Baseball Lands Two on All-Region Teams
BABSON PARK, Mass. – The New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) announced the 2011 Division III All-New England Teams on Wednesday which featured 52 student-athletes from across the region, including a pair of Mariners from Mitchell College.
Junior John Apostolo was named to the All-New England Second Team as a utility player while senior Jeff Perillo made the All-New England Third Team as an outfielder. The honors were the first for each in their respective careers.
Apostolo, the New England Collegiate Conference Player and Pitcher of the Year, 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 was named to the All-NECC First Team 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.
Apostolo and Perillo were two of four NECC players who earned all-region recognition. It also marked the second straight season that a Mitchell player took home all-region honors, as pitcher Jeremy Chapman was a third team selection in 2010.
Mitchell (23-10-1 overall) captured the 2011 NECC Baseball Championship and earned an automatic bid to play in the NCAA Regional Championship. The Mariners made their first-ever NCAA postseason appearance against SUNY Cortland on Wednesday and lost 3-1. The team will be back in action on Thursday at 10 a.m. against the College of Brockport.
2011 NEIBA ALL-NEW ENGLAND DIVISION III BASEBALL TEAMS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jim Schult, Eastern Connecticut
PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Ed Bernstein, Tufts
COACH OF THE YEAR: Matt LaBranche, Western New England
FIRST TEAM
DH – Ryan Dudzinski, SR, Western New England
C – Tyler DiPrato, SR, Keene State
1B – Mike Eaton, SR, Southern Maine
2B – Ryan Walsh, SR, UMass Boston
3B – Dan Haugh, JR, Wheaton
SS – Jake Northrup, FR, Endicott
OF – Bobby Doyon, SR, Keene State
OF – David Orlowitz, SR, Tufts
OF – Rob Perry, SR, Eastern Connecticut
OF – Todd Keneborus, SR, Saint Joseph's
UT – David Ahern, SR, Babson
UT – Jim Schult, SR, Eastern Connecticut
P – Corey Batista, JR, Bridgewater State
P – Ed Bernstein, SR, Tufts
P – Matt Rogers, SR, Western New England
SECOND TEAM
DH – Thomas Wheeler, JR, Amherst
C – Zach Roeder, JR, Middlebury
C – Matt Collins, JR, Tufts
1B – Mike Pratt, SO, Saint Joseph's
2B – Josh Mackey, SR, Southern Maine
2B – Mike Rubino, SO, Western New England
3B – Forrest Chadwick, FR, Southern Maine
3B – Jake Cintolo, FR, Suffolk
SS – Eric Jensen, SO, Wheaton
SS – Devan Jones, FR, Suffolk
OF – Conor Bierfeldt, SO, Western Connecticut
OF – Joshua Ferreira, JR, Bridgewater State
OF – Tyler Turgeon, SR, Eastern Connecticut
OF – Hal Landers, JR, Wheaton
UT – John Apostolo, JR, Mitchell
P – Shaun Slattery, SO, Worcester State
P – Roman Mondalto, JR, Westfield State
P – Frank Holbrook, SO, Wheaton
P – Chad Rafferty, SO, Saint Joseph's
THIRD TEAM
DH – Korey LeLievre, FR, Daniel Webster
DH – Marco Hernandez, FR, Williams
C – Mike Samela, JR, Amherst
1B – Nick Fluegge, SR, Worcester State
1B – Kevin Mortimer, JR, Trinity
3B – Corey McDonald, SR, Worcester State
SS – John Phelan, SR, Fitchburg State
SS – Kyle Allaire, JR, Rhode Island College
OF – Conor Cavanagh, SR, Lasell
OF – Kevin Heller, JR, Amherst
OF – Pat Warrington, JR, Southern Vermont
OF – Jeff Perillo, SR, Mitchell
OF – Richard Newton, SR, Colby
UT – Pat Nicholson, SR, Brandeis
P – Kevin Gilchrist, JR, Tufts
P – Ryan Healy, SR, Amherst
P – Christian Martin, FR, Bowdoin
P – Mike Lawlor, JR, Western New England
