DUDLEY, Mass. – Following a third-place regular season finish in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), the Nichols baseball team (15-23, 9-7 CCC) earned the third seed and is set to host No. 4 Roger Williams (14-23, 9-7 CCC) on Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the CCC Playoffs.
It has been a tale of two seasons for the Bison this year, as they started the season 1-13 while being riddled with injuries. Since March 29, Nichols has gone 14-10, including major conference wins over then No. 5 Endicott, Western New England, and Roger Williams.
The season turnaround has been in large part due to junior outfielder
Brennan Hyde coming back to the lineup after missing six games early on. The Tampa, Fla. native leads the team in batting average (.377), OPS (1.056), slugging percentage (.631), and hits (49), while also being tied for the team lead in home runs and RBI with eight and 33, respectively.
Joining Hyde to spark the lineup for the Bison will be junior
Johnny Knox and senior
Jim Marasco. Knox, the shortstop, is second on the team with a .333 batting average and leads the squad in doubles with 13. The Jefferson, N.J. native also ranked inside the top 10 in the CCC in walks with 27. Marasco has been a big addition to the lineup this season, tying the team lead in home runs (8), and RBI (33), while also holding a 1.001 OPS.
On the mound, Nichols will turn to seniors
Patrick Sawyer and
Jack Kabel, who have combined to make 13 starts, and sophomores
Richard Pignone and
Nolan Sullivan, a duo that has been stellar out of the pen. Sawyer leads the team with a 2.94 ERA in a team-high 52.0 innings pitched. The right-hander has tossed two complete games while also picking up two saves in relief. Kabel has been a strikeout machine for the Bison, slotting in at fourth in the conference in K's, while leading the CCC in K/9. The southpaw, Pignone, has been versatile in relief, appearing in 13 games, accumulating 33.0 innings, and racking up five wins. His classmate, Sullivan, leads the team with three saves while holding a 2.45 ERA in 18.1 innings, and striking out 29 batters in the process.
The two teams squared off previously in a doubleheader on Saturday, April 29, with Roger Williams taking game one, 9-5, before the Bison won game two, 4-3, behind eight strong innings from Sawyer. The Hawks' offense will be spearheaded by Matt Massaro and Christopher Flynn, who each have an OPS north of .800. Freshman JT Gunzy is the staff's ace, pitching to a 3.55 ERA in 50.2 innings this season.
The first pitch for Wednesday's game is slated for 3:30 p.m. with the victor moving on to face the winner of No. 5 Western New England and No. 2 Salve Regina, while the loser squares off against the winner of No. 6 Suffolk and No. 1 Endicott.
