The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) announced the Week 8 Player & Pitcher of the Week honors, including honorable mentions for the week concluding on Sunday, July 27th.

With the final full week of the NECBL regular season in the books, Cole Fellows (Columbia) of the Upper Valley Nighthawks and Joshua Kopetski (Rhode Island) of the Sanford Mainers have taken home the last round of the 2025 weekly awards. Both Fellows and Kopetski have helped their teams battle for a playoff berth, with Sanford recently clinching while Upper Valley currently holds the No. 4 seed.

Without Kopetski, there’s a chance the Mainers could still be facing elimination. In a crucial Friday evening game against the Vermont Mountaineers, Sanford turned to Kopetski to get the start on the bump. The left-hander was dominant, going the full nine innings, allowing just five hits and one walk. He struck out eight, propelling the Mainers to a 2-0 shutout win. This victory kickstarted a three-game win streak for Sanford, as the defending runner-ups sit 21-20, good enough for second place in the North Division.

The Upper Valley Nighthawks, despite being 17-24 and on a three-game losing streak, are still in a playoff spot, holding a game and a half's lead over Vermont. Despite a cold period, the Nighthawks have gotten outstanding performances from Fellows, and look to build off his success as the postseason nears. This past week, the Clovia, California native batted .379, recording 11 hits and nine RBIs while riding a seven-game hit streak, including at least two in the last four games. In those same four contests, Fellows recorded at least one extra-base hit, totaling two doubles, two triples, and a homer on the week. 

Upper Valley and Sanford both have three games left on the schedule, as the Nighthawks host the Vermont Mountaineers tonight, July 28th, at 6:00 pm, while the Mainers follow up with a 6:30 pm first pitch against the North Shore Navigators.

Week 8 Honor Roll - Position Players
Zack Kent (Sanford-UTIL, Binghamton)

Eric Cha (Mystic-1B, Northeastern)

Anthony Brotz (Upper Valley-UTIL, Marist)

Ryan Novak (Newport-OF/1B, Miami (OH)

Jack Lutte (Danbury-C/OF, Denison)

Peter Keblinsky (Sanford-IF, Southern Maine)
Jack Herring (Keene-OF/1B, East Carolina)

Week 8 Honor Roll - Pitchers

Casen Murphy (Newport, Louisville)

Tristan Helmick (North Adams, Lafayette)

Michael Fernandez (Keene, Miami (FL))

Conner Griffin (Sanford, Rhode Island)

Luke Deschenes (Vermont, Seton Hall)

Aydan Decker-Petty (Keene, Liberty)

Kenan Elarton (Danbury, Houston Baptist)