2007 NESCAC Baseball All-Conference Teams Announced
Middlebury's Walker Honored as
Player of the Year
HADLEY, Mass. - Middlebury senior shortstop Noah Walker (Oakland,
Calif.) has been named the 2007 NESCAC Player of the Year, as
determined by the conference coaches. Among the league leader in
most offensive statistical categories, Walker helped his team
record a 19-11 overall mark and a third-place showing in the NESCAC
West Division this season. He is the first player from the Panthers
to earn the conference's top honor this decade.
Walker also earned a spot on the 2007 NESCAC All-Conference First
Team, making it the second time he has received All-NESCAC honors
during his four-year career with the Panthers after coming away
with Second Team accolades in 2005. Starting all 30 games this
spring for Middlebury, Walker paced the Panthers at the plate with
a .434 batting average, second among all conference players, along
with 43 hits, nine doubles, 23 RBI, 10 steals on 11 chances, and a
league-leading 28 walks and on-base percentage of .568.
Defensively, the shortstop committed only 10 errors in 147 chances,
a fielding percentage of .932. Walker ended his career at the top
of most every offense category at Middlebury, despite playing just
three years. His .397 career batting average and 135 hits are
second all-time, while he scored more runs (101) than any other
player in school history. Walker finished third with 93 RBI and 340
at-bats, while he is tied for the all-time lead for the most
doubles (32), triples (8) and walks (61). He also holds
single-season records for walks (28) and assists (117).
Of the 11 players that earned All-NESCAC First Team, five were
members of the Trinity squad, the most from any one team this year.
Juniors Chandler Barnard (Lubbock, Texas), Tom DiBenedetto (Ft.
Myers, Fla.) and Tim Kiely (Swampscott, Mass.), sophomore Sean
Killeen (Greenfield, Mass.), and freshman Jim Wood (Windham, N.H.)
all received First Team recognition for the first time in their
careers as they helped the Bantams scratch out a 28-6 overall
record heading into this week's NCAA Tournament action.
Barnard and Kiely are part of a Bantam pitching staff that holds a
combined 3.36 ERA with a NESCAC-best 256 strikeouts and a
league-low 102 walks. In nine appearances so far this season,
Barnard is 8-1 with a 2.15 ERA (3rd NESCAC) through 62.2 innings
pitched while recording 56 strikeouts, one shy of the current
conference leader. Barnard has also contributed in the batter's box
for Trinity, collecting 22 hits in 74 at-bats for a .297 average.
Kiely (5-0) leads the league in ERA at 1.50 while limiting opposing
batters to a .189 average this season. The junior RHP, who also
earned NESCAC Pitcher of the Year honors, tossed the first perfect
game in the 139-year history of Trinity baseball and the 13th in
NCAA Division III history on April 21 against Tufts, recording nine
strikeouts in a 4-0 Bantam win.
DiBenedetto leads Trinity at the dish with a .381 average and 51
hits while swiping six bags through all 34 games this season. The
junior shortstop's defense has been just as impressive as his
hitting, committing only five errors in 133 opportunities for a
fielding percentage of .962. Killeen is tied for third among his
teammates with a .374 average, as the sophomore catcher has
recorded 12 doubles, six home runs, and a team-leading 19 walks and
on-base percentage of .477. Rookie outfielder Wood has seen action
in all 34 games this spring for the Bantams, posting a .378 batting
average, second only to DiBenedetto among his teammates.
Tufts senior first baseman Bryan McDavitt (Holden, Mass.), the
only holdover from last year's All-Conference First Team, garnered
First Team recognition for the third year in a row. McDavitt ranked
second among his teammates in batting average at .370 while
recording an on-base percentage of .479. Defensively, McDavitt
committed only two errors in 302 opportunities for a .993 fielding
percentage in 2007, as he closed out his career with the Jumbos
with a .991 fielding mark. McDavitt was joined on the First Team
from Tufts by juniors Steve Ragonese (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) and
Adam Telian (Stoughton, Mass.), both first time honorees. Ragonese
belted a NESCAC-best nine home runs and collected 39 RBI (2nd
NESCAC) while patrolling the outfield for the Jumbos this season.
Telian went 5-2 on the mound for Tufts in 10 appearances, as the
southpaw led his squad with a 2.41 ERA and 44 strikeouts while
surrendering only nine walks through 56.0 innings pitched.
Rounding out the 2007 NESCAC All-Conference First Team were Colby
senior second baseman Tom Salemy (Odessa, Fla.) and Williams senior
pitcher/outfielder Ryan Fote (Wethersfield, Conn.). Salemy led the
NESCAC in batting average this season, hitting .467 in 28 games for
the Mules with 49 hits, 12 doubles, 28 RBI, a slugging percentage
of .762 and an on-base percentage of .508. Fote was as effective in
the batter's box as he was on the mound for the Ephs, going 6-0 in
eight appearances with a team-leading 1.80 ERA while batting
.313.
NESCAC Rookie of the Year honors were shared by Williams third
baseman Robin Allemand (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Trinity first
baseman Kent Graham (Longmeadow, Mass.). Allemand is atop the Eph
stat sheet this spring with a .413 batting average, collecting 11
doubles and 14 walks, while Graham is tied for third with Killeen
among the Bantams with a .374 average and a team-high 13 doubles
and seven home runs.
In his first year at the helm for the Ephs, Williams head coach
Bill Barrale came away with Coach of the Year honors. Barrale
guided the Ephs to their second NESCAC Baseball crown this spring,
along with a 25-8 record and the program's first appearance in the
NCAA Tournament since 2001.
2007 NESCAC Baseball All-Conference
Team
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| First Team
| School
| Yr.
| Hometown
|
| P
| Chandler Barnard
| Trinity
| Jr.
| Lubbock, Texas
|
| SS
| Tom DiBenedetto
| Trinity
| Jr.
| Ft. Myers, Fla.
|
| P/OF
| Ryan Fote
| Williams
| Sr.
| Wethersfield, Conn.
|
| P
| Tim Kiely
| Trinity
| Jr.
| Swampscott, Mass.
|
| C
| Sean Killeen
| Trinity
| So.
| Greenfield, Mass.
|
| 1B
| Bryan McDavitt
| Tufts
| Sr.
| Holden, Mass.
|
| OF
| Steve Ragonese
| Tufts
| Jr.
| Upper Saddle River, N.J.
|
| 2B
| Tom Salemy
| Colby
| Sr.
| Odessa, Fla.
|
| P
| Adam Telian
| Tufts
| Jr.
| Stoughton, Mass.
|
| SS
| Noah Walker
| Middlebury
| Sr.
| Oakland, Calif.
|
| OF
| Jim Wood
| Trinity
| Fr.
| Windham, N.H.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Second Team
| School
| Yr.
| Hometown
|
| 1B/DH
| Neal Allar
| Amherst
| Jr.
| Floyds Knobs, Ind.
|
| 3B
| Robin Allemand
| Williams
| Fr.
| Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
|
| P
| Jack Britton
| Middlebury
| Jr.
| Carmel, Calif.
|
| SS/P
| Brian Casey
| Tufts
| Sr.
| Milford, Mass.
|
| 1B
| Kent Graham
| Trinity
| Fr.
| Longmeadow, Mass.
|
| C
| Chris Kenney
| Williams
| Sr.
| Walpole, Mass.
|
| C
| Nick Lefeber
| Middlebury
| Jr.
| Branford, Conn.
|
| SS
| Paul Morgan
| Williams
| Sr.
| Essex Junction, Vt.
|
| P/OF
| Joe Pace
| Bowdoin
| Fr.
| Newburyport, Mass.
|
| 3B
| Brendan Powers
| Amherst
| So.
| Walpole, Mass.
|
| OF
| Tom Scott
| Amherst
| Sr.
| Randolph, N.J.
|
| OF
| Matt Stafford
| Trinity
| Jr.
| Plymouth, Mass.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Player of the Year
|
|
|
|
| SS
| Noah Walker
| Middlebury
| Sr.
| Oakland, Calif.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Pitcher of the Year
|
|
|
|
| P
| Tim Kiely
| Trinity
| Jr.
| Swampscott, Mass.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Co-Rookie of the Year
|
|
|
|
| 3B
| Robin Allemand
| Williams
| Fr.
| Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
|
| 1B
| Kent Graham
| Trinity
| Fr.
| Longmeadow, Mass.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Coach of the Year
|
|
|
|
|
| Bill Barrale
| Williams
|
|
