SALISBURY, Md. – After a pair of thunderous performances at the plate and on the bump, outfielder
Tim Petrucelli and right-hander
Aidan Brinsfield of the fifth-ranked Salisbury University baseball team were
named Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, announced by the league office on Monday.
Petrucelli, a graduate student from Delran, N.J., put up a .643/.750/1.571 slash line with four doubles, three home runs, seven RBIs, and 11 runs scored over the Sea Gulls' four wins during the week. Petrucelli homered in three straight games, including a solo shot on Saturday against C2C rival Mary Washington that helped provide the difference in a 5-4 SU triumph.
Petrucelli has started all 32 games in right field for Salisbury this season, batting .387 with 15 doubles, nine homers, 37 runs, 39 RBIs, and a 1.272 OPS. Entering this week's slate of games he boasts top-50 national rankings in doubles, doubles per game (0.47), home runs, slugging percentage (.756), and total bases (90). At nine round-trippers, Petrucelli is one away from achieving just the 13th double-digit dinger season in Sea Gull history.
This is the second weekly C2C honor for Petrucelli, who was named Player of the Week on Mar. 4. Salisbury has now captured six C2C Player of the Week awards in 2024;
Andrew Kell has won it three times and
Kyle Brex once.
Brinsfield, a freshman from Salisbury's Parkside High School, pitched an eight-inning complete-game shutout to help the Sea Gulls beat Neumann 10-0 in eight innings on Tuesday. Brinsfield faced just three batters over the minimum, scattering two singles and one walk while striking out 10 Knights in the most dominant start of his career to date.
Through nine appearances (eight starts) this year, Brinsfield sports a 4-0 record with a 3.37 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 12 walks, and 37 strikeouts over a team-leading 42.2 innings. He currently ranks fifth in the C2C in punchouts, as well as sixth in ERA and wins.
Brinsfield's first career C2C weekly nod is also the first Pitcher of the Week award for SU this season.
Thanks to Petrucelli's prowess with the bat and Brinsfield's powerful right arm, the Sea Gulls picked up wins over Wilson, Neumann, Stevenson, and Mary Washington over the past week. Salisbury outscored the competition 47-13 over the quartet of games, boosting a scoring offense that now slots 16th in Division III at 9.3 runs per game.
Petrucelli, Brinsfield, and the Sea Gulls are in action three times over the next week, starting on Wednesday afternoon at home against St. Mary's (Md.). First pitch from Donnie Williams Stadium is slated for 3 p.m.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football and men's and women's swimming, and the Coastal Lacrosse Conference for men's lacrosse. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 23 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 197 conference championships, and 45 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
