Final Week of NSAC Play will Determine Seedings

With just one week of baseball left in the regular season, all seeds are up for grabs for the 2023 New South Baseball Tournament scheduled to begin on Friday, May 5 at Whaley Colbert Field in Petersburg, Virginia.

A total of six games remain in conference play beginning with today’s Apprentice – Mid-Atlantic Christian matchup slated for 3:00 pm in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

Salem opened its NSAC play this past weekend by sweeping Virginia State, but the Trojans can bounce back this weekend when they make the return trip to Nutter Fort.

Then next Tuesday May 2, the regular season concludes with VSU traveling to Newport News to face the Builders.

Langley, Lee are NSAC Weekly Honorees

Mid-Atlantic Christian pitcher Colin Langley had another outstanding week for the Mustangs. The freshman from Williamston, North Carolina pitched 7.1 innings with 5 strikeouts against Apprentice, plus 5.1 innings against Carolina U with 9 SO’s, to earn NSAC Pitcher of the Week honors for the second time this season. For the week, Langley allowed just 2 earned runs and 8 hits.

MACU’s Jalyn Lee was swinging a big bat for the Herd this week. The redshirt junior from Smithfield, North Carolina went 7 for 12 with 4 RBI’s, 2 runs scored, and a homer, earning Lee the NSAC Player of the Week Award.

Congrats to Colin and Jaylin!

Tigers’ Schmitt Named Pitcher of the Week

Salem pitcher Sam Schmitt chalked 13 strikeouts and allowed only 4 hits as the Tigers took down Mansfield 5-0 last week, earning Schmitt Pitcher of the Week honors from the New South Conference.

The sophomore leftie from Traverse City, Michigan got a 7-inning complete game win in shutting out the Mounties.

Congratulations to Sam Schmitt, our Pitcher of the Week!

Image courtesy Salem Athletics

Salem Hangs Tough in Weekend Series with Mansfield

On Friday and Saturday the Salem Tigers played two doubleheaders against Mansfield University. Salem managed to split the first two Friday games against the Mountaineers, dropping the opening game of the series 6-2, but they made an impressive comeback in game 2 with a 5-0 win. Day 2 was just as competitive with the Tigers only going down 3-2, then taking a 4-1 loss in the second game.

Story courtesy salemtigers.com/Image courtesy Erin Zappia/Salem Athletics

Three NSAC Teams in National Rankings

New South Athletic Conference baseball squads are getting recognized nationally for their work on the diamond.

Defending Small College World Series champion Apprentice School is ranked third in the first USCAA baseball poll of the season, behind only Miami-Hamilton and Bucks County. Mid-Atlantic Christian rounds out the poll at number 15, with Salem bubbling just under the radar.

Virginia State is currently ranked fifth in the Black College Nines’ Top 10 Poll.

Langley, Zacharias Garner POW Honors

MACU’s Colin Langley and Salem’s Kaiden Zacharias led their teams to victories this past week and in doing so earned accolades from the New South Conference.

Kaiden Zacharias
Colin Langley

Langley earned the Pitcher of the Week award with an 8-7 conference win for the Mustangs over Virginia State as he went 6.1 innings, giving up just one earned run off of 6 hits. He also recorded 7 Ks.

Meanwhile, Zacharias had 7 hits, 2 SBs, and 6 RBIs to help the Tigers win a series against preseason #7 West Chester. Kaiden is currently hitting .333 with 18 RBI and 14SBs. For his productive work, Zacharias is our NSAC Player of the Week.

Congrats to both Colin and Kaiden!

Honorable Mention: Jalyn Lee, MACU; Jaryd Lund, Salem

MACU Slips Past VSU 8-7

ETTRICK, Va. – Redshirt junior Jalyn Lee launched a home run and scored 2 RBIs to lead Mid-Atlantic Christian to an 8-7 NSAC win over Virginia State Monday afternoon.

Colin Langley only gave up one earned run in 6 1/3 innings to get the win for the Mustangs. Caleb Whitley pitched 2 innings in relief for the save.

With the win, the Mustangs stay unbeaten in NSAC play at 2-0 and improve overall to 16-16. The Trojans fall to 0-1 and 13-11, respectively.

VSU Earns National Top 5 Ranking

Virginia State’s success on the baseball diamond is being recognized nationally. The Trojans are currently ranked fifth in the Black Colleges Nines Small School Poll. Staying near the top of the poll has been a goal for the Trojans. The top-eight HBCU small schools will be invited to the 2023 Black College World Series in Montgomery, Alabama May 10-13.

In addition,, VSU also received votes in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II poll.

The Trojans open their New South Conference schedule today at 3:00 pm hosting Mid-Atlantic Christian.

Story and image courtesy govsutrojans.com

Tigers’ Kuhn, Lund Earn Weekly Honors

Salem’s weekend sweep of Bluefield State was led by a number of standout performers. We honor two of them this week.

Nathan Kuhn

Nathan Kuhn batted 6 for 8 with 7 RBIs, 2 home runs, a double, a triple, and an HBP, earning him the NSAC Player of the Week Award.

Jaryd Lund

The Tigers’ Jaryd Lund got a complete-game 6-0 win by allowing just 2 hits and logging 3 strikeouts and no earned runs. For his efforts, Lund is named the NSAC Pitcher of the Week.

Congratulations to Nathan and Jaryd!

Images courtesy Salem Athletics

Salem’s Offense Comes Alive in Sweep of Bluefield State

NUTTER FORT, W.V. – After their unsuccessful midweek contest against Davis & Elkins, the Salem Tigers baseball team played host to the Big Blue of Bluefield State for a 3-game series and came out of the weekend with a sweep of the Big Blue.

Salem 6, Bluefield State 0

In the first contest of the series, Salem met with the Big Blue at DCHS field in West Union for a doubleheader. Offensively, Sam Schmitt opened up the scoring in the game with a home run in the 2nd inning. The game remained at a tight 1-0 Salem lead until the 6th when the Tigers added 5 runs. It started with a Ben Matos 2 RBI single, and then a balk call on the Big Blue pitcher allowed Jose Lojo to advance from third for the third run of the inning. Luis Angarita then knocked another in with an RBI triple. The final run of the inning and the contest came from a masterfully executed double steal play allowed Luis Angarita to steal home to make it 6-0. On the pitcher’s mound, Salem benefitted from a great performance from Jaryd Lund, who got the complete game win by allowing just 2 hits and logging 3 strikeouts. 

Salem 4, Bluefield State 2

In Game 2, the second leg of the doubleheader in West Union was a tight game early on. The Big Blue scored 2 in the top of the first, but Salem responded in kind with 2 of their own. The first came from a Kaiden Zacharias single to bring in Luis Angarita. After that, the Tigers were able to fill the bases, and then a walk of Sam Schmitt by the Bluefield State pitcher allowed Zacharias to bring in the 2nd run of the inning. However, with a tied ball game, the pressure was still on for the Tigers. They broke the deadlock with another RBI single in the 2nd, and this time it was off of the bat of Nathan Kuhn to make it 3-2. Salem kept control of the game through the following innings, and added one more insurance run in the 4th when Luis Angarita made it home once again off of a Brett Ehr groundout. From there, the Salem defense held, and the Tigers earned a 4-2 win. Another win and another great pitching performance aided the Tigers in the victory. This time, it came from Sam Schmitt, who logged 9 strikeouts in 7 innings of work for another complete game win for the Tigers. 

Salem 18, Bluefield State 7

For the final contest of the series, the Tigers returned to their home field of Frank Loria Memorial field for a Sunday afternoon contest. This time, Salem really showed off their offensive capabilities with a total of 18 runs in the game. From the plate, Salem put up a whopping 18 hits, including 2 home runs from Nathan Kuhn, 1 home run from Trey Hissam, a pair of triples from Luis Angarita and Kaiden Zacharias, and another pair of doubles from Kuhn and Angarita. On top of uncorking their best offensive day of the season, Salem benefited from another strong pitching performance. This time, it was a group effort with starter Tyler Sammons, Travis Lavendier, Ben Sitarenios, Jhayden Raineri, and Keegan Oliver combining for a total of 10 strikeouts. Tyler Sammons also logged his first win of the season. 

With this weekend sweep of the Big Blue, Salem (8-16 overall, 0-0 NSAC) will be looking to double down on this performance in the rematch this week. The Tigers are headed down to Bluefield this time for a midweek road doubleheader starting at 1 PM on March 29th.

Story and image courtesy salemtigers.com