NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — North Adams catcher Jeremy Lea (Pacific) and Bristol right-handed pitcher James Kirkpatrick (Harvard) have been named the New England Collegiate Baseball League’s (NECBL) Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for the seventh edition of the 2021 season.
Lea’s hot bat has helped a resurgent North Adams squad climb up the North Division rankings and sit within two games of Keene for the top spot. The rising senior at Pacific posted the top batting average in the New England League last week (.583) after totaling seven hits in 16 at-bats. Three of those hits were doubles – one off the league lead – and another was a homer, as he drove in six RBIs on the week, also one back of the league’s high-water mark on the week. The Pleasanton, California, native also scored five runs and added a stolen base and a walk while posting a staggering 1.698 OPS thanks to a 1.083 SLG% and .615 on-base percentage.
Through 25 games, Lea owns a .330 batting average thanks to 33 hits and has scored 19 runs while drilling seven doubles, five homers and 14 RBIs. He owns a .941 OPS to date while slashing .330 / .391 / .550. A rising senior at Pacific, Lea batted .248 (37-149) for the Tigers this past spring with 20 runs, seven homers and 30 RBIs.
Kirkpatrick factored into a pair of Bristol wins last week, as the Blues have begun to catch fire with four straight wins. The righty and rising junior at Harvard first earned a two-inning save in the Blues’ 9-6 road win at Danbury last Monday; he struck out four of the six batters he faced in that span in shutting down the Westerners. He then added another scoreless inning with only a strikeout and walk yielded at Mystic four days later. He did not allow a hit in three innings of work, posting a 15.00 K/9 and 0.33 WHIP, both of which ranked among the league leaders last week.
The right-hander is now up to three saves on the summer; in 10 appearances, he has fanned 16 over 13-1/3 innings, and opponents are batting only .178 against him.
Week 7 Honor Roll – Position Players
Brendan Cumming (Mystic), Travis Holt (Valley) Noah Martinez (Keene), Alex Ramirez (Ocean State), Matthew Wood (Newport)
Week 7 Honor Roll – Pitchers
Jordy Allard (Upper Valley), Jake Berry (Keene), Jackson Emus (North Shore), Mark Faello (Bristol), Lenny Washington (Keene)
