BRYANT PLACES FIVE ON 2008 ALL-REGION TEAMS; ALEXANDER, CAMPBELL NAMED NORTHEAST REGION FIRST-TEAM SELECTIONS
May 15, 2008
BRYANT PLACES FIVE ON 2008 ALL-REGION TEAMS; ALEXANDER, CAMPBELL NAMED NORTHEAST REGION FIRST-TEAM SELECTIONS
|
|
|
|
|
Jason Alexander (top) joined |
PHILADELPHIA - The Bryant University baseball team continues to garner postseason accolades for its success in 2008, as five Bulldogs were named to the Daktronics NCAA Division II All-Northeast Region Teams. Senior third baseman Jason Alexander (Simsbury, Conn.) and sophomore centerfielder Nick Campbell (Raynham, Mass.) led the five nominations, earning All-Region First Team honors for their stellar 2008 seasons.
Teammates Eric Loh (Old Greenwich, Conn.), Eric Polvani (Wallingford, Conn.) and Pat O'Connor (Mattapoisett, Mass.) were named to the All-Region Second Team.
Alexander, a two-year captain and Northeast-10 Conference First Team selection, is hitting .322 on the season and leads the Bulldogs in runs scored (52), on-base percentage (.440), total plate appearances (287) and hit by pitches (16). The senior tri-captain and starting third baseman leads the 2008 Bulldogs on the field and at the plate, and his batting average and 73 hits are bested only by fellow All-Region First Teamer Campbell.
Alexander is one of only three Bulldogs to start all 59 games for Bryant this season and is second in at bats with 227. He has recorded 12 doubles and one home run - a shot that came against Division I Brown University - in 2008. The senior adds 22 RBI to his resume with 11 steals.
The senior has registered 18 multi-hit games from the leadoff spot for the Bulldogs and posts a .944 fielding percentage with eight appearances behind the plate.
Alexander has a hit a number of career records and milestones in his four-year career at Bryant, including three in Thursday's NCAA Northeast Regional first-round game against Dowling College. In the 7-6 loss, Alexander went 3-for-5, including knocking out his 200th career hit - a double in the top of the third. The start marked the 203rd of his career and 205th career appearance, both setting new Bulldog records.
Joining him on the All-Region First Team is sophomore centerfielder Nick Campbell. Campbell leads Bryant in batting average (.357), hits (89), total bases (112), stolen base attempts (26), at bats (249) and sac flies (4) and is the second of three Bulldogs to start all 59 games this year.
The sophomore, who also garnered First Team All-Conference accolades, leads the Northeast-10 Conference in both hits and at bats, and ranks in the top-6 in batting average, runs scored, RBI, doubles, total bases, plate appearances and steal attempts.
Campbell is second on the team in RBI (41), doubles (17), triples (3), and stolen bases (17), and is third in runs scored (47), on base percentage (.408), slugging percentage (.450) and putouts (119). He has a team-leading 25 multi-hit and 11 multi-RBI contests and recorded a 10-game hitting streak that ended in the final week of the regular season.
The sophomore, one of just three underclassmen to earn First Team All-Region honors, has made just one error in 59 centerfield starts.
Senior Eric Loh, a 2007 Third Team All-American and First Team All-Region selection, earned Second Team regional honors for a 10-2 performance in 2008. The All-Conference First Teamer posts a 2.43 ERA in 13 starts this season and has recorded 61 strikeouts in 96.1 innings pitched. Loh also set a new Bryant career mark, breaking the all-time innings pitched record previously held by Mike Florest ('04). Through Thursday's start, Loh has thrown 339.1 career innings (previous record at 324.2 IP).
Sophomore closer Eric Polvani also earned Second Team regional honors, posting a 2.31 ERA with a conference-leading 12 saves - a number that also ties a single-season Bryant record. The 2008 All-Conference Third Teamer has appeared in 26 games this season, fanning 23 in 35 innings pitched and is poised to break Bryant's all-time career saves record, needing just eight more.
Junior leftfielder Pat O'Connor, a 2008 transfer from Division III Wheaton College, garnered the third All-Region Second Team bid for the Bulldogs. O'Connor leads the team in doubles (20), slugging percentage (.526), RBI (43) and home runs (8). The Bryant cleanup hitter and All-Conference Second Teamer has played in all 59 games this season, starting in 58 of them without an error, and has 15 multi-hit games with 13 multi-RBI contests.
The First Team selections of Alexander and Campbell bring Bryant's All-Region First Team program total up to 20, while the All-Region Second Team total moves to 12 with this season's accolades.