Baseball All-Conference Selections Released
Amherst’s Samela Named Player of the Year
HADLEY, Mass. – Amherst junior catcher Mike Samela (Westport, Conn.) has been chosen by the conference coaches as the NESCAC Player of the Year. The first Lord Jeff to ever win the league's top honor, Samela helped his squad finish atop the West Division with a 10-2 record and reach the NESCAC Baseball Championship for the first time since 2008.
In addition to being named Player of the Year, Samela claimed All-NESCAC First Team honors for the second consecutive spring. Samela was the top hitter for the 25-10 Jeffs with a .383 batting average over 33 appearances, as he ranked among the league leaders with 49 hits (T-2nd NESCAC), 14 doubles (T-4th), 76 total bases (3rd), and a .594 slugging percentage (3rd). He also managed to hit three home runs, scored and drove in 30 runs, walked 13 times, and reached base at a .441 clip. Behind the plate, Samela posted a .982 fielding percentage, committing only three errors on 171 chances and allowing seven passed balls.
Headlining the 2011 All-Conference First Team were three seniors from NESCAC champion Tufts. Shortstop David LeResche (St. Louis, Mo.) earned All-NESCAC honors for the third year in a row, as he was one of three returners from the 2010 First Team. Starting all 34 games this season, LeResche is hitting .278 and has an on-base percentage of .384 heading into the NCAA Tournament, which begins Wednesday for the Jumbos. He has also helped turn 25 double plays and has a .933 fielding percentage. Outfielder David Orlowitz (Wakefield, Mass.) claimed All-NESCAC for the first time in his career. Orlowitz currently leads Tufts with a .398 average and a conference-best .511 on-base mark, hitting nine doubles, three triples, and four home runs. He has also scored a team-high 38 runs. Righty Ed Bernstein (Foxborough, Mass.) was singled out on the First Team as the NESCAC Pitcher of the Year. Leading the league in saves with eight so far this season, Bernstein has been nearly unhittable in his 18 appearances on the hill for the Jumbos. He has not allowed an earned run in 28.0 innings pitched and has given up just 10 hits (.106 OBA) and 14 walks while striking out 40 batters.
A pair of first year players from runner-up Bowdoin were selected to the First Team. John Lefeber (Branford, Conn.) pulled double-duty for the Polar Bears this spring in the outfield and on the mound. Lefeber led his team in the batter's box with a .393 average and a .421 on-base percentage in 23 games while also posting a 3.27 ERA over eight appearances, going 3-3. Classmate Christian Martin (Lake Bluff, Ill.) joined Lefeber on the First Team and matched his ERA over 10 outings to lead the Polar Bear pitching staff. Martin (6-1), who also earned NESCAC Rookie of the Year, the second-straight year the award has gone to a Polar Bear, tossed 66.0 innings with a league-leading 71 strikeouts as he posted a 3.09 K/BB ratio. He held opposing batters to a .250 average. Lefeber and Martin are the first two rookie teammates to be named to the First Team in conference history.
Wesleyan senior outfielder Julian Sonnenfeld (Matawan, N.J.) returned for a third tour on an All-NESCAC squad with his second consecutive appointment to the First Team. Sonnenfeld batted .345 in his final year with the Cardinals, as his 49 hits tied him with Amherst's Samela for second overall in the league. He also recorded a team-best 15 doubles and a .563 slugging mark. Named to the CoSIDA/Capital One District 1 Academic All-America First Team for the third year in a row this spring, Sonnenfeld graduates as the program's all-time leader in doubles (59) and runs (148) and second in hits (180). Also from the Cardinals on the First Team was senior OF/P Joe Giaimo (Gillette, N.J.). Giaimo was third among his teammates in hitting with a .357 average, reaching base at a .430 clip. On the hill, Giaimo made five appearances and recorded three saves, as he struck out 11 and held foes to a .286 average over 10.1 IP.
Infielders Kevin Mortimer (Spencer, Mass.) and Joe Papa (Stoneham, Mass.) of Trinity garnered All-NESCAC recognition for the first time in their careers. Mortimer led the Bantam offense in most statistical categories in 2011. The junior first baseman had a team-high .374 average with 46 hits, 10 doubles, four home runs, a .553 slugging percentage, and 32 runs batted in. The sophomore Papa, who appeared in 29 games at second for Trinity, batted .361 with a .417 on-base percentage and a .526 slugging mark. He scored 25 runs and drove in 20 while going 7-for-10 in stolen base attempts.
Rounding out the 2011 All-NESCAC First Team were three individuals from three different teams, as eight conference squads were represented on the 13-member First Team. Middlebury catcher Zach Roeder (Keene, N.H.) recorded hits in 29 of the Panthers' 31 games this season, with two streaks of eight games and a season-long hitting streak of 13. Roeder finished his junior season as the league's top hitter with a .431 average and was third in on-base percentage (.492). Williams junior shortstop Cameron Susk (Woodside, Calif.) posted a career-best .389 average this spring, raising his batting average 43 percentage points from 2010. He stroked a conference-best 51 hits and reached base at a .460 rate. Sophomore shortstop Ryan Sonberg (Windsor, Conn.) was Bates' leading hitter this season, batting .364 with 10 doubles and three triples. Sonberg posted a .943 fielding mark in 33 appearances for the Bobcats, helping turn 11 double plays.
Defensive Player of the Year went to Tufts junior catcher Matt Collins (Hopkinton, Mass.). Collins has committed only one error on 163 chances this season (.994) while throwing out 12 base runners attempting to steal (12-for-28). Collins also found a spot on the All-Conference Second Team.
Coach of the Year was bestowed upon Amherst's Brian Hamm. A 2001 graduate of Middlebury College and a former two-sport athlete for the Panthers who still holds the program record for hits in a game (six), Hamm's Lord Jeff squad finished atop the West Division for the first time since 2005 with a 10-2 conference mark and a 25-10 overall record.
| |
| 2011 NESCAC Baseball All-Conference Team |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
First Team |
Institution |
Yr.
|
Hometown |
| P |
Ed Bernstein |
Tufts |
Sr. |
Foxborough, Mass. |
| OF/P |
Joe Giaimo |
Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Gillette, N.J. |
| OF/P |
John Lefeber |
Bowdoin |
Fr. |
Branford, Conn. |
| SS |
David LeResche |
Tufts |
Sr. |
St. Louis, Mo. |
| P |
Christian Martin |
Bowdoin |
Fr. |
Lake Bluff, Ill. |
| 1B |
Kevin Mortimer |
Trinity |
Jr. |
Spencer, Mass. |
| OF |
David Orlowitz |
Tufts |
Sr. |
Wakefield, Mass. |
| 2B |
Joe Papa |
Trinity |
So. |
Stoneham, Mass. |
| C |
Zach Roeder |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Keene, N.H. |
| C |
Mike Samela |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Westport, Conn. |
| SS |
Ryan Sonberg |
Bates |
So. |
Windsor, Conn. |
| OF |
Julian Sonnenfeld |
Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Matawan, N.J. |
| SS |
Cameron Susk |
Williams |
Jr. |
Woodside, Calif. |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
Second Team |
Institution |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| C |
Matt Collins |
Tufts |
Jr. |
Hopkinton, Mass. |
| SS |
Jordan Edgett |
Bowdoin |
Jr. |
Lynn, Mass. |
| P |
Kevin Gilchrist |
Tufts |
Jr. |
Medford, Mass. |
| 3B |
Brett Gorman |
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
Bedford, N.Y. |
| P |
Ryan Healy |
Amherst |
Sr. |
Westport, Conn. |
| OF |
Kevin Heller |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Brooklyn, N.Y. |
| DH/C |
Marco Hernandez |
Williams |
Fr. |
Fort Worth, Texas |
| OF |
Stephen Maier |
Williams |
Jr. |
Orange, Conn. |
| P |
Max McKenna |
Amherst |
Sr. |
Lexington, Mass. |
| OF |
Richard Newton |
Colby |
Sr. |
Arlington, Mass. |
| 3B |
Tom Rafferty |
Middlebury |
So. |
Chicago, Ill. |
| 3B |
Sam Sager |
Tufts |
Jr. |
Cranston, R.I. |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
Player of the Year |
|
|
|
| C |
Mike Samela
|
Amherst |
Jr. |
Westport, Conn.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
Pitcher of the Year |
|
|
|
| P |
Ed Bernstein
|
Tufts |
Sr. |
Foxborough, Mass.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
Defensive Player of the Year |
|
|
| C |
Matt Collins
|
Tufts |
Jr. |
Hopkinton, Mass.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
Rookie of the Year |
|
|
|
| P |
Christian Martin
|
Bowdoin |
Fr. |
Lake Bluff, Ill.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
Coach of the Year |
|
|
|
| |
Brian Hamm
|
Amherst |
|
