HADLEY, Mass. – The NESCAC Champion Middlebury Panthers won three of the five individual awards as the NESCAC year-end baseball honors were announced.
Middlebury's Alec Ritch was selected as the NESCAC Player of the Year and reliever George Goldstein was named the NESCAC Pitcher of the Year. Colby catcher Cole Palmeri was tabbed as the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year and Bowdoin sophomore CJ Brito-Trinidad garnered NESCAC Rookie of the Year honors. Middlebury head coach Mike Leonard was voted the NESCAC Coach of the Year by his peers.
Ritch has started all 39 games for the NCAA-bound Panthers and leads the NESCAC with 50 RBI and 40 stolen bases this season while ranking second with 47 runs scored. All of those marks are also Middlebury single-season records and he is the Panthers' career leader in stolen bases (58). Ritch is hitting .360 for the Panthers with 50 hits, including a NESCAC-best five triples and nine homers (second in the NESCAC), while slugging .712. Ritch also garnered a spot on the All-NESCAC First Team and is the second Panther to be honored with the NESCAC Player of the Year award, joining Noah Walker (2007).
Goldstein is the second Middlebury pitcher to win the NESCAC Pitcher of the Year honor, joining Colby Morris (2018). Goldstein, who was also named to the All-NESCAC First Team, has appeared in 23 games out of the bullpen this season and is 4-1 on the year. He has 45 strikeouts, which ranks seventh in the NESCAC, in 31.0 innings pitched and a 2.61 ERA. Goldstein closed out the Game 7 of the NESCAC Championship, striking out the final batter, to deliver the title for the Panthers. Goldstein leads the NESCAC with five saves and became Middlebury's all-time career leader in saves (11) earlier this year.
Palmeri is the first Colby player to be selected as the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year. He recorded a .982 fielding percentage behind the plate for the Mules and threw out 11 runners. He ranked fourth on the Mules with a .302 average, knocking out 28 hits and tied for second among the league leaders with nine home runs. Palmeri, who earned a spot on the All-NESCAC Second Team, was also perfect on the base paths, going 9-for-9 in stolen bases. He helped the Mules earn the No. 2 seed in the NESCAC East Division and qualify for the NESCAC Baseball Championship for the first time in program history and where Colby advanced to the semifinal round.
Brito-Trinidad is the fourth Polar Bear to be voted as the NESCAC Rookie of the Year and the first since Christian Martin in 2011. He led Bowdoin in batting average (.383), hits (44), and RBI (30). He posted a 1.058 OPS and tallied seven doubles and five home runs. Brito-Trinidad, who also earned All-NESCAC First Team honors, helped the Polar Bears grab the No. 1 seed in the NESCAC East Division with an 8-4 record and clinch a home postseason game for the first time since 2006.
Leonard is the NESCAC Coach of the Year for the first time in his career. In his fifth season at the helm of the Panthers, Leonard guided the team to its first NESCAC title since 2006 and second in program history. Middlebury earned the No. 1 seed in the West with a 10-2 mark and its 29 wins heading into NCAA Tournament action are the most in program history.
2022 NESCAC Baseball All-Conference Team
Player of the Year: Alec Ritch, Middlebury
Pitcher of the Year: George Goldstein, Middlebury
Defensive Player of the Year: Cole Palmeri, Colby
Rookie of the Year: CJ Brito-Trinidad, Bowdoin
Coach of the Year: Mike Leonard, Middlebury
| 2022 NESCAC Baseball All-Conference Team |
| First Team |
| Pos |
Name |
Institution |
Class |
Hometown |
Previous Honors |
| IF |
CJ Brito-Trinidad |
Bowdoin |
So. |
South Kent, Conn. |
|
| C |
John Collins |
Middlebury |
So. |
New York, N.Y. |
|
| IF |
Peter DeMaria |
Tufts |
Sr. |
Chatham, N.J. |
2021 1st Team, 2019 Rookie of the Year, 2019 1st Team |
| OF |
Jimmy Evans |
Tufts |
Jr. |
Norwalk, Conn. |
|
| P |
George Goldsten |
Middlebury |
Sr. |
Westport, Conn. |
|
| IF |
Brady O'Brien |
Colby |
So. |
North Andover, Mass. |
2021 2nd Team |
| P |
Alex Price |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Ridgefield, Conn. |
|
| OF |
Miles Reid |
Tufts |
Sr. |
Silver Spring, Md. |
2021 1st Team |
| OF |
Alec Ritch |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Kentfield, Calif. |
|
| DH |
Mitchell Schroeder |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Brookline, Mass. |
|
| IF |
Stephen Simoes |
Bowdoin |
So. |
Hopkinton, Mass. |
|
| UTIL |
Brady Slinger |
Hamilton |
Sr. |
Nashville, Tenn. |
|
| Second Team |
| Pos |
Name |
Institution |
Class |
Hometown |
Previous Honors |
| OF |
Phil Bernstein |
Hamilton |
Jr. |
Brooklyn, N.Y. |
2021 2nd Team |
| IF |
Patrick Dillon |
Trinity |
Jr. |
Bronx, N.Y. |
|
| IF |
Ethan Harrast |
Hamilton |
Jr. |
Oak Brook, Ill. |
2021 2nd Team |
| IF |
Cabot Maher |
Colby |
Sr. |
Barrington, R.I. |
2021 1st Team |
| OF |
Colin Mann |
Trinity |
Sr. |
Dedham, Mass. |
|
| P |
Cameron Mayer |
Tufts |
Jr. |
Syosset, N.Y. |
|
| IF |
Ryan McIntyre |
Amherst |
Fy. |
Larchmont, N.Y. |
|
| OF |
Ben McKenzie |
Bowdoin |
So. |
Hopkinton, Mass. |
|
| C |
Cole Palmeri |
Colby |
So. |
Hamilton, N.J. |
|
| IF |
Eric Pappas |
Williams |
Sr. |
Providence, R.I. |
2021 1st Team, 2019 1st Team |
| P |
Nicholas Thompson |
Colby |
So. |
Scarborough, Maine |
|
