .500 ball over a six-game stretch.
The team lost to Fitchburg State on Thursday, 19-7, and then lost both games of a doubleheader against Johnson & Wales on Saturday. The Rams quickly bounced back on Sunday, winning a doubleheader against Norwich by a combined score of 24-8, and then beat Salem State on Tuesday, 3-1.
A pair of freshmen has been shouldering the offensive load for the Rams so far this season. Third baseman Jake Cintolo leads the team with a .418 batting average, and also has 16 runs batted in. Fellow freshman infielder Devan Jones leads the team in numerous offensive categories, including runs batted in (21), slugging percentage (.583), total bases (49), and stolen bases (8). Jones is also tied for the team lead in home runs with senior Andrew Babb.
Six-foot-five inch senior Alex Torres leads the pitching staff in wins with three, innings pitched (40), and strikeouts with 42. Charles Kilgore leads the team in earned run average (2.86) and has only given up seven earned runs in 22 innings pitched this season.
The team begins a crucial stretch next week in which they play six games in three days, all against GNAC opponents. On Saturday, the Rams will travel to St. Joseph’s (Me.) for a doubleheader. These games are of critical importance, because St. Josephs is currently one game ahead of Suffolk in the GNAC standings. There is no rest for the weary, as Suffolk plays home against Lasell in another doubleheader the next day. The team then travels to lowly Rivier (2-14 overall) and should be able to easily sweep that doubleheader.
Suffolk only has eight conference games remaining, so it’s very important for them to do well in these next six games and potentially challenge Johnson & Wales for first place in the GNAC. If Cintolo and Jones continue shouldering the offensive load, and the pitching continues to perform up to par, there’s no reason why the Rams shouldn’t finish the season looking down at the rest of the conference, and head towards postseason play.
