McCarthy, Angelini take home NEC awards, Bulldogs No. 1 in New England for 7th-straight week
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior Buck McCarthy (Saugus, Mass.) and freshman Nick Angelini (Bedford, N.H.) have been named the Northeast Conference Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, the league announced on Monday afternoon.
The duo helped the Bulldogs go 5-1 last week, posting mid-week wins over Brown and Boston College before taking three-of-four from Sacred Heart over the weekend. It is the second weekly award for McCarthy and the fourth rookie of the week nod for Angelini. In addition, McCarthy was named the NEIBA Player of the Week.
In addition, the Black and Gold received all 10 first-place votes to take the top spot in the NEIBA poll for the seventh-straight week. Bryant received 50 points, while second-place Boston College earned 33 points. Hartford, Connecticut and Northeastern round out the poll.
McCarthy was the league's top run producer last week. Powering Bryant to five victories in six games, the veteran backstop recorded 11 RBI and seven runs scored. Driving in at least one run in all six contests, McCarthy batted .421 (8-for-19) with two doubles, one home run and four bases on balls. The 5-foot-10 right-handed swinging senior delivered what proved to be a decisive blow during the opening game of the Bulldogs' key NEC series against second-place Sacred Heart. McCarthy's three-run "buck shot" extended the Bulldogs' lead to 5-1 during the third inning of an eventual 7-3 triumph. He factored into three of Bryant's six runs in a Game 3 victory. He laced an RBI single and eventually came around to score during the Bulldogs' three-run third inning before connecting on a sacrifice fly to plate another run in the fourth frame. McCarthy recorded two hits and two RBI to help tilt Sunday's series finale in Bryant's favor. His two-run, third-inning double provided the lone scoring that the Bulldogs needed in the 3-0 victory. He totaled four hits and seven RBI during the four-game NEC set. McCarthy logged one hit, one RBI and one run scored as the designated hitter for Bryant's 15-3 win over Ivy League member Brown on Tuesday. One day later, the catcher accounted for three hits, two walks, two RBI and four runs scored as the Bulldogs pummeled ACC member Boston College, 18-6.
Angelini reached base at a .640 clip and came around to score 10 runs in six games. Starting all six games for the first-place Bulldogs, the rookie outfielder batted .500 (9-for-18) with three extra-base hits, three walks, four HBP, five RBI and 10 runs scored. The first-year Bulldog kicked off the six-game span by taking a big bite out of Ivy League member Brown. He scored two runs and drove in three more during the 15-3 mid-week victory, including a two-RBI double that sparked Bryant's six-run second inning. He recorded three hits, including a home run, and scored three times in Wednesday's 18-6 thumping of ACC member Boston College. After contributing to the two runaway road victories, Angelini continued his production during a key four-game NEC series against second-place Sacred Heart. He scored at least one run in all four games, helping the Bulldogs secure a series victory over the defending NEC champions. The four-time NEC Rookie of the Week walked and scored one run in Friday's 7-3 series-opening triumph. Angelini led off the fourth inning of Game 2 by singling and eventually came around to touch home with the team's lone run in the 3-1 setback. The New Hampshire product singled and came around to open the scoring in the first inning of Game 3. He added a RBI base knock and scored another run in the fourth frame of the eventual 6-3 triumph. Angelini reached base three times (2 H, BB) and scored one run in Sunday's finale, a 3-0 shutout win.