NESCAC Baseball All-Conference Teams Announced
Ragonese of Tufts Chosen as Player of the Year
HADLEY, Mass. - Tufts senior infielder Steve Ragonese (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) has been selected by the conference coaches as the 2008 NESCAC Player of the Year. Ragonese helped the Jumbos earn a 19-15 record this season along with the program’s fourth-consecutive appearance in the NESCAC Baseball Championship. He is the first player from Tufts to receive the league’s top honor since Dan Callahan won the award in 2001.
In addition to being named Player of the Year, Ragonese was also selected to the All-Conference First Team for the second-straight season. Ragonese was among the league leaders in multiple offensive categories this spring, batting .425 (3rd NESCAC) with a team-high 57 hits (T-1st), which ranks fifth in a single season at Tufts all-time, along with an on-base percentage of .516 (T-4th) and a slugging percentage of .776 (1st). He also drove in a program-record and conference-best 47 runs while hitting nine home runs for the second-straight year, as he closed out his career with 18 homers to tie for fourth in the team’s history books. Seeing a majority of time at first and second base this spring, Ragonese posted a .950 fielding percentage on nearly 200 chances while helping turn 11 double plays.
Six individuals from the record-setting Trinity team were named to the All-NESCAC First Team - the most from any one team in conference history - with five of the six having earned All-Conference honors last year. Three of the six are part of the Bantams’ dynamic pitching staff that leads the nation in ERA at 1.96 heading into this week’s NCAA action, seniors Tim Kiely (Swampscott, Mass.) and Chandler Barnard (Lubbock, Texas) along with sophomore Jeremiah Bayer (Greenfield, Mass.). At 9-0 in nine starts, Kiely, who was also selected for the second year in a row by the coaches as the NESCAC Pitcher of the Year, has struck out a league-high 75 batters while surrendering only one walk through 70.0 innings pitched, posting an ERA of 1.41 that ranks second in the conference. Barnard owns a 9-0 record and follows Kiely closely with 67 strikeouts and a 2.88 ERA. Barnard has also done well at the dish, batting .309 in 68 at-bats with an on-base percentage of .398, five doubles, two home runs, and 13 RBIs. Bayer has been nearly unhittable this season, boasting a NESCAC-best 1.14 ERA and league-low .174 opponents’ average with 63 strikeouts and a 7-0 record over 55.1 innings.
Returning with Kiely and Barnard from the 2007 First Team were junior catcher Sean Killeen (Greenfield, Mass.) and sophomore outfielder Jim Wood (Windham, N.H.). Killeen is currently ninth in the conference in hitting with a .408 average and also ranks second in on-base percentage at .540 and first in runs scored with 49. Killeen has been stellar behind the plate for the Bantams as well, committing only one error on 280 chances (.996) and allowing just five passed balls. Wood has cracked a conference-high 11 home runs while batting .388 with 10 doubles and 47 runs batted in (T-2nd NESCAC).
Moving up from last year’s Second Team was Bantam sophomore first baseman Kent Graham (Longmeadow, Mass.). The NESCAC Co-Rookie of the Year in 2007, Graham has had an impressive sequel to his freshman campaign by ranking among the conference leaders in multiple categories. Holding a .413 batting average that is second among his teammates, Graham is tied for first in the NESCAC in hits with 57 and is tops in RBIs with 49 through all 37 of Trinity’s outings this season. He also has nine doubles, four triples, seven home runs, a .688 slugging percentage and an on-base mark of .506. Graham has also committed only three errors in 355 opportunities, a fielding percentage of .992.
Earning All-NESCAC First Team honors for the first time in their careers were seniors James DiCosmo (Fair Lawn, N.J.) and Max Pinto (Palo Alto, Calif.) along with junior Dan Benz (Cicero, N.Y.) from Williams. Pinto paced his team in the batter’s box with a .388 average, as the speedy outfielder hit a league-leading 15 doubles, four triples, and four home runs while going 12-for-12 in stolen base attempts. DiCosmo was third for the Ephs with a .382 average with a club-best 52 hits that tied for fifth among all conference batters, along with a .960 fielding percentage at second base. Benz, the 2006 NESCAC Rookie of the Year, went 6-2 from the mound with a 3.36 ERA over 59.0 innings, striking out 56 batters and holding opponents to a .198 average.
Rounding out the 2008 NESCAC All-Conference First Team was Amherst senior Neal Allar (Floyds Knobs, Ind.). A Second Team selection last year, Allar provided strong leadership to a young Lord Jeffs squad as he led his club with a .367 batting average along with a team-high 55 hits (4th NESCAC), 14 doubles, six home runs, 42 RBIs, and a .410 on-base percentage. Allar started the 2008 campaign primarily at first base but moved to catcher for the last 10 games of the season after classmate and Second Team honoree Josh Card had a season-ending injury. Allar finished the year committing only five errors on 292 chances (.983) and allowing four passed balls.
Tufts freshman outfielder/DH Chase Rose (Scottsdale, Ariz.) came away as the NESCAC Rookie of the Year. Rose was second behind Ragonese for the Jumbos with a .384 average, collecting 38 hits, five doubles, three home runs and 33 RBIs while walking 28 times (T-2nd NESCAC) and recording an on-base percentage of .519 (3rd).
Trinity head coach Bill Decker was chosen by his peers as the NESCAC Coach of the Year. Decker, in his 18th season with the Bantams, has guided his team to a remarkable 37-0 start to the season, the best in Division III history, along with the 2008 NESCAC Baseball Championship, the program’s second title since Trinity won its first in 2003. It is the fourth time this decade that Decker has received the honor (2000, 2003, 2005). The Bantams are the top seed in this week’s NCAA New England Regional in Harwich, Mass.
2008 NESCAC Baseball All-Conference Team
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First Team |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| 1B/C |
Neal Allar |
Amherst |
Sr. |
Floyds Knobs, Ind. |
| P/OF |
Chandler Barnard |
Trinity |
Sr. |
Lubbock, Texas |
| P |
Jeremiah Bayer |
Trinity |
So. |
Greenfield, Mass. |
| P |
Dan Benz |
Williams |
Jr. |
Cicero, N.Y. |
| 2B |
James DiCosmo |
Williams |
Sr. |
Fair Lawn, N.J. |
| 1B |
Kent Graham |
Trinity |
So. |
Longmeadow, Mass. |
| P |
Tim Kiely |
Trinity |
Sr. |
Swampscott, Mass. |
| C |
Sean Killeen |
Trinity |
Jr. |
Greenfield, Mass. |
| OF |
Max Pinto |
Williams |
Sr. |
Palo Alto, Calif. |
| 1B/2B |
Steve Ragonese |
Tufts |
Sr. |
Upper Saddle River, N.J. |
| OF |
Jim Wood |
Trinity |
So. |
Windham, N.H. |
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Second Team |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| C |
Josh Card |
Amherst |
Sr. |
North Adams, Mass. |
| SS |
Drew Dominguez |
Wesleyan |
Jr. |
Braintree, Mass. |
| OF |
Pat Duchette |
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
Wales, Mass. |
| C |
Nick Lefeber |
Middlebury |
Sr. |
Branford, Conn. |
| OF |
Al Mathews |
Williams |
So. |
North Hampton, N.H. |
| P |
Patrick O'Donnell |
Tufts |
Fr. |
Worcester, Mass. |
| 2B |
Ryan Piacentini |
Trinity |
Jr. |
Portland, Maine |
| 3B |
Brendan Powers |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Walpole, Mass. |
| P |
Michael Regan |
Trinity |
Sr. |
West Roxbury, Mass. |
| OF/DH |
Chase Rose |
Tufts |
Fr. |
Scottsdale, Ariz. |
| OF/DH |
Angus Schaller |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Leucadia, Calif. |
| 1B |
Mark Shimrock |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Lansdale, Pa. |
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Player of the Year |
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| 1B/2B |
Steve Ragonese |
Tufts |
Sr. |
Upper Saddle River, N.J. |
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Pitcher of the Year |
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| P |
Tim Kiely |
Trinity |
Sr. |
Swampscott, Mass. |
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Rookie of the Year |
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| OF/DH |
Chase Rose |
Tufts |
Fr. |
Scottsdale, Ariz. |
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Coach of the Year |
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Bill Decker |
Trinity |
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