HADLEY, Mass. - The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) announced its award recipients for the 2021 baseball season.
Amherst junior infielder
Daniel Qin (Issaquah, Wash.) was named the NESCAC Player of the Year and Tufts junior pitcher
Michael Volgende (Ridgefield, Conn.) was voted as the NESCAC Pitcher of the Year by the conference’s head coaches. Additionally, Bates senior
Christian Beal (Flossmoor, Ill.) and Amherst first-year
Nick Giattino (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) were named Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, respectively. Amherst head coach
JP Pyne was voted as Coach of the Year by his peers.
Qin, an All-NESCAC First Team selection, helped the Mammoths win their fifth NESCAC title in program history with a pair of wins at Tufts in the NESCAC Championship Series. Qin led Amherst and ranked among the NESCAC leaders with a .404 average and an OPS of 1.083. He knocked out 19 hits, including six doubles, scored 14 runs, and tallied 13 RBI while starting all 13 games. Qin is the seventh junior since 2001 to garner the NESCAC Player of the Year honor and the fourth Mammoth to win the award (Mike Samela – 2011; Bob Cook – 2012; Mike Odenwaelder – 2014 & 2015).
Volgende, one of two All-NESCAC First Team pitchers, made six starts on the mound for Tufts and posted a 4-1 record to help the Jumbos reach the NESCAC Championship Series. He worked 28 innings with 29 strikeouts, averaging 9.32 strikeouts per nine innings. A Jumbo has been named the NESCAC Pitcher of the Year five times in the last seven seasons and Volgende is the sixth Tufts pitcher to garner the award overall (Jon Lee – 2001 & 2003; Ed Bernstein – 2011; Kyle Slinger – 2014; Speros Varinos – 2016 & 2017; R.J. Hall – 2019).
Beal started all eight games and posted a .958 fielding percentage with 23 putouts for Bates. He ranked second on the team in hitting (.375) and contributed five RBI and six runs scored. Beal, who is on the All-NESCAC First Team for the second straight season, is the second Bobcat to garner the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year award, joining Jack Arend in 2019.
Giattino, an All-NESCAC First Team pitcher, registered 34 strikeouts and was unbeaten on the mound (4-0) over 29.2 innings of work. He ranked third among NESCAC pitchers with a 2.12 ERA and limited opposing teams to a .129 average. Giattino pitched 6.0 innings in a 6-2 win over Tufts in Game 1 of the NESCAC Championship Series. In his first collegiate start, Giattino teamed with Alan Dai to register Amherst’s first no-hitter since 2014. Giattino tossed 6.2 innings and struck out seven batters in the contest. He is the fourth Amherst player to collect NESCAC Rookie of the Year honors (Brian Donahue – 2004; Kevin Heller – 2009; Mike Odenwaelder – 2013).
Pyne led the Mammoths to an 8-3 mark in NESCAC West divisional play and the program’s fifth NESCAC title. He earns the NESCAC Coach of the Year honor for the first time since arriving at Amherst in 2018.
2021 NESCAC Baseball All-Conference Team
Player of the Year: Daniel Qin, Amherst
Pitcher of the Year: Michael Volgende, Tufts
Defensive Player of the Year: Christian Beal, Bates
Rookie of the Year: Nick Giattino, Amherst
Coach of the Year: JP Pyne, Amherst
| 2021 NESCAC Baseball All-Conference Team |
| First Team |
| Pos |
Name |
Institution |
Class |
Hometown |
Previous Selections |
| P |
Nick Giattino |
Amherst |
Fy. |
Pound Ridge, N.Y. |
|
| P |
Michael Volgende |
Tufts |
Jr. |
Ridgefield, Conn. |
|
| C |
Clay Sowell |
Tufts |
So. |
Kingwood, Texas |
|
| IF |
Jakob Cohn |
Williams |
So. |
Charlotte, N.C. |
|
| IF |
Peter DeMaria |
Tufts |
Jr. |
Chatham, N.J. |
2019 Rookie of the Year; 2019 1st Team |
| IF |
Eric Pappas |
Williams |
Sr. |
Providence, R.I. |
2019 1st Team |
| IF |
Daniel Qin |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Issaquah, Wash. |
|
| IF |
Sean Meth |
Trinity |
Fy. |
Sands Point, N.Y. |
|
| OF |
Christian Beal |
Bates |
Sr. |
Flossmoor, Ill. |
2019 1st Team |
| OF |
Erik Mini |
Williams |
Sr. |
Greenwich, Conn. |
|
| OF |
Miles Reid |
Tufts |
Jr. |
Silver Spring, Md. |
|
| DH |
Cabot Maher |
Colby |
Jr. |
Barrington, R.I. |
|
| Second Team |
| Pos |
Name |
Institution |
Class |
Hometown |
Previous Selections |
| P |
Brendan McFall |
Tufts |
Jr. |
Baldwin, N.Y. |
|
| P |
Alex Shafer |
Trinity |
Gr. |
Baltimore, Md. |
2018 2nd Team |
| C |
Alex Rodriguez |
Trinity |
Sr. |
South Windsor, Conn. |
2019 2nd Team; 2017 Co-Rookie of the Year; 2017 1st Team |
| IF |
Andrew Ashley |
Middlebury |
Fy. |
San Francisco, Calif. |
|
| IF |
Ethan Harrast |
Hamilton |
So. |
Oak Brook, Ill. |
|
| IF |
Jack Mathews |
Trinity |
Fy. |
Westport, Conn. |
|
| IF |
Brady O'Brien |
Colby |
Fy. |
North Andover, Mass. |
|
| OF |
Phil Bernstein |
Hamilton |
So. |
Brooklyn, N.Y. |
|
| OF |
Jack Nally |
Wesleyan |
Fy. |
Franklin, Mass. |
|
| OF |
Joseph Palmo |
Amherst |
Sr. |
Austin, Texas |
2019 2nd Team |
| OF |
Sammy Smith |
Middlebury |
Fy. |
Newtown, Conn. |
|
