2006 Baseball All-Conference Teams Announced
Kenney, Benz of
Williams Honored as Player, Rookie of the Year
HADLEY, Mass. - Williams junior
catcher Chris Kenney (Walpole, Mass.) has been named the 2006
NESCAC Player of the Year, while freshman teammate Dan Benz
(Cicero, N.Y.), a pitcher for the Ephs, also took home individual
honors as the league’s Rookie of the Year, as determined by
the conference coaches. Three of the last five Players of the Year
have come from Williams’ roster, with the Ephs last capturing
both Player and Rookie of the Year honors in 2002.
Kenney was also named to the NESCAC
All-Conference First Team, marking the second time during the
2005-06 season that he has received All-NESCAC accolades after
being featured on the Football All-Conference Second Team as an
offensive lineman. A force for the Ephs in the batter’s box,
Kenney led the NESCAC in a multitude of categories with a batting
average of .500, a slugging percentage of .770, 76 hits, 58 runs
batted in, and 22 doubles. Kenney posted an on-base percentage of
.543, second among league batters, drawing 17 walks while only
striking out five times. Starting 39 of Williams’ 40 games
behind the plate this season, Kenney was just as equally impressive
defensively for the Ephs, committing only one error (.996 fielding
percentage) and giving up 11 passed balls while gunning down nine
base runners on 20 steal attempts.
Benz had an impressive first season
with Williams, going 6-1 from the mound with four complete games
and two shutouts. Benz, who also earned All-Conference Second Team
honors this year, was the top rookie pitcher in the NESCAC with an
earned run average of 1.80 - second among all starting pitchers in
the league - while recording 49 strikeouts and holding opposing
batters to a .230 average.
Seniors Joe Vladeck (Washington,
D.C.) of Amherst and Ricky Leclerc (Manchester, N.H.) of Bowdoin
were accompanied by sophomore Jack Britton (Carmel, Calif.) of
Middlebury as the pitchers to make the 11-member All-Conference
First Team. Vladeck not only earned First Team honors for the
second-straight season but was also named NESCAC Pitcher of the
Year for the second year in a row. Vladeck (7-0) led the conference
with a 1.55 ERA and a .191 opposing batting average while striking
out 49 batters through 64.0 innings. Leclerc, a Second Team
selection the past two seasons, pulled double-duty for the Polar
Bears in 2006 by going 4-2 with a 3.88 ERA from the mound along
with a .324 average and six home runs from the plate. Britton (5-2)
had a successful sophomore campaign for the Panthers, leading the
NESCAC in strikeouts with 58 while posting a team-best 2.03 ERA
through 62.0 innings of work. Britton allowed one run while
scattering six hits and striking out 11 batters in an 8-1 victory
over Tufts on Sunday, giving Middlebury the NESCAC Baseball title.
Returning from last year’s
All-Conference First Team in the infield is Tufts junior first
baseman Bryan McDavitt (Holden, Mass.). McDavitt led the Jumbos
this season in hits with 58 and finished second on the team with a
.420 batting average, while defensively McDavitt was flawless on
the corner, committing no errors. Joining McDavitt in the infield
are a trio of All-NESCAC first time honorees, Colby junior third
baseman Andrew Carr (Conway, N.H.), Middlebury sophomore third
baseman John Lanahan (Jacksonville, Fla.), and Williams junior
shortstop Paul Morgan (Essex Junction, Vt.). Carr led the Mules in
most offensive categories this season, batting .408 with 49 hits,
13 doubles and four home runs. Lanahan was among the league leaders
in multiple statistical categories, batting .417 while slugging
.717, however he saved his best performance of the season for the
2006 NESCAC Baseball Championship, batting an astounding .786
(11-for-14) with a slugging percentage of 1.071 and an on-base
percentage of .813 through three games. Morgan was a mainstay for
the Ephs this season as he was the only player to start all 40
games, batting .417 with 13 doubles and posted a .909 fielding
percentage.
Rounding out the 2006 NESCAC
All-Conference First Team are three seniors in the outfield.
Bowdoin’s Jared Lemieux (Readfield, Maine) makes his
second-straight appearance on the First Team, starting all 37 games
so far this season for the Polar Bears with a .383 batting average
and 25 steals. Jim O’Leary (North Easton, Mass.) of Tufts led
the Jumbos from the dish in 2006, averaging .467 with 50 hits, 15
doubles, and a league-best on-base percentage of .565.
Middlebury’s Joe Ramoin (Nederland, Texas), one of three
Panthers to earn All-NESCAC First Team honors this year, holds a
.386 batting average entering this weekend’s NCAA Tournament
and a team-best 19 doubles.
Middlebury head coach Bob Smith was
the choice among the coaches, earning Coach of the Year honors for
the first time since the 1999 season. Smith has guided the Panthers
to a school-record 24 wins so far this year (24-9), along with
Middlebury’s first NESCAC Baseball crown and the first
appearance for the program in the NCAA Baseball Tournament.
2006 NESCAC Baseball All-Conference
Teams
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| First Team
| School
| Yr.
| Hometown
|
| P
| Jack Britton
| Middlebury
| So.
| Carmel, Calif.
|
| 3B
| Andrew Carr
| Colby
| Jr.
| Conway, N.H.
|
| C
| Chris Kenney
| Williams
| Jr.
| Walpole, Mass.
|
| 3B
| John Lanahan
| Middlebury
| So.
| Jacksonville, Fla.
|
P/DH
| Ricky Leclerc
| Bowdoin
| Sr.
| Manchester, N.H.
|
| OF
| Jared Lemieux
| Bowdoin
| Sr.
| Readfield, Maine
|
| 1B
| Bryan McDavitt
| Tufts
| Jr.
| Holden, Mass.
|
| SS
| Paul Morgan
| Williams
| Jr.
| Essex Junction, Vt.
|
| OF
| Jim O'Leary
| Tufts
| Sr.
| North Easton, Mass.
|
| OF
| Joe Ramoin
| Middlebury
| Sr.
| Nederland, Texas
|
| P
| Joe Vladeck
| Amherst
| Sr.
| Washington, D.C.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Second Team
| School
| Yr.
| Hometown
|
| OF
| Ryan Armstrong
| Middlebury
| Sr.
| Whitman, Mass.
|
| P
| Dan Benz
| Williams
| Fr.
| Cicero, N.Y.
|
| 2B
| Tim Bourdon
| Trinity
| Jr.
| Simsbury, Conn.
|
| OF
| Tim Burbridge
| Williams
| Sr.
| East Greenwich, R.I.
|
| SS
| Greg Chertok
| Tufts
| Sr.
| New City, N.Y.
|
| 1B
| Sean Gleeson
| Williams
| Jr.
| Glen Ridge, N.J.
|
| OF
| Andrew Green
| Amherst
| Sr.
| Lexington, Mass.
|
| P
| Nick Kehoe
| Amherst
| Jr.
| Washington, Conn.
|
| C
| Nick Lefeber
| Middlebury
| So.
| Branford, Conn.
|
| SS
| Chris McCann
| Bowdoin
| Jr.
| Hopkinton, Mass.
|
| P
| Trevor Powers
| Bowdoin
| Sr.
| Wells, Maine
|
| P
| Zak Smotherman
| Tufts
| Sr.
| Westborough, Mass.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Player of the Year
|
|
|
|
| C
| Chris Kenney
| Williams
| Jr.
| Walpole, Mass.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Pitcher of the Year
|
|
|
|
| P
| Joe Vladeck
| Amherst
| Sr.
| Washington, D.C.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Rookie of the Year
|
|
|
|
| P
| Dan Benz
| Williams
| Fr.
| Cicero, N.Y.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Coach of the Year
|
|
|
|
|
| Bob Smith
| Middlebury
|
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