Confident Avery Point opens play in NJCAA District tourney on Friday
May 13—UConn Avery Point is feeling good heading to the NJCAA Division II District tournament in New York this weekend.
The Pointers (22-11-1) are coming off an impressive sweep of Monroe Community College in the sub-district tournament last weekend at Roger Bidwell Field in Groton. They scored 19 runs and had 23 hits in two games and also received solid pitching as well as playing terrific defense.
Now they'll attempt to qualify for the World Series in Oklahoma.
"I'm confident in our guys," coach Ian Ratchford said after practice Thursday. "They worked extremely hard all year. We've held them to pretty high standards and expectations, and they've responded every time."
They open the four-team, double-elimination district tourney at 1 p.m. Friday against SUNY Sullivan (20-21) at Cantine Field in Saugerties. Mercer Community College (28-17) and host SUNY Ulster (19-14) are the other two teams in the field. The district champion moves on to the World Series.
They went 3-0 against the district tournament teams during the regular season, sweeping a March 6 doubleheader from Mercer, 7-4 and 9-7, and beating Ulster, 11-2, on March 11.
"Obviously, there's some familiarity there," Ratchford said. "But I'm sure just like I feel we've improved, they've improved over the course of the season, too."
Javon Hernandez, a freshman from Danbury, is riding a hot streak for Avery Point. He was named the NJCAA Division II player of the week after going 8 for 11 with four doubles, a triple, home run and 11 RBI in two games. He raised his batting average to a team-best .422.
Hernandez, who played baseball for Ratchford's father at Danbury and earned all-state honors, does it all. He's also his high school program's all-time hits leader.
"Defensively, he's very sure-handed and makes the routine play," Ratchford said recently. "He has great range and can make excellent plays. He has game-changing speed. He's one of the best base runners that I've ever coached. Instinctively, he's great, too. He just puts together really good at-bats. He's been our team leader."
Against Monroe, Avery Point received strong starting pitching from Alex Mach (4-1) and Keegan Daigle (6-2). Mach and Keegan will be the No. 1 and No. 2 starters in the District tournament.
"I always feel good when we have Alex Mach and Keegan Daigle on the mound," Ratchford said. "They always give us a chance to win a game. And even Tiernan Powers, who is going to go game three for us, I feel like in a normal year he's maybe a No. 1 or No. 2 on most teams. And we have a couple of really, really talented freshmen arms.
"As the saying goes, especially in the postseason, pitching wins games. So, I feel confident in our guys. And our hitters have done a really good job, too."
The Pointers have made a habit of driving up an opposing pitcher's pitch count. They strike out the sixth least amount of times in the country.
"If you can get into bullpens, especially come tournament time, usually you're in pretty good shape," Ratchford said. "So, hopefully, we can continue to do that."
