Six Bulldogs named ABCA/Rawlings All-Northeast
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Six members of the Bryant University baseball team, including a nation-best five first teamers, were selected to the ABCA/Rawlings Northeast All-Region teams announced on Wednesday afternoon.
Bryant is the only team in the country to have five players on the first team, while its six selections are the most in one season in program history.
Sophomore catcher Sam Owens (Scituate, R.I.), redshirt sophomore shortstop Jimmy Titus (Stafford, Conn.), redshirt sophomore outfielder Ryan Ward (Millbury, Mass.), junior DH Gaby Cruz (Miami, Fla.) and senior pitcher Steve Theetge (Syracuse, N.Y.) all earned first team honors. Junior reliever Chris Wright (Cumberland, R.I.) picked up second team honors.
Owens gives the Bulldogs a first team all-region catcher for the fourth-straight year and for the fifth time in DI program history. He hit .324 with 11 doubles, six home runs, 37 RBI and 44 runs scored in 54 games for the Black and Gold. Owens was also hit by pitch 20 times and finished the year with a .431 OBP. He was also named to the All-NEC First Team and All-New England First Team.
Titus becomes the first shortstop in DI program history to earn ABCA All-Region honors after he hit .343 with 13 doubles, 12 home runs, 63 RBI and 50 runs scored. His 63 RBI and 12 home runs are both the second-most in a single-season in program history. Titus led all New England players in RBI on the year and finished with 133 total bases and 160 assists at short.
Ward earns first team all-region honors for the second-straight year, joining Mickey Gasper as the only players in DI program history to earn first team honors multiple times. He followed up a record-setting freshman year by collecting 95 hits and finishing with a .382 average, 15 doubles, 13 home runs, 51 RBI, 59 runs scored, 30 walks and just 17 strikeouts. Ward posted 153 total bases, set the DI single-season home run record and became the first player in program history with back-to-back seasons of 90+ hits.
Cruz emerged as one of the premier bats in the Northeast this spring, batting .354 with six doubles, nine home runs, 37 RBI and 29 runs scored in just 147 at-bats. He slugged .592 and finished the year with a .449 OBO. Cruz posted a pair of multi-homer games and was also a All-NEC First Team and All-New England First Team selection.
Theetge wrapped up a historic career with an outstanding senior season in 2019. He went 9-2 with a 1.75 ERA and 96 strikeouts in a program record 102 2/3 innings on his way to becoming just the fifth pitcher in DI program history to earn all-region honors. Theetge allowed three runs or less in all but three of his program-record 16 starts, allowed just one earned run over 13 2/3 innings in the NEC Tournament, became Bryant's all-time wins leader with 32 and was named a Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Third Team All-American.
Wright joins Salvatore Lisanti as the only relievers to earn all-region honors in DI program history. A Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Third Team All-American, Wright was lights out at the backend of Bryant's bullpen. He appeared in 21 games, going 1-1 with a program-record tying 13 saves, a 2.36 ERA and 64 strikeouts in just 34 1/3 innings. Wright closed out both of Bryant's wins over Virginia Tech, helping the Black and Gold win a weekend series vs. an ACC team for the first time ever.
The Bulldogs have now had 22 ABCA/Rawlings All-Northeast players over the last eight seasons.
ABCA/Rawlings All-Region First Team selections are nominated for ABCA/Rawlings All-America honors. The ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. I All-Americans will be announced on Saturday, June 15.
The finalists for the ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. I Gold Glove Team will be announced via Twitter on Monday, June 17, and the Gold Glove winners in all divisions will be announced on Wednesday, June 19. In all divisions, ABCA/Rawlings National Pitchers of the Year will be announced on Monday, June 24, followed by ABCA/Rawlings National Players of the Year on Wednesday, June 26.
The ABCA, founded in 1945, is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its over 11,000 members represent all 50 states and 23 countries. Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, Association membership has broadened to include eight divisions: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA, Pacific Association Division, High School and Youth. The 76th annual ABCA Convention will be held Jan. 2-5, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee.
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