Eastern Division
Co-Player of the Week: Jason Simone (Cortland State), Mohawk Valley
Co-Player of the Week: Ryan Retz (Pima C.C.), Glens Falls
Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs outfielder Jason Simone and Glens Falls Golden Eagles utility player Ryan Retz are the first winners of the 2010 Eastern Division Player of the Week award. Due to poor weather and the schedule, each player was limited to only four games. Simone batted .500 (9-for-18), drove in a team-high six runs and stole four bases. The rising senior at Cortland State had at least one hit in all four games and totaled multiple hits in three of Mohawk Valley’s four tests. Simone had three hits apiece against Oneonta on June 5 and Glens Falls on June 11 to go along with three stolen bases. He knocked in a season-high three runs in the Oneonta game and drove in at least one run in three of four games. Retz, a rising sophomore at Pima (Ariz.) C.C., batted .438 (7-for-16), scored eight runs, blasted one home run and drove in three. He had at least one hit and one run in all four Glens Falls games. Retz clouted a ninth-inning double and scored the lone run in a 1-0 win at Amsterdam on June 5 and then he scored three runs the next day against Albany.
Pitcher of the Week: Mike Cieszko (RPI), Watertown
Watertown Wizards starting pitcher Mike Cieszko, a rising senior at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been selected as the very first Eastern Division Pitcher of the Week for the 2010 season. Through two starts, Cieszko is 2-0 with a 1.38 earned run average and an Eastern Division-leading 15 strikeouts in 13 innings pitched. Against Oneonta on June 4, Cieszko fanned 10 and threw six shutout innings in a 3-0 Watertown victory. The RPI pitcher followed with seven strong innings at Amsterdam in a 6-4 triumph on June 11. Cieszko scattered two runs on six hits, walked one and struck out five inside the cozy confines of Shuttleworth Park.
Western Division
Player of the Week: Ryan Ferguson (Temple), Elmira
Elmira Pioneers designated hitter Ryan Ferguson, a rising senior at Temple University and a second-year NYCBL competitor, has been chosen as the Western Division Player of the Week. Ferguson batted .400 (12-for-30) over his first seven games and drove in five runs. He totaled multiple hits in five of those games and put together a six-game hitting streak that lasted from June 7 through June 12. Four of Ferguson’s 12 hits were doubles, a league high heading into the second full week of action. The Temple University product competed for the Elmira Pioneers last summer and was one of Elmira’s three representatives in the NYCBL All-Star Game.
Co-Pitcher of the Week: Isaac Hicks (Nova Southeastern), Allegany County
Co-Pitcher of the Week: Bryant Guilmette (UMass Lowell), Webster
Allegany County Nitros starting pitcher Isaac Hicks and Webster starting pitcher Bryant Guilmette share the first Western Division Pitcher of the Week award. It’s only fitting that the two share the award because Allegany County and Webster split their first two head-to-head meetings with both Hicks and Guilmette on the mound. Hicks whirled a four-hit shutout over eight innings in a 2-0 win over Webster on June 4. Guilmette countered with a complete game in which he struck out five in eight innings and yielded two runs on seven hits. This past Saturday, Guilmette held the Nitros scoreless for eight and one-third innings in a 1-0 victory. He spread out seven hits, walked one and fanned five. Hicks again went the distance though he yielded a run in the ninth and struck out two officially in eight and one-third frames.