Blue Devils Summer Baseball Update #2

Members of Central Connecticut baseball team members are currently playing in collegiate summer baseball leagues, while a number of alums are playing professionally as well. Rising junior TT Bowens ranks second in the NECBL with seven homeruns and former Blue Devil Connor Fitzsimons was recently named the Midwest League Player of the Week.

The current list of players playing in collegiate summer league and a brief update (stats through July 7):

NEW ENGLAND COLLEGIATE BASEBALL LEAGUE
TT Bowens - Mystic Schooners
Bowens ranks second in the league with seven home runs and is hitting .286. In 18 games he has 19 RBIs and 18 runs scored, while helping Mystic to a 15-8 record and first-place in the Southern Division.

Dave Matthews - Keene Swamp Bats
Matthews has launched six home runs in 16 games to rank third in the league. He has 16 RBIs and 15 runs scored. Keene is 14-7 and in second place in the Northern Division with five straight wins.

Peyton Stephens - Keene Swamp Bats
Stephens is a pitcher for the Swamp Bats this summer and has thrown in two games. He has three strikeouts in 1.2 innings of work.

PERFECT GAME COLLEGIATE BASEBALL LEAGUE
Andrew Braun - Utica Blue Sox
Braun has pitched in eight games for the Blue Sox, and is 1-0 with a 1.84 ERA. Across 14.2 innings, Braun has 18 strikeouts and has allowed just nine hits. Braun was chosen as a reserve for the West Division in the PGCBL All-Star Gam as Utica has gone 16-11 and is in second place in the West Division.

Dylan Sanchez - Watertown Rapids
Sanchez has played in 13 games for Watertown and owns a .277 batting average. He has scored seven runs with six RBIs and has a double and triple. He has gone 4-of-6 on stolen base attempts.

Tim Buchek - Oneonta Outlaws
Buchek has pitched in seven games and also has 19 at bats for Oneonta. At the plate he is hitting .263 and has five RBIs. He has scored three runs. On the mound, Buchek has thrown 19.0 innings, including three starts. He owns a 4.74 ERA and is 1-1 with 16 strikeouts.

FUTURES COLLEGIATE BASEBALL LEAGUE
Four Blue Devils are playing for the Bristol Blues this summer. The Blues have gone 16-15 and are 2.0 games out of first place.

Buddy Dewaine - Bristol Blues
Dewaine has played 16 games for the Blues and is hitting .328 and was named to the Hillies squad for the Futures League All-Star Game. In addition to several defensive highlights at third base, he has scored 13 runs and accounted for eight RBIs and has two doubles and a triple.

Dominic Niman - Bristol Blues
Niman is tied for the league lead in wins and has pitched in 12 games with a 3.43 ERA and a 5-0 record out of the bullpen. He was named Hillies squad for the Futures League All-Star Game. In 18.1 innings of work, he has 19 strikeouts and allowed just 11 hits.

Matt Shane - Bristol Blues
Shane has pitched in seven games and made two starts for the Blues. In 18.0 innings of work, the lefthander has a 3.00 ERA with 16 strikeouts. He owns a 1-1 record.

Sam Loda - Bristol Blues
Loda has played in eight games and has seven hits, including two doubles and a triple. He has scored four runs and driven in another. 

COASTAL PLAIN LEAGUE
Mike Appel - Morehead City Marlins
Appel has pitched in eight games and has a 2-0 record with one save. He has a 3.21 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 14.0 innings. The Marlins own the best record in the East Division at 22-9 overall.

There are also a number of former Blue Devils currently playing in the professional ranks. Some of those currently playing include:
(stats through July 7)

Connor Fitzsimons (Burlington Bees - Los Angeles Angels Class A) - Fitzsimons was recently honored as the Midwest League Player of the Week after his efforts on offense for the Burlington Bees. Fitzsimons was named Player of the Week on July 1 for what he did during the period of June 24-30. Fitzsimons was 6-for-14 (.429) with two doubles, a triple, two home runs, seven RBI, three runs scored and three walks. Fitzsimons had a slugging percentage of .556, and his on-base plus slugging was 1.143. For the season, Fitzsimons has six home runs to match his total in all of 2018, while playing in 56 games and driving in 34 runs.

Ryan Costello (Fort Myers Miracle - Minnesota Twins Class A Advanced) - Costello has played 58 games with Fort Myers and is tied for third on the team with six homeruns. He has 28 runs scored and 20 RBIs. Costello has a .650 OPS and 14 extra-base hits. He played four games with Pensacola (AA) earlier in the season.

Dean Lockery (West Virginia Black Bears - Pittsburgh Pirates Class A Short Season) - Lockery has played in 14 games for the Black Bears since starting the season in Bradenton. He has four hits in the last two games and on the year is hitting .250 with seven runs scored and five RBIs.

Nick Garland (GCL Pirates - Pittsburgh Pirates Rookie) - Garland played in six games for the GCL Pirates, who opened the season on June 24. He drove in two runs.

J.P. Sportman (York Revolution - Atlantic League) - Sportman has played in 51 games for York this season. He owns a .304 batting average, while hitting three homeruns with 24 RBIs and 30 runs scored. He has 21 extra-base hits. Sportman and the Revolution went 34-35 in the first half of the season and has gone 21-5 since June 10.

Tom Curtin (St. Paul Saints - American Association) - Curtin signed with the Saints on June 15 and has pitched in four games, including three starts. He has a 4.37 ERA in 12.1 innings, while striking out six and walking just three. Curtin and the Saints are currently 31-17 overall and just .5 games out of first in the North Division.