Zarozny a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – After completing an outstanding freshman year, left fielder AJ Zarozny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) was recognized as a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American by the Collegiate Baseball newspaper on Wednesday.

The Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year, Zarozny becomes just the second player in Division I history to earn Freshman All-American honors, joining senior teammate Kevin Brown (Northborough, Mass.). He earned the honor following a fantastic rookie campaign in 2010.

Zarozny's ascension to All-American status took a little later to start than he had hoped, as he missed the first 15 games of the year after suffering a broken leg in January. Upon his return, he immediately installed himself as Bryant' starting left fielder and the No. 2 hitter in the lineup. Over the course of 47 games, Zarozny hit .310 with 14 doubles, two home runs, 28 RBI, 43 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. He was hot right out of the gates, earning NEC Rookie of the Week honors after his first weekend against Mount St. Mary's and starting his career with an 11-game hitting streak. Over the course of that streak, Zarozny drove in a run in eight of the games and scored a run in nine of them. He was great in the postseason as well, hitting .333 with two doubles, three RBI and eight runs scored. Zarozny drove in a pair of runs in the NEC title game against Sacred Heart and then scored two runs, including the eventual winning run, in Bryant's victory over Arkansas in the NCAA tournament.

Zarozny was one of only two players from the NEC selected to the prestigious team. He was joined by Wagner left-hander Paul Mammino.