ECAC Announces 2016 DIII New England Baseball All-Stars
DANBURY, Conn. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has announced its 2016 Division III New England Baseball All-ECAC Selections and major award winners.
Alex Venditti, Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s slugging first baseman, collected the award 2016 ECAC DIII New England Baseball Player of the Year, with senior pitcher Tom Weldon from Elms College earning pitcher of the year honors. Representatives from Western New England University took the remaining two awards, with rookie pitcher Bob Hamel garnering the rookie of the year award and Dan Gomez earning coach of the year.
Player of the Year
Alex Venditti – Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Sr., First Base
Venditti capped his collegiate career in style as a senior, leading the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference in most offensive categories to claim the conference’s player of the year award. The infielder closed the regular season batting .430 with 13 home runs and 55 RBI to his credit, while also playing sound defense. The slick-fielding first-baseman was nearly perfect in the field, making just two errors to record a .993 fielding percentage. Venditti was recently named an ABCA/Rawlings DIII First Team All-American, in addition to receiving second-team honors from D3baseball.com.
Pitcher of the Year
Tom Weldon – Elms College, Sr.
Weldon was dominant on the mound in 2016, going a perfect 10-0 with a 2.33 ERA in the regular season. The senior fanned 80 while walking 22 and allowing just 53 hits in 77.1 innings pitched en route to claiming the New England Collegiate Conference Pitcher of the Year honor. On top of his ECAC recognition, Weldon was recently named the ABCA/Rawlings DIII New England Pitcher of the Year in addition to receiving a first-team nod in the ABCA/Rawlings DIII All-America selections.
Rookie of the Year
Bob Hamel – Western New England University, Fr., Starting Pitcher
Hamel was a force on the mound for the Golden Bears as a freshman. The rookie finished third in the Commonwealth Coast Conference in ERA at 1.58 and had a conference-best 1.04 ERA during CCC play. He earned six wins in seven starts, and also struck out 33 in 45.2 innings this season.
Coach of the Year
Dan Gomez – Western New England University
In his third season as the Golden Bears head coach, Gomez helped his team earn the top-seed in the 2016 CCC Baseball Tournament. His team went 13-3 (28-9 overall) in CCC play this year and ended the regular season ranked fifth in New England in the regional rankings. His pitching staff had a league best 2.95 ERA, while offensively his team had the third-best batting average in conference.
All-ECAC First Team
C: Logan Sullo – Massachusetts Maritime Academy, So.
1B: Alex Venditti – Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Sr.
2B: Cam Cook – Nichols College, So.
3B: Mike Kochiss – Endicott College, Jr.
SS: Sam Dexter – Southern Maine University, Sr.
DH: Jarek Krajewski – Plymouth State University, Jr.
OF: Mark Webber – Babson College, So.
OF: Liam O’Connor – Brandeis University, Sr.
OF: Marco Baratta – Wesleyan University, Sr.
UTIL: Ryan Healy – Brandeis University, Sr.
P: Tom Weldon – Elms College, Sr.
P: Speros Varinos – Tufts University, Jr.
P: Cody Dube – Keene State University, Sr.
All-ECAC Second Team
C: Scott Cullinane – Trinity College, Sr.
1B: Sam Stauble – Southern Maine University, Sr.
2B: Vinny D’Ambrosio – Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Sr.
3B: Eduardo Colmenares – Western New England University, Sr.
SS: Austin Filiere – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, So.
DH: Tristan Dacey – Salve Regina University, Fr.
OF: John Mulready – Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Sr.
OF: Alec Echevarria – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sr.
OF: Ryan Wolfsberg – Hamilton College, Jr.
UTIL: Javier Lozada – Fitchburg State University, Sr.
P: David Cherry – Western New England University, Sr.
P: Mike Vaitkunas – Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Jr.
P: Jackson Volle – Amherst College, Jr.
ABOUT THE ECAC
In the 76 years since its inception, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has emerged as the nation's largest Conference. The ECAC has grown considerably from its charter membership of 58, boasting over 300 member schools in Divisions I, II and III, ranging in location from Maine to Georgia, and westerly to Missouri. In the 2015-16 academic year, the ECAC will host nearly 100 championships in 32 men’s and women's sports as the sponsors of over 5,800 varsity teams and 111,000 male and female Players. For more information, visit www.ecacsports.com.
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