WESTFIELD, Mass. – With the Worcester State baseball team collecting impressive victories in their opening two games of the season, it's no surprise that a pair of Lancers have been named the first Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Players of the Week, announced on Monday afternoon by the conference office.
Junior catcher Mike Chaves, Jr. (Hudson, Mass.) was selected as the MASCAC Player of the Week, while junior pitcher Ben Smith (Bourne, Mass.) was named Pitcher of the Week.
Smith was the catalyst for a pitching staff that tossed nine innings of shutout baseball on Saturday in an 11-0 win over Nichols. He got the start and tossed five scoreless innings with six strikeouts, allowing just three singles and no walks. The Lancers finished the day with 12 strikeouts and did not issue a free pass as Smith earned the victory. Smith also featured in the season-opening win against Dean College, striking out the side in a scoreless inning.
Chaves hit three-run homers in both of those games, going 4-8 (.500) for the week with seven RBIs. Chaves had a .556 on-base percentage and a 1.50 slugging percentage as he added a triple and a walk while scoring four runs. He was 2-for-4 with a triple, home run, four RBI and three runs scored in the 25-11 win over Dean College, then added two more hits, including a home run with three RBI and a run scored in the 11-0 win over Nichols College.
Worcester State has scored a combined 36 runs over two games, leading the nation in scoring average. They are also ranked seventh in the country with an on-base percentage of .534, and are tenth in the nation with a team batting average of .407. On the pitching side, the Lancers have struck out 25 batters and walked just one. Their walks allowed per nine innings (0.5) leads the country, as does their 25/1 strikeout to walk ratio.
The Lancers next take the field in Florida on Saturday, March 12th when they take on Stockton in the first game of their Spring Break trip.