North Carolina State University Athletics
Buchanan Shines as the Summer Season Heats Up
7/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. - Wolfpack right-hander Jake Buchanan was already having a sterling season on the mound for the Cotuit Kettlers of the Cape Cod League before making headlines with his second straight complete-game against Hyannis on July 20.
Buchanan shutout Hyannis on three hits, walking only one and striking out 11 in a 3-0 Cotuit victory. He mixed in several pitches to keep hitters off-balance en route to his second win of the season.
On the year, Buchanan is 2-1 with a 0.50 ERA in five starts. He continues to pound the strike zone, striking out 32 and walking only six in 36 innings. Opposing hitters are batting .195 (26-for-133) against him.
Pratt Maynard and Andrew Ciencin - Forest City Owls (Coastal Plain League)
Ciencin cruised into the CPL All-Star break on an offensive roll. He collected two hits and an RBI in a 7-3 Forest City win on July 16. The very next night, Ciencin was among the difference makers against Gastonia going 3-for-5 with three RBIs in an 8-4 win. He rounded out the week going 2-for-4 and driving in a pair in an 8-0 rout of Martinsville.
In his last three games, Ciencin has gone 7-for-12 with six RBIs.
For the season, Ciencin is hitting .343 (24-for-70) with three doubles, a triple, two home runs, and 14 RBIs in 17 games for the Owls.
Maynard suffered a minor thumb injury while fielding a ground ball on July 15, forcing him to sit out the final three games before the All-Star break. The injury prevented Maynard from participating in the CPL’s Home Run Derby, but didn’t keep him from playing in the league’s All-Star Game. Maynard went hitless in three at-bats, playing five innings for the American team. The game ended in a 2-2 tie in 10 innings.
Overall, Maynard is hitting .338 with 13 doubles, 4 home runs, and 34 RBIs in 39 games. Of note, he is leading Forest City starters with a .449 on-base percentage and is third on the team in slugging at .522 (.971 OPS).
Also worthy of notice, the Owls (38-6) maintained their overall #1 ranking in the Perfect Game Crosschecker poll for summer collegiate baseball. This is the fourth straight week that Forest City has earned top honors.
Chris Schaeffer - Green Bay Bullfrogs (Northwoods League)
Schaeffer’s bat has heated up as the Bullfrogs head into the home stretch of the 2009 season. On July 16 in Madison, Schaeffer doubled, homered, and drove in two runs in a 9-1 win over the Mallards. In a home-and-home against Wisconsin on July 18-19, Schaeffer collected a pair of hits in each game, driving in a run in a 5-3 loss in the first game but scoring the deciding run in a 5-4 win the next night to close out the two-game series.
Schaeffer went into the Northwoods League All-Star break riding a six-game hitting streak, going 9-for-23 (.391) in that stretch.
Schaeffer’s streak has raised his batting average 24 points in the last week to .193 with five doubles, two home runs, and 18 RBIs.
Harold Riggins - Madison Mallards (Northwoods League)
Riggins had a busy week between the Mallards and the league’s All-Star festivities in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Riggins went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in a 7-4 win to open up a two-game set with Eau Claire on July 18. He again figured in the decision the next night, doubling with two RBIs, a walk, and a run scored in an 11-7 sweep of the Express.
Already the Mallards single-season record holder for home runs, Riggins put his power on display at the Northwoods League’s Home Run Derby on Monday. With the wind blowing in and making things difficult for the hitters, Riggins managed to hit four home runs to take home the derby crown.
Riggins was also instrumental in the All-Star game, roping an RBI-double as his South Division squad defeated the North Division 4-2 in the mid-season classic.
Riggins leads the Northwoods League with 44 RBIs, and is second in hitting (.329) and home runs (8), and is fifth in doubles (13).
Vance Williams - Outer Banks Dare Devils (Coastal Plain League)
Williams had an extended outing in relief on July 19 at Peninsula. The NC State righty went five shutout innings, giving up just one hit in a 6-2 loss. He walked one and struck out four.
Williams is 2-0 with a 2.38 ERA in 22 2/3 innings for the Dare Devils. He has walked 13 and struck out 27 in 14 relief appearances with the opposition hitting .114 against him.
Aaron Bates - Pawtucket Red Sox (International League - Red Sox, Class AAA)
As evidenced by the header above, Bates was summoned back to AAA Pawtucket to make room for pitching prospect Clay Buchholz on Boston’s 25-man roster on July 17. Since returning to Pawtucket, Bates has reached safely in five of his last seven games.
Bates made the most of his visit to the Major Leagues. In five games with the Red Sox, he hit .364 (4-for-11) with two doubles and two RBIs, reaching base at a .417 clip.
Jeremy Synan - Greensboro Grasshoppers (South Atlantic League (A) - Marlins)
Synan wore out opposing pitchers in a six-game stretch from July 14-19, going 13-for-28 (.464) with six doubles and seven RBIs.
On the season, Synan is hitting .287 with 27 doubles, 13 home runs, and 57 RBIs in 88 games for Greensboro. Synan’s 27 doubles leads the South Atlantic League.
