Spencer Hotaling (Susquehanna) tosses a pitch for the 2014 Dutchmen.
Collegiate baseball players who wore, or will wear, the Albany Dutchmen uniform made big contributions to their squads in the third week, as the season begins for even more teams.
Spencer Hotaling, Susquehanna- Hotaling was the Opening Day starter for Susquehanna, who was picked to finish atop the Landmark Conference. Hotaling, who pitched in Albany in 2014, received a no-decision for a quality six-inning outing. The right hander allowed just one earned run on six hits. He struck out five hitters with just one walk, and faced just four more hitters than the minimum. Despite leaving the game with the lead, the Crusaders fell to Immaculata in the season opener.
Mike Kaelin, Buffalo- The 2014 Dutchmen hurler was phenomenal in his second outing of the year, earning the win in the Bulls’ first victory of the campaign. Kaelin was perfect over the final 3.1 innings of the 5-3 triumph, and struck out seven of the ten batters he faced. The seven strikeouts came consecutively, consisting of the final two outs of the seventh, all three outs in the eighth, and the first two outs of the ninth. Buffalo trailed by a run when Kaelin entered the game, and the righty’s pitching led the Bulls to the two-run win.
Eric Mueller, UAlbany- Despite getting swept by East Carolina, the 2015 Dutchmen outfielder recorded six hits in the three-game series, going 6-for-11. Mueller drove in four of UAlbany’s seven runs during the series, including a three RBI effort on Saturday, courtesy of a bases clearing double. He also had three hits in Sunday’s series finale. Through six games, Mueller leads the Great Danes with a .400 batting average, eight hits, and five runs batted in. Mueller has started in right field in every game to date for the Great Danes.
AJ Flores, Texas A&M Corpus Christi- Flores, who wore the Dutchmen colors in 2014, had an outstanding relief appearance for Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Wednesday, despite the team’s loss to the Bobcats of Texas State. Flores came on in the second inning and tossed four hitless, scoreless innings, allowing just a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Flores struck out five hitters, and worked out of jams in the second and third innings. He also worked perfect innings in the fourth and fifth.
Cameron Miller, Baylor- The 2014 Dutchmen All-Star hit .333 over four games last week, and had the best game of his Baylor career in an 8-4 victory over Northwestern State. In back-to-back at-bats, Miller clubbed RBI doubles, both to right center field. The first double scored one run, and the second two-bagger sent two Bears across the plate. His third hit of the game was also a double, this one to lead off the seventh inning. The three RBI’s helped Baylor to the win over Northwestern State, and Miller added a first inning RBI single in the Bears’ loss to Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.
Lukas Nethaway, St. Rose- The two-year captain for Saint Rose played for the Dutchmen in 2013 and had a solid week for the Golden Knights, who went 1-1. Nethaway went 4-for-8 over the two games, including a 3-for-5 effort in the team’s first victory of the season. Nethaway’s first hit of the week was an RBI double to put Saint Rose on the board. In the team’s Sunday victory, he recorded three hits including another RBI double. Nethaway would also score after the double, and scored again after a single in the seventh inning.
Michael Jurgella, St. Cloud State- Jurgella led St. Cloud State to a five-game sweep of Harding University last week. Jurgella went 7-for-19, with his biggest hit coming in the eighth inning of a Saturday victory. The 2012 Dutchmen alumni drilled a double to left center field, giving the Huskies a 2-1 lead, which held up. He also had a big game in the series finale, going 3-for-5 with three runs batted in. Two of those runs came on his first home run of the season, a shot to left center field that put St. Cloud State ahead 8-2. Jurgella leads the team in RBIs through the first five games.
