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Ivy League Players of the Week

by Brian Foley
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CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Cornell’s Nate David (Atlanta, Ga.) hit .533 on the week to lead the Big Red to a 3-3 mark and a share of the Gehrig Division crown. The centerfielder posted at least one hit in five of the six games, including a 3-for-3 performance in game two of the doubleheader against Princeton on Friday. He then went 2-for-3 in game one on Sunday for his second multi-hit game of the week. He opened up the week with a grand slam in his only at-bat at Siena on Tuesday, then went 1-for-3 in the nightcap against the Saints. On Friday at Princeton, he went 0-for-1 with a walk in game one, but followed that up with a 3-for-3 performance, scoring once and stealing two bases along with being hit by a pitch in game two. On Sunday, he went 2-for-3 with a home run and two runs batted in in game one before going 1-for-4 with a stolen base in game two. The week was enough to nudge the junior outfielder’s season batting average up to .297.

Dartmouth’s Nick Santomauro (North Caldwell, N.J.) hit .583 (7-for-12) during the week with two doubles, a home run, five walks, five runs scored and eight RBIs as he slugged an even 1.000 and reached base two-thirds of his plate appearances. He began the week with a simple pinch-hitting role, breaking a 6-6 deadlock at Vermont with a three-run homer on an 0-2 pitch. In the series against Harvard, he was instrumental in the two victories that clinched the Rolfe Division, going 3-for-3 with a double, two walks, a run and two RBIs in the 14-2 win on Saturday. Needing just one win to clinch the crown on Sunday, the junior outfielder went 2-for-3 with another double, two more walks and two more RBIs. He was directly involved in four of Dartmouth’s first five runs in the 11-5 triumph. For the season, he is batting .408 overall and a whopping .473 in Ivy play.

CO-PITCHERS OF THE WEEK

Sophomore Corey Pappel (Mississauga, Ont.) pitched a gem of a game when the Big Red needed it the most, working eight innings of three-hit ball against Princeton in game two of a doubleheader on Friday. He earned the victory in Cornell’s 4-1 win, striking out nine while walking just three batters in the contest. Pappel got just his first win of the season against two losses and lowered his earned run average on the season to 5.83 with the sterling performance. He retired the Tigers in order in four of the eight innings he worked.

David Hale (Marietta, Ga.) powered his way to a 10-strikeout performance that silenced the Cornell bats in the opening game of the final weekend of Ivy play. The junior was simply electric, pitching 6.1 innings and only surrendering four hits in the win. Although he walked five batters in total, Hale kept the Big Red hitters off-balance and left with a comfortable lead. His performance was vital in the Tigers’ push for the right to face the Big Red again in the Gehrig Divisional Playoff game tomorrow.

CO-ROOKIES OF THE WEEK

Columbia freshman Jon Eisen (Nashville, Tenn.) had a huge week for the Lions, batting .600 in five games, including a 5-for-5 performance in Columbia’s second game with Penn. Eisen was retired just twice in the final three games of the series with Penn, hitting .846 (11-for-13) during that span. He scored five runs, drove in three runs, had two doubles, a triple and two stolen bases. He closed out his season with a bang, raising his final average to .331 after it stood at .288 at the beginning of the week.

Rookie shortstop Derek Vigoa (Miami, Fla.) certainly did not play like a first-year player this week, hitting in all six games Penn played. He was 13-for-23 (.565) with 11 runs scored and nine driven in. No RBI were bigger than the three he plated on Sunday in game two of Penn’s doubleheader with Columbia. Penn trailed 9-2 entering the bottom of the eighth, but Vigoa stepped to the plate with the score tied 9-9 and the bases loaded. After working a full count, he fouled off a payoff pitch. The next offering he sent down the line in left to drive in all three runners and give Penn a 12-9 lead. He later scored his third run of the game as Penn put up 13 in the frame to go on and win, 15-9. This was Penn’s second insane comeback of the week as the Red and Blue scored 10 in the top of the seventh (of a seven-inning game) against Lehigh on Wednesday. Over the first six innings, the Quakers were held hitless. In the comeback, Vigoa plated the first run with a double before scoring on the game-winning three-run homer. He finished the season with 18 doubles – a Penn freshman record.

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