POLVANI EARNS FIRST TEAM ALL-NEW ENGLAND HONORS; VIGURS, CAMPBELL, COBB NAMED TO SECOND TEAM

May 28, 2009 

POLVANI EARNS FIRST TEAM ALL-NEW ENGLAND HONORS; VIGURS, CAMPBELL, COBB NAMED TO SECOND TEAM

NEIBA Div. I Teams (pdf)/ NEIBA Div. I Team (word)

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Bryant University starting pitcher Eric Polvani (Wallingford, Conn.) earned first team All-New England honors while junior catcher Jeff Vigurs (South Windsor, Conn.), junior outfielder Nick Campbell (Raynham, Mass.) and senior starting pitcher Kevin Cobb (Acton, Mass.) were all selected to the second team as announced Thursday by the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association. The four Bulldogs will all be eligible to participate in the 2009 NEIBA All-Star game on Thursday, June 4, 2009 at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, Mass.

The four Bulldogs were a big part of Bryant's success in their first season of Division I play, helping the team to a 32-22 record, with 30 wins coming against DI competition. Bryant went 12-7 against New England Division I schools, including wins over URI, Boston College, Brown and Northeastern.The squad finished ranked fifth in New England in the final NEIBA poll, while ranking third in the Northeast according to Ping! Baseball.

SP Jr. Eric Polvani (Wallingford, Conn.)

Junior pitcher Eric Polvani

A former closer, Eric Polvani made the transition into the starting rotation in 2009 and worked his way to become the team's number two starter behind Kevin Cobb. The junior has been nothing short of impressive, going six-plus innings in ten of his 11 starts, while holding opponents to two earned runs or less in 11 of his 12 appearances. His team-best 2.04 ERA ranked him seventh overall in the country and first among Division I reclassifying teams. Since being handed his second loss back on March 20, Polvani has been unstoppable, going 6-0 with one save in eight appearances while making seven starts. In that stretch, he has recorded a 1.33 ERA, allowing just eight earned runs in his last 54 innings pitched while striking out 42. Overall this season, Polvani leads all Division I reclassifying teams with eight wins and a 2.04 ERA while leading all of New England in wins and ERA.

C Jr. Jeff Vigurs (South Windsor, Conn.)
Jeff Vigurs emerged as one of the best hitters for the Bulldogs in 2009, leading the team in almost every major offensive category including batting average (.389), RBIs (70), doubles (23), and on-base percentage (.447). His .389 average is second best among all Division I reclassifying teams, while his 70 RBI ranks first and is the second most by a Bulldog in a single season. Vigurs was also one of the most clutch performers on the team, hitting .512 with runners in scoring position and two-outs (21-for-

Junior catcher Jeff Vigurs

41), driving in 32 runs with 11 extra-base hits. He put together a 17-game hitting streak at the beginning of the season, and has reached base safely in 52 out of the team's 54 games, including an incredible streak of 37 games in a row at one point. Vigurs has at-least one hit in 50 of the team's 54 games. He has also been solid behind the plate, starting 46 games while appearing in all 54 for Bryant, committing just two errors and recording a .993 fielding percentage. He led all of New England catchers in batting average, RBI, doubles, slugging percentage and fielding percentage

CF Jr. Nick Campbell (Raynham, Mass.)
Nick Campbell became the all-time hit leader in the history of

Junior outfielder Nick Campbell

the Bryant University baseball program this year in just his junior season, recording his 248^th career hit on May 2. Campbell led the team in hits for the second-straight season, finishing the year with 84 which was also second among all Division I reclassifying teams and 13^th in the country, while ranking second on the team with a .375 batting average. He was also among the toughest to strike out in the country, going down on strikes just 15 times this season, which worked out to one strike out for every 14.3 at-bats, tops among reclassifying teams. After winning a Rawling's Gold Glove in Division II last season, Campbell followed that up with a season of just one error this year to go with 109 putouts to give him a .991 fielding percentage.

Senior pitcher Kevin Cobb

RHP Sr. Kevin Cobb (Acton, Mass.)
The leader of the Bryant pitching staff, Kevin Cobb made the transition from reliever to starter after his sophomore season. Since that time, Cobb has put up 19 wins, including a career-high seven wins this season. Cobb finished this season with a 7-0 record, tying for the most wins among Division I reclassifying teams while having the best winning percentage. In ten starts this season, Cobb finished with a 3.36 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 80.2 innings. He recorded the first Division I win for the Bulldogs against Delaware State on March 7, starting a streak where he won each of his first six starts. Cobb also has wins over Richmond, Holy Cross, Monmouth, Long Island and NYIT.