Root Rewarded with AEC Baseball Player of the Week Honor
Lancaster, Pa. – (4/24/2023) – Gwynedd Mercy University sophomore pitcher/outfielder
Cooper Root (Runnemede, N.J.) was named the
Atlantic East Conference (AEC) Baseball Player of the Week for his play in the Griffins’ 3-1 week versus Delaware
Valley University (W, 26-10 on Apr. 18) and Centenary University (NJ) (L, 11-17 on Apr. 21/W, 4-2 and W, 3-1 on Apr. 22). Root was outstanding at the plate, batting 8-for-17 (.471) with four walks, five runs, and 10 runs-batted-in (RBI). He also earned his third win (3-1) of the season with 6.1 innings of work in the series finale with the Cyclones.
After sitting behind a 1-0 deficit for two innings, Gwynedd Mercy University (16-16, 5-10) got to work. Eight Griffins scored in the top of the third inning (8-1), another scored in the fourth (9-1), and five more in the fifth (13-1), before Delaware Valley University (13-17) put another tally on the scoreboard. The Aggies cut into the lead with three runs in the bottom of fifth (13-4) and doubled Gwynedd Mercy University run total in the seventh (16-10), but a 10-run eighth retired Delaware Valley University on a 26-10 final. Root drove in six runs with his three hits (3-for-5, 2BB, 2R, 6RBI, 2B, SB); he recorded a three-run double in the third inning, an RBI-single in the fourth, an RBI walk in the fifth, a single in the seventh, and another RBI walk in the eighth.
An Early 7-0 lead gave the Cyclones the edge they needed to defeat Gwynedd Mercy University by a 17-11 final in the first game of their Atlantic East Conference (AEC) series at Centenary University (NJ) (15-17, 5-7). The Griffins chipped away at the early deficit with solo runs in the third and fourth innings, 7-2. A two-run fifth inning narrowed difference to three tallies, 7-4, but the Cyclones scored three in the sixth, 10-4, and seven in the seventh, 17-4, before avoiding a late Gwynedd Mercy University rally. Root was 2-for-6 with three runs and two RBI; he singled in a run in the fifth inning, singled in the eighth, and knocked in a second run with a ninth-inning fielder’s choice.
Gwynedd Mercy University picked up two important AEC wins with Saturday’s (Apr. 22) doubleheader sweep at Centenary University. The Griffins took the opener by a 4-2 final, scoring a run in their first at-bat of the twin bill and outscoring the Cyclones 3-2 in an action-packed seventh inning.
Game two followed a similar path as Gwynedd Mercy University made use of their first-inning at-bat (1-0) before a seventh-inning two-run double from senior second baseman
Jake Martell (Levittown, Pa.) outshined a late Centenary University tally. Root played an important role in both wins as he went 2-for-3 with a walk, a steal, and two RBI in game one, then he recorded a hit (1-for-3) and earned the win (3-1; 6.1 IP, 5H, 1R, 0ER, BB, 2K) in game two.
Gwynedd Mercy University is scheduled to visit Penn State Abington for a 3:00 p.m. contest on Wednesday, April 26.
