INDIANAPOLIS – Malone and Lake Erie were recipients of Great Midwest Athletic Conference Baseball Players of the Week honors for the North Division as announced on Tuesday afternoon.
The divisional races are tightening across the league as teams try to ultimately qualify for the Great Midwest Championship held at PRASCO Park in Mason, Ohio. From the North Division, Ohio Dominican, officially locked in a postseason bid with a 16-6 record in league competition.
The top three seeds from the North and South Division will make the conference tournament along with two wild card selections.
Malone and Hillsdale have the same number of conference wins as Ohio Dominican while Findlay, Walsh and Lake Erie all have records over .500 in the conference schedule.
North Division Player of the Week
Matt Noel
Malone
Catcher
Junior
Tallmadge, OH (Tallmadge HS)
The 2017 reigning conference batting king Noel (.415 last year) enjoyed a strong week at the dish with a 10-for-17 line, four multi-hit games and four extra-base hits.
The Pioneers played six games, including a win against incoming Great Midwest member institution Tiffin, a doubleheader against Wheeling Jesuit and a three-game conference series vs. Findlay.
Noel is the battery mate for one of the best pitching staff units in the league with lefty Roscoe Blackburn and righty Joshua Hurford headlining a talented group of arms. He started five of his six games at catcher this week.
Noel recorded six RBI and scored six runs to help the Malone offensive cause while drawing three walks.
In game one vs. Wheeling Jesuit, he socked two doubles with a run scored and an RBI. He doubled in back-to-back games against Findlay and had eight total hits against the Oilers. His average was at .588 on the week and his on-base percentage was at .619.
On a Pioneers’ team hitting close to .300 this spring (.290), Noel remains one of the key bats with a .307 season line in 42 games played. He has 22 RBI and 10 doubles.
North Division Pitcher of the Week
Michael Stryffeler
Lake Erie
RHP
Senior
Sagamore Hills, OH (Padua Franciscan)
Stryffeler was dynamic in a relief role and a strong start on the road as the Storm helped their playoff case with a series win against Hillsdale.
As the regular season gets closer to concluding, Lake Erie took two of three from the Chargers, who were flirting with first place in the division with Ohio Dominican.
Stryffeler pitched nine innings and fanned 12 hitters while collecting a winning decision on the mound and held hitters to an opposing batting average of just .125.
He started out with a scoreless appearance against Notre Dame (OH) outside of conference play and fired a perfect inning with two strikeouts.
Versus Hillsdale, he pitched eight strong innings with 10 strikeouts while scattering four hits and walking just one. He yielded a pair of earned runs as the Storm offense picked up the slack in a close 4-3 final.
Stryffeler’s effort was sandwiched between a gem tossed by David Lemasters. Stryffeler is now 4-3 on the spring in 11 appearances with eight starts. Hitters are batting just .232 off the righty and his K/9 ratio is an impressive 11.85 split.