By Dave Diamond
The Pride baseball team is currently battling for the final spot in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) playoffs, in a cluster of teams trying to get back to .500 and compete with Delaware for sixth place. It has been said all year, especially for a team that needs to work hard to win games, that if the Pride wants to make a playoff run it will not only need veterans to carry the load, but young players to step up and elevate their game.
It seems as if sophomore utility man Matt Kougasian got the point. Through 43 games this season, and with senior playmakers like Ricky Caputo and Josh Stern supplying the power numbers, it is Kougasian leading the Pride with a .321 batting average with 10 doubles and 16 RBI.
“I knew Matt was going to be one of the key players this year…he has stepped up to the plate and shown what he can really do,” Pride closer Jeff Denlea said. “Every time he gets up, I know he’s going to get a hit and drive someone home.”
The importance of a reliable ballplayer like Kougasian is cherished on any team, but in only his second year on the team, the Pride is certainly getting the pleasant outlook that he has matured quickly. He leads the team in on-base percentage at .426, which is as important a statistic as any in baseball. Without runners on base, the opportunity for the big hit is diminished and the Pride has struggled in this department all season.
Kougasian had the winning hit in the Pride’s 6-3 victory over James Madison on Sunday, a bases-loaded double in the top of the eighth that cleared the bases that concluded a three-game sweep. He went 6-for-12 in the series with a home run, three doubles, three runs and four RBI.
“Stats don’t mean anything, the kid can simply hit,” veteran co-captain Steve Oliveri said. “We need to get him up in more RBI situations.”
This builds on an impressive foundation in his rookie year of 2005 and from St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, N.J., where he batted .400 as a senior and .365 as a junior. He was named to the CAA All-Rookie team last year with a .305 batting average with 26 RBI and 20 runs scored. Highlights of his rookie year included an impressive series against CAA powerhouse UNC-Wilmington that featured a home run, four runs scored and four RBI. He also had a 4-for-4 performance against St. Francis with two doubles and two RBI.