BASEBALL PLACES SEVEN ON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM; BROWN AND ALMEIDA TAKE HOME MAJOR AWARDS

May 26, 2010

BRYANT BASEBALL PLACES SEVEN ON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
Kevin Brown Named NEC Rookie of Year;
Brent Almeida Named NEC Pitcher of the Year

All-Conference Team (pdf) /  Final Bryant Statistics

Brent Almeida - NEC Pitcher of the Year / First Team All-NEC

Kevin Brown - NEC Rookie of the Year / Second All-NEC

Nick Campbell - First Team All-NEC

Mark Andrews - First Team All-NEC

Zakary Cianciolo - Second Team All-NEC

Jeff Vigurs - Second Team All-NEC

Peter Kelich - Second Team All-NEC

Head Coach Jamie Pinzino - 2010 NEC Coach of the Year

 SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Following a historic season for the Bryant University baseball team, the Bulldogs were rewarded Wednesday, earning seven All-Northeast Conference selections and a trio of majors awards as announced by the league office.  Bryant captured three of the four major awards as voted by the league coaches, including Pitcher of the Year in Brent Almeida (Fairhaven, Mass. / Fairhaven), Rookie of the Year in Kevin Brown (Northborough, Mass. / Algonquin) and coach of the year in Jamie Pinzino (Shrewsbury, Mass. / Tufts University ’98).  

Pinzino, in his fifth year as coach, led the Bulldogs to a 34-22 overall record and the program’s first Northeast Conference regular-season title with a 25-7 league mark.  

Almeida enjoyed a brilliant season on the mound and worked effectively as the team’s ace.  The senior posted a perfect 6-0 record and led the league with a 1.94 earned run average.  He was also first in the league with an opposing batting average of .223. He concluded his career by pitching three-consecutive complete games, including a 9-0 win over Sacred Heart last Wednesday to clinch the regular-season title for the Bulldogs. Almeida struck out a career-high eight batters in the game.  His 1.94 ERA this year was the seventh-best in school history, while his 2.71 career ERA over four seasons is the second lowest in school history. 

Brown had an outstanding rookie season for the Bulldogs. The left fielder led the NEC in four separate offensive categories including doubles (23), triples (7), plate appearances (255), and at-bats (231).  His seven triples ties the school record for triples in season while his 23 doubles was just one shy of the school record of 24.  He finished the year ninth in the league with a .355 batting average and started all 56 games for the Bulldogs.  Brown had 21 multi-hit games including a quartet of four-hit games, as well as boasting a 15-game hit streak, the second best on the team this season.

Joining Almeida on the 2010 All-NEC First Team were senior center fielder Nick Campbell (Raynham, Mass. / Bridgewater-Raynham) and junior relief pitcher Mark Andrews (Hillsborough, N.J. / Hillsborough).

Campbell capped off a truly amazing career this past season, setting several school records including one that may never be topped.  The team’s starting center fielder, Campbell played in school-record 233 career games and finished his career with an incredible 341 hits.  Last week, in his final game, Campbell went a perfect 5-for-5 in the team’s 10-1 win over Sacred Heart.  Campbell finished the season fifth in the NEC with a .391 batting average and seventh with 45 RBIs.  Career-wise, Campbell finished third in school history with 179 runs scored, second with 57 doubles and second with 177 RBIs.

Andrews, Bryant’s closer out of the bullpen, led the Northeast Conference in 2010 with 12 saves.  Making 23 appearances, Andrews posted a 3-1 record with 27 strikeouts and just six walks in 33 innings of work.  His 71 career appearances are third-most in school history while his 22 career saves top the Bulldog recordbooks with one season left to play.

Bryant also placed four players on the NEC Second Team, including a pitcher and Brown, who adds to his Rookie of the Year honors.

Senior Jeff Vigurs (South Windsor, Conn./ South Windsor), another member of the most successful senior class in program history, was named second team all-conference at catcher.  Vigurs hit .333 offensively and was second on the team with 24 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI games. Vigurs had 13 doubles this year and set a school record with 61 doubles in his career. He finished second all-time with 228 career games played, 872 career at-bats and 277 career hits, seventh with 136 career runs scored and third all-time with 176 career RBIs. 

One of the best defensive catchers in school history, Vigurs finished his career with a .993 fielding percentage with just nine errors in 1,301 plays.  This year, he threw out 18 runners attempting to steal and finished his career catching 74 would-be base-stealers.

Shortstop Zakary Cianciolo (Prospect, Conn. / Woodland) joined Vigurs as a Second Team All-NEC selection after a solid first year, joining the Bulldogs in 2010 after transferring from UConn-Avery Point. Cianciolo hit .324 with 57 hits and 32 RBIs this season and finished the year tied for fifth in the NEC with 18 doubles and tied for fourth with four triples.

Wrapping up Bryant’s second team all-conference selections was freshman starting pitcher Peter Kelich (Jackson, N.J. / Jackson Memorial).  Joining Brown as the only two freshmen to earn all-conference honors, Kelich anchored the Bulldogs’ pitching staff as the team’s Sunday starter.  In just his first season, Kelich posted an NEC-best nine victories on the year, going 9-1 with a 4.23 ERA including a big victory over Virginia Tech in Marc.   The nine wins were the fourth-most in school history and led all of New England in 2010.   This was Bryant’s second year competing at the Division I level and first as a member of the Northeast Conference.   

The 2010 Northeast Conference All-Baseball Team

2010 NEC Baseball Major Award Winners

Player of the Year
Sean Allaire, Central Conn. St.

Pitcher of the Year
Brent Almeida,  Bryant

Rookie of the Year
Kevin Brown, Bryant

Coach of the Year 
Jamie Pinzino, Bryant

2010 NEC Baseball All-Conference First Team
1B Tommy Meade, Central Conn.
2B Ryan Terry, Monmouth
3B Mitch Wells, Central Conn.
SS Brian Martutartus, Wagner
OF Nick Campbell, Bryant
OF Patt Epps, Central Conn.
OF Richie Tri, Central Conn.
C Jeff Heppner, Sacred Heart
DH Jon Lucas, Wagner
UT Sean Allaire, Central Conn.
SP Brent Almeida, Bryant
SP Jared Balbach, Sacred Heart
RP Mark Andrews, Bryant 

2010 NEC Baseball All-Conference Second Team
1B Vin Avella, Wagner
2B Seth Boyd, Wagner
3B Joe Poletsky, Quinnipiac
SS Zakary Cianciolo, Bryant
OF Kevin Brown, Bryant
OF Mike Drowne, Sacred Heart
OF DJ Robinson, Fairleigh Dickinson
C Jeff Vigurs, Bryant
DH Andrew Caron, Mount St. Mary's
UT Mike Matta, Mount St. Mary's
SP Peter Kelich, Bryant
SP Kent Worthington, Mount St. Mary's
RP David Rees, Wagner