Baseball All-Conference Selections Announced
Mathews of Williams, Wood of Trinity Share Top Honors
HADLEY, Mass. – Seniors Al Mathews (North Hampton, N.H.) of Williams and James Wood (Windham, N.H.) of Trinity shared top honors as they were chosen by the conference coaches as the 2010 NESCAC Co-Players of the Year. The everyday outfielders finished their final season as the top two hitters in the league thanks to career-best performances at the plate.
Williams’ leading hitter for the second-straight spring, Mathews connected regularly for the Ephs as he batted an impressive .497 with a .542 on-base percentage and a .639 slugging mark. He paced the conference’s best offense with a league-leading 73 hits and also recorded 11 doubles, five triples, 17 walks, scored 46 runs and drove in another 38. Mathews also earned All-NESCAC First Team honors for the second year in a row after being selected as a member of the Second Team in 2008.
Wood collected First Team recognition for the third time during his tenure with the Bantams (2007, 2008). Second only to Mathews among conference hitters this season, Wood batted .441 with a .504 on-base mark along with a slugging percentage of .881 that ranked second in the NESCAC. His 13 home runs in 2010, one more than the 12 he clubbed in 2008, are second all-time at Trinity for a single season. Starting all 30 games for the Bantams, Wood also managed to score 42 runs and drove in 42 more.
Tufts had three members of its 2010 NESCAC Baseball Champion squad on the First Team, more than any other program. Junior David LeResche (St. Louis, Mo.) moved up from last year’s Second Team while sophomore teammates Sam Sager (Cranston, R.I.) and Chris DeGoti (Miami, Fla.) both earned All-NESCAC honors for the first time. One of only two players to have started every game this season for the Jumbos, LeReshe is batting .367 with an OPB of .483 heading into the NCAA Tournament. The shortstop has helped turn 25 double plays and holds a fielding percentage of .923. Sager joins LeReshe in having started every outing for Tufts and the third baseman is just ahead of his junior teammate in batting with a .380 average, posting a team-leading 54 hits, 18 doubles, and 36 RBI. DeGoti has delivered from the mound when it counted the most for Tufts, as the Jumbos’ closer has a program-record 11 saves (16 career) in 18 appearances this season and owns a 1.33 ERA with 22 strikeouts over 20.1 IP. Defensive Player of the Year accolades went to Tufts senior catcher Alex Perry (Danvers, Mass.). Perry has only committed three errors on 180 chances (.983) and allowed four passed balls so far this year.
Wesleyan junior outfielder Julian Sonnenfeld (Aberdeen, N.J.) was one of four individuals on this year’s First Team that was a member of the Second Team a year ago. Among the top players in the NESCAC in multiple offensive categories, Sonnenfeld headed up the Cardinal offense with a personal-best .418 average along with a league-leading .543 on-base percentage and a .784 slugging mark (3rd NESCAC) while starting all 36 games. Sonnenfeld hit a conference-best and program-record 25 doubles this spring, as his 56 hits gave him 131 through three seasons and put him 58 shy of the all-time Wesleyan lead. Joining Sonnenfeld on the First Team from the Cardinals was sophomore pitcher Brett Yarusi (Belmar, N.J.). Yarusi went 7-3 over 10 starts and tossed five complete games with one shutout, as he earned a 3.81 ERA over 59.0 IP with 47 strikeouts while surrendering just 17 walks.
Third baseman Brett Gorman (Bedford, N.Y.) of Bowdoin garnered First Team honors with an impressive all-around effort. Gorman, who earned Second Team recognition last year, led the Polar Bears with a .411 average, a .509 on-base percentage, and a .645 slugging mark while starting all 40 games. The junior had team-highs in hits (58), doubles (16), home runs (5), walks (26), runs scored (46) and driven in (41) to help Bowdoin reach the title game of the NESCAC Baseball Championship for the first time ever this past weekend. Fellow Polar Bear Oliver Van Zant (Westport, Conn.) was the only other Bowdoin player on the All-NESCAC First Team, as the first year pitcher came away with the conference’s Pitcher of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards. Although he was limited to just seven appearances this spring, Van Zant managed to average a remarkable 11.77 strikeouts per game as he retired 51 batters over 39 innings. At 5-1 with an even 3.00 ERA, Van Zant limited opponents to a .194 average. He held Trinity to just five hits and one run while striking out 12 in seven innings of a 4-1 win over the Bantams on April 3, a victory that helped the Polar Bears clinch the season series and eventually put them in the playoffs.
Juniors Donald McKillop (Poway, Calif.) of Middlebury and Noah Lynd (Meriden, N.H.) of Bates were rewarded for stellar seasons with First Team honors. After landing on the Second Team last May, McKillop moved up this year with a team-leading .423 average, 47 hits, and 11 doubles. It is the second All-NESCAC award this year for McKillop after he was named Offensive Player of the Year and to the First Team for football in the fall. Lynd became the first Bobcat in program history to hit double-digit home runs, cracking a league-leading 15 dingers this spring as part of an effort that saw him average .398 at the plate with a .517 on-base percentage and a .912 slugging mark. Lynd was part of a Bates squad that won a school-record 25 games.
Rounding out the 2010 All-NESCAC First Team was Amherst sophomore catcher Mike Samela (Westport, Conn.). Samela was fourth among the Lord Jeffs in batting at .381 and also reached base at a .470 clip. He had a team-leading seven home runs, 15 walks, and was a perfect 13-for-13 in stolen base attempts. Behind the plate, Samela gunned down nine players trying to steal (.300) and allowed seven passed balls. He had a fielding percentage of .974.
Tufts head coach John Casey earned NESCAC Coach of the Year for the first time in his career. In the midst of his 27th season at the helm of the Jumbos, Casey’s team has a program-record 31 victories heading into next week’s NCAA Tournament action after earning their second conference crown this past weekend.
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| 2010 NESCAC Baseball All-Conference Team |
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First Team |
Institution |
Yr.
|
Hometown |
| P |
Chris DeGoti |
Tufts |
So. |
Miami, Fla. |
| 3B |
Brett Gorman |
Bowdoin |
Jr. |
Bedford, N.Y. |
| SS |
David LeResche |
Tufts |
Jr. |
St. Louis, Mo. |
| 1B/P |
Noah Lynd |
Bates |
Jr. |
Meriden, N.H. |
| OF |
Al Mathews |
Williams |
Sr. |
North Hampton, N.H. |
| 3B |
Sam Sager |
Tufts |
So. |
Cranston, R.I. |
| 3B/OF |
Donald McKillop |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Poway, Calif. |
| C/OF |
Mike Samela |
Amherst |
So. |
Westport, Conn. |
| OF |
Julian Sonnenfeld |
Wesleyan |
Jr. |
Aberdeen, N.J. |
| OF |
James Wood |
Trinity |
Sr. |
Windham, N.H. |
| P |
Oliver Van Zant |
Bowdoin |
Fr. |
Westport, Conn. |
| P |
Brett Yarusi |
Wesleyan |
So. |
Belmar, N.J. |
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Second Team |
Institution |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| 2B/DH |
James Allison |
Williams |
Jr. |
Amherst, Mass. |
| OF |
Pat Barren |
Williams |
Jr. |
Worthington, Ohio |
| SS |
Tom Beaton |
Bates |
Sr. |
West Newbury, Mass. |
| OF |
Chris Burke |
Bates |
Jr. |
Andover, Mass. |
| SS/1B |
Bob Cook |
Amherst |
Fr. |
Winnetka, Ill. |
| OF |
Brendan Garner |
Bowdoin |
Jr. |
Swampscott, Mass. |
| P |
Kevin Gilchrist |
Tufts |
So. |
Medford, Mass. |
| P |
Ryan Heide |
Bates |
Jr. |
Medfield, Maine |
| OF |
Brice Kelly |
Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Austin, Texas |
| 2B |
Frank Petroskey |
Tufts |
Jr. |
Dallas, Texas |
| 3B |
Stephen Rogers |
Trinity |
Fr. |
Watertown, Mass. |
| DH/C |
Jacob Simon |
Bates |
Jr. |
Waterford, Conn. |
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Co-Players of the Year |
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| OF |
Al Mathews
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Williams |
Sr. |
North Hampton, N.H.
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| OF |
James Wood |
Trinity |
Sr. |
Windham, N.H. |
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Pitcher of the Year |
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| P |
Oliver Van Zant
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Bowdoin |
Fr. |
Westport, Conn.
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Defensive Player of the Year |
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| C |
Alex Perry
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Tufts |
Sr. |
Danvers, Mass.
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Rookie of the Year |
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| P |
Oliver Van Zant
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Bowdoin |
Fr. |
Westport, Conn.
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Coach of the Year |
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John Casey
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Tufts |
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