Sophomore third baseman James Donaldson is the Huskies’ offensive leader. He tops the baseball team with a .483 batting average, 14 hits, six doubles and 10 RBI through the first eight games of the season, earning him The Northeastern News Player of the Week honors.

“I felt real comfortable at the plate and I have had some luck go my way,” Donaldson said. “I have hit some balls hard and hit some not as hard that fell in with a little lucky placement.”

The Nashua, N.H. native went 8-11 in the weekend series at Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) foe William ‘ Mary, but the Huskies dropped two of the three games.

“I was happy with my performance,” Donaldson said. “But I have a team outlook and I would rather we had been winning.”

The Huskies went 3-3 on their Florida trip with wins over Indiana-Purdue, Georgetown and Bowling Green, but it was the 5-2 loss to Central Florida that Donaldson said prepared them for William ‘ Mary.

“UCF was a tough game that could have gone either way,” he said. “We saw a lot of curveballs and sliders and we struck out a lot. It showed us what we need to work on and we took better swings at William ‘ Mary.”

His .483 batting average thus far this season is much improved from the .186 he hit in 32 games last season. He credits his improvement to the experience he earned in the New York Collegiate summer league in Watertown, N.Y.

“Our coaches place us in summer leagues to get us experience,” he said. “It obviously helps to get at bats and see pitches, but I also learned to relax a little. I did a lot of maturing and learned I was being too hard on myself and putting too much pressure on myself. Now I am just trying to have fun and enjoy the game.”

While yesterday’s home game against Central Connecticut State was postponed due to field conditions, Donaldson said the team is happy with its 4-4 (1-2 CAA) start.

“Realistically we are a young team with only three seniors,” he said. “But we have a lot of talent and depth and we are playing well. We expected good things in Florida and played well. We just need to work defensively.”

Northeastern will make its Friedman Diamond debut Friday when they host George Mason at 2 p.m. in the first of the three-game weekend series.

– Erika Carrubba, News Staff