Walsh Named Northeast-10 Player of the Week; Baseball Ranked No. 25 in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll
Ravens receiving votes in NCBWA poll; third in East Region poll
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Walsh, who is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak, was
the third Raven to be named Northeast-10 Player of the Week in
2014.RINDGE, N.H. (April 30, 2014) – Junior catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) of the Franklin Pierce University baseball team has been named Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week for the week ending on April 27, as announced Monday by the Conference office. In addition, Franklin Pierce is now ranked No. 25 nationally in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll and is receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Poll, as well as third in the NCBWA East Region Poll, as announced Tuesday. Walsh was later named East Region Player of the Week by the NCBWA.
In a 5-0 week for the Ravens last week, Walsh put together a mind-boggling .500/.500/1.056 slash line, good for a 1.556 OPS, over 18 at-bats (9-for-18). He hit one double and three home runs, scored eight runs, drove in 10 runs, was hit by a pitch and recorded a sacrifice fly. He capped an already impressive week by clubbing all three of his home runs in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader against Bentley.
On the season, Walsh is hitting .303/.369/.483 through 178 at-bats (54-for-178), while playing in all 47 games, primarily at catcher. He has hit 12 doubles, one triple and a team-leading six home runs, scored 35 runs, driven in 38, walked 10 times against 36 strikeouts and stolen four bases in six attempts. Walsh currently leads the Northeast-10 in runs batted in, is tied for second in doubles and home runs, ranks seventh in slugging percentage, is tied for sixth in hits and is tied for seventh in runs scored. He is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak, which is his second hitting streak of at least eight games on the season. Walsh is the third Raven to earn Northeast-10 Player of the Week honors in 2014.
Franklin Pierce (32-14 at the cut-off for this week's polls) is ranked No. 25 nationally in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll. The 11th weekly poll of the season sees the Ravens pick up 102 points, up 59 points from a week ago, and move up three spots after spending last week at 28th. Franklin Pierce is the first of two East Region teams in the 30-team poll, as Wilmington (Del.) (31-7-1) moved into the poll at No. 29 after a 5-2-1 week. At the top of the poll, defending national champion Tampa (45-2) had a 3-0 week, has won 15 straight and piled up 480 points to remain No. 1 for the 11th straight week.
The Ravens are also in the "Also receiving votes" section of the NCBWA Poll. The 10th weekly poll of the season sees the Ravens pick up nine points, the same as a week ago, and remain among teams receiving votes for the seventh straight week. Franklin Pierce is the sixth team outside the poll, putting the club 29th in the nation. Two East Region teams appear in the 25-team poll, as Wilmington jumped up seven spots to No. 13, while Southern New Hampshire (32-11) plummeted 10 spots to No. 20 after a 3-1 week. At the top of the poll, Tampa collected all 14 first-place votes to remain the unanimous No. 1 pick for the ninth consecutive week and spend its 11th straight week at the top of the poll.
Franklin Pierce is ranked 28th nationally in this week's College Baseball Lineup Top 30 Rankings. The 13th weekly ranking of season sees the Ravens move up two spots after spending three weeks tied for 30th. Franklin Pierce is among three East Region squads in the 31-team rankings, as Wilmington dropped four spots to 15th, while SNHU moved up one spot to 29th. Up front, Tampa holds on to the top spot for the 12th consecutive week.
Franklin Pierce is currently third in the NCBWA East Region Poll. The 10th weekly regional poll of the season sees the Ravens collect 68 points, down one point from a week ago, to remain third for the seventh straight week. Wilmington collected five of nine available first-place votes and 85 points to usurp the top spot by one point over SNHU, which earned the remaining four first-place votes and fell to second. Beyond the Ravens and Penmen, teams from the Northeast-10 also occupy four other spots in the poll: Stonehill (25-16) is sixth, Bentley (20-13) is seventh, New Haven (19-10) is eighth and Southern Connecticut State (21-13-1) is 10th.
The Ravens return to the field on Thursday, May 1, when they travel to Saint Michael's for a Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for noon at Doc Jacobs Field in Colchester, Vt.
For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce baseball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).