NECBL Team of the Week: No-no and sluggers

Laconia catcher Deon Stafford built off his big spring, where
he hit .341 for Saint Joseph's. /SJU photo

I was brainstorming content for this blog, and I realized that regular features to accompany my power rankings would be a good idea. Each week, I'm compiling a team of players who've had great weeks throughout the league. Pointstreak has a handy feature to look at the last week of statistics, so that's what I'll base this team off of.

The team will be made up of the eight position players and a starting pitcher. This is for the week of June 14th through June 21st.

Feel free to let me know if I missed anyone in the comments section!

Catcher: Deon Stafford, Laconia Muskrats

Stafford, who ranks third in the league in average, powered his way to the head of the pack among catchers. A sophomore from Saint Josephs, Stafford played in four games this week and hit .500 with four doubles and five RBIs. He raised his season average to .419 through 11 games, leads the league with six doubles and is tied for first with seven extra base hits.

First Base: Tim Lynch, Ocean State Waves

The league leader in slugging with an .818 mark, Lynch made the most of four games last week. Including a rain-shortened loss to Newport, Lynch went 8-for-11 (.728) with two home runs, a double and four RBIs. He also drew three walks and posted an on-base percentage of almost .800. He's tied for the league lead with four home runs.

Second Base: Thomas Roulis, Vermont Mountaineers

Roulis had an "off week", hitting .400 over four games to lower his season average to a NECBL-best .524. With an 80-point advantage on the next highest average, Roulis has enjoyed a stellar start to the summer. He was 6-for-15 this past week and leads the league with 22 hits in his first 10 games.

Shortstop: Tyler Orris, New Bedford Bay Sox

Orris has assembled an 11-game hitting streak to open the season for the Bay Sox, and ranks near the top of the league with a .400 average after a sucessful week. He w
ent 10-of-29 (.345) in a packed week that featured two double headers. Orris added two doubles, six RBIs and four stolen bases. He's second in the league in stolen bases, hits and RBIs.

Third Base: Mandy Alvarez, Plymouth Pilgrims

Alvarez made a big splash in his first week in the NECBL, slugging his way to the top of the league in multiple categories. He went 8-for-16 in his first four games with three home runs, four doubles and four RBIs. Despite having only played in four games, he is tied for the league lead in extra base hits (7), second in home runs (3) and third in doubles (4).

Outfielder: Parker Perez, North Adams SteepleCats

Perez piled up six hits last week, hitting his way to a .429 average over five games while stealing a pair of bases and working five walks. The two-way player was one of the only SteepleCats to find success at the plate last week, as the team hit .204 as a whole.

Outfielder: Brent Rooker, Plymouth Pilgrims

Rooker continued to crush the ball to open the summer, slugging two more home runs this past week while boosting his season slugging percentage to .667, tied for third in the league. He went 8-for-21 (.381) for Plymouth, knocking in four runs. Rooker leads the league with 12 runs scored, four home runs and 34 total bases.

Outfielder: Michael Corin, Ocean State Waves

Ocean State is tied for second in the league with eight home runs, and two came off the hot bat of Corin this week. In just three games, Corin went 4-for-10 (.400), with two of hits long balls. He drove in five runs and is heating up, raising his season average to .416.

Starting Pitcher: Dakota Edwards, North Adams SteepleCats

There's no question Edwards deserves it. The right hander from Bridgeport, coming off of an achilles tear, threw a 108-pitch no-hitter of the league's best offensive team on Saturday night. Edwards walked two and hit another batter, but settled down and retired the last 16 Mainers he faced in a 1-0 win. It was the 11th no-hitter in NECBL history, and the first individual one since 2011. It was also the second no-hitter in the SteepleCats history, the last coming in 2007.

Honorable Mentions:
Shaine Hughes, 1B, Sanford Mainers- 6-for-12, .500, HR, 2 RBIs
Devin Hariston, SS, Vermont Mountaineers- 5-for-11, .455, HR, 2B, 5 RBIs
Dalton Thomas, C/DH, Sanford Mainers- 8-for-21 .348, 2 HR, 4 RBIs
Cameron Hanley, 3B, Laconia Muskrats- 6-for-12, .500