Five Baseball Players Earn NECC Honors
ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Five members of the Mitchell College baseball team earned all-conference recognition from the New England Collegiate Conference on Thursday, and junior pitcher John Apostolo became the first player in the conference's history to be named both Player and Pitcher of the Year.
Joining Apostolo on the All-NECC First Team were senior outfielder Jeff Perillo and freshman catcher Anthony Santiago. Senior second baseman Drew Rossi and sophomore third baseman Osmer Collado were named All-NECC Honorable Mention. All awards were determined by a vote of the conference's head coaches.
Apostolo had a dramatic impact in his first season with the Mariners. If conference play he led the NECC in batting (.581), slugging (1.032), hits (36), RBI (30), home runs (6), total bases (64) and on-base percentage (.620) while splitting time between the outfield and the mound. In six NECC starts he posted a 6-0 record with a 2.27 ERA and a league-high 47 strikeouts in 39.2 innings. He was also the only starting pitcher in the conference to record a victory against every other school.
Apostolo, who ranks among the national leaders in several offensive categories, is batting .482 for the season with 12 homers and 55 RBI. He leads the country in RBI per game (1.86) and slugging (.956) and ranks second in batting average and home runs per game (0.41). On the mound he is 9-1 overall with a 3.04 ERA in 15 appearances. He has struck out 86 batters in 71.0 innings and has held opposing line-ups to a .230 batting average.
Perillo earned first team recognition for the second straight season. As Mitchell's leadoff hitter he batted .397 in conference action and led the league in runs scored (32) while ranking second in home runs (4) and fourth in RBI (21) and total bases (41). He is batting .415 on the season with 40 RBI and 56 runs scored, and he entered the week ranked second in the nation in runs per game (1.69) and seventh in total runs.
Santiago enjoyed a strong rookie season in which he started every game behind the plate. He was one of the top hitters in conference games with a .408 batting average and ranked behind only Perillo with 29 runs scored. He is batting .394 on the season with 24 RBI and 52 runs scored, and he leads the team in putouts (244) while committing only six errors in 271 total chances (.978). He also ranks third in the country in runs per game (1.59) and 16th in total runs.
Rossi made the most with his one season with the Mariners, batting .387 in conference play and leading the NECC with nine doubles. He also played a stellar second base and didn't commit an error in 80 chances. He is batting .350 overall on the season with 18 RBI, 23 runs scored and a team-high 15 doubles. Rossi has also made 12 relief appearances on the mound and has picked up four saves as the Mitchell closer, striking out 18 in 17.0 innings of work.
In his first season with the Mariners, Collado hit .355 in NECC action and ranked second in the conference in both home runs (4) and triples (2) and fourth in total bases (41). He is batting .333 on the season with six homers, 31 RBI and 29 runs scored. He also has five steals without being caught on the year.
Mitchell (23-9-1 overall) captured the 2011 NECC Baseball Championship on Wednesday and earned an automatic bid to play in the upcoming NCAA Regional Championship. The Mariners will make their first-ever NCAA postseason appearance on May 18-22 in Harwich, Mass.
2011 New England Collegiate Conference Baseball All-Conference Team
2011 NECC BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR: John Apostolo, Mitchell, JR (Queens, N.Y.)
2011 NECC BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE YEAR: John Apostolo, Mitchell, JR (Queens, N.Y.)
2011 NECC BASEBALL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Matt Grenier, Becker, FR (Rochester, N.H.)
2011 NECC BASEBALL COACH OF THE YEAR: Kraig Kupiec, Newbury
2011 NECC BASEBALL TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD: Daniel Webster College Eagles
2011 ALL-NECC BASEBALL FIRST TEAM
FIRST BASE: Corey Armstrong, Southern Vermont, SO (Bennington, Vt.)
SECOND BASE: David Gage, Southern Vermont, SR (Gloversville, N.Y.)
THIRD BASE: Bruce Brown, Daniel Webster, SR (Lowell, Mass.)
SHORT STOP: Keith Kandel, Becker, SR (Fresno, Cal.)
OUTFIELD: Pat Warrington, Southern Vermont, JR (Folcroft, Penn.)
OUTFIELD: Jeff Perillo, Mitchell, SR (Newington, Conn.)
OUTFIELD: Josh Chasse, Daniel Webster, SO (Haverhill, Mass.)
PITCHER: John Apostolo, Mitchell, JR (Queens, N.Y.)
PITCHER: Kory Kiro, Daniel Webster, JR (Goffstown, N.H.)
CATCHER: Anthony Santiago, Mitchell, FR (Newark, N.J.)
CATCHER: Patrick Curry, Newbury, JR (Hampstead, N.H.)
DESIGNATED HITTER: Kory LeLievre, Daniel Webster, FR (Hudson, N.H.)
2011 ALL-NECC BASEBALL HONORABLE MENTION
Weston Meehan, Becker, JR, DH (Thomson, Ga.)
Mike Marcello, Becker, FR, 1B (West Haven, Conn.)
Drew Rossi, Mitchell, SR, 2B (Jessup, Penn.)
Osmer Collado, Mitchell, SO, 3B (New York, N.Y.)
Rich Lizotte, Daniel Webster, SO, SS (West Warwick, R.I.)
