Baseball Sweeps NEC Weekly Honors For Second Straight Week

The Central Connecticut baseball program swept the Northeast Conference weekly awards for the second straight week it was announced Monday. Sophomore Mike Appel was named the Pitcher of the Week, while senior Tyler Coleman took Player of the Week honors and freshman Ron Grant was named Rookie of the Week.

Appel, who picked up a National Player of the Week honor earlier Monday, made his first conference start of the season and it was one for the record book. The sophomore right-hander no-hit Mount St. Mary's during Saturday's 2-0 home victory. Allowing only one walk and striking out three over 9.0 innings, Appel became the first NEC pitcher since March 28, 2010, (Mount St. Mary's Kent Worthington vs. Quinnipiac) to toss a no-hitter. On Saturday, Appel retired the first 13 batters he faced in order. A hit-by-pitch ended his bid for a perfect game with one out in the fifth inning, but Appel would strand a pair of runners on third and faced only three batters over the minimum. He issued a base on balls to start the ninth, but induced a groundball double play followed by a flyout to complete the first no-hitter at CCSU since head coach Charlie Hickey has been in charge.
APPEL WEEK 5 STATS: 1 start, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 3 K, 1 BB, 2 HBP, 0.11 WHIP 

Not to be overlooked, Coleman picked up his second straight Player of the Week honor after powering the offense in Central Connecticut's three-game NEC series sweep of Mount St. Mary's. He batted .364 (4-for-11) with one double, one triple, one sacrifice fly, three RBI and three runs scored over the course of three starts. He produced multi-hit performances in the series opener and the finale. In the opener, Coleman connected on a sac fly in the fourth inning and laced a run-scoring single in the sixth. His one-out triple in the eight sparked a three-run inning in Central's eventual 9-1 victory. Coleman opened the scoring in the series finale, sending a two-out RBI single up the middle as part of his 2-for-4 day. The senior also capped the scoring in CCSU's 4-0 triumph, coming around to score a run in eighth inning after reaching base with a one-out double.
COLEMAN WEEK 5 STATS: .364 BA (4-for-11), 2B, 3B, sac fly, 3 RBI, 3 runs, HBP, 1.000 fielding pct. 

Making his first NEC start as a collegian, Grant twirled seven strong in a conference victory over Mount St. Mary's. The freshman lefty blanked the Mount for 7.0 innings in Sunday's 4-0 win, which gave the Blue Devils a three-game series sweep. Pitching to an 0.71 WHIP, Grant limited the Mountaineers to three hits and two walks while striking out four batters. The rookie southpaw struck out three straight at one point and only surrendered an infield hit in the third inning, a single to left in the fourth and a one-out double in the sixth. He finished the outing string, retiring the final five batters.
GRANT WEEK 5 STATS: 1 start, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 2BB, 0.71 WHIP 

The Blue Devils are back in action on Tuesday, March 21, with a home game against UConn at 3:00 p.m. on CCSU Baseball Field. to face him.