Former Chaminade High School standout and New Hyde Park resident Thomas Roulis was named the baseball Player of the Week by The Ivy League for the week ending April 13. This is the first weekly award for the Dartmouth junior and second baseman.
“It’s an honor,” said Roulis Monday afternoon, “especially when you can help your team win.”
In a crucial series with Yale over the weekend, Roulis helped Dartmouth take three of four from the division-leading Bulldogs to climb back within a game of the top of the standings. He also was instrumental in two non-conference wins during the week as the Big Green defeated Boston College on the road, 2-1, then rallied for an 8-7 walk-off win the following day against Holy Cross.
Roulis went 10-for-26 (.385) in the six games with a double, triple, five runs and five RBIs. He began the week with three hits against the Eagles, including a double while sparking a two-run first inning with a one-out single before coming around to score.
The next day versus the Crusaders, Roulis drove in the first Big Green run with a single, then served as the catalyst for the four-run ninth by leading off with a bunt single.
Roulis continued his hot-hitting when Yale came to town on Saturday, collecting two hits in both ends of the doubleheader, one of which was a first-inning RBI triple followed by an errant throw to third that allowed him to score to start a 12-3 rout in game two. He finished the game with three RBIs.
For the season, Roulis has been one of the key contributors at the plate, as well as flashing some serious leather, fielding 35 chances without an error to extend his errorless streak to 39 games and 169 total chances dating back to the 2012 campaign. His contributions at the keystone have helped Dartmouth rank fourth nationally with a .982 fielding percentage this season.
But the Nassau native is grateful to make any contribution after a disastrous sophomore season had him questioning his baseball future.
After a standout freshman campaign in which he appeared in all but one game and was ranked second on the team in RBIs with 32, Roulis tore his hamstring only three games into the 2013 season. He subsequently unsuccessfully tried twice to return to the diamond in a three-week span, re-injuring himself both times.
“It’s just tough,” Roulis said. “You think one time’s enough. You wonder if this is ever going to stop.”
He eventually made it back and had one successful pinch hit appearance in the Ivy League championship against Columbia, an at-bat that also cost him a year of eligibility – had he chosen the red-shirt route instead. Dartmouth eventually lost its title bid, but did finish with a record number of team wins.
Roulis rehabbed his hamstring, in part, by playing ball in the Atlantic League over the summer, earning league co-MVP honors in the process and being dubbed “sixth best pro prospect” in the league by Perfect Game.
To return to the championship this year, Dartmouth will need some luck, Roulis said, if they are going to catch the teams ahead of them.
“Right now, we’re not where we want to be,” he said. “We still have a shot, but we need some help.”
Roulis was also named Northeast Credit Union Athlete of the Week earlier this month after coming through with the clutch game-winning hit in the 11th inning of the second game of the doubleheader at Cornell on March 29.
Dartmouth had already rallied from a 3-0 deficit and was tied at four when Roulis stepped to the plate with one down and a man on second. His single to left was just enough to allow the go-ahead run to beat the throw to the plate and send the Big Green to their first Ivy victory of the season.
Majoring in government with a minor in psychology, Roulis said law school may be in is future but for now, “I’d like to play baseball as long as I have the opportunity to.”
