May 1, 2009
BEVERLY, Mass. - Juniors Aaron Santos (Cambridge, Mass.) and Joe Klein (Monroe, Conn.), along with freshman Michael Russo (Natick, Mass.), have been named to The Commonwealth Coast Conference All-TCCC Honorable Mention Team, as announced by Commissioner Gregg M. Kaye on Thursday. The Gulls, who are 2-0 in the TCCC Postseason, return to action on Saturday against the winner of Curry vs. Salve Regina which takes place on Friday in Milton, Mass.
Santos earns an Honorable Mention selection after batting .359 in conference games with a team-leading on-base percentage of .464 and a slugging of .609. Santos totaled a team-high 39 bases in 22 conference games and was 7-of-8 in steal attempts against TCCC foes. The Endicott centerfielder was tops on the teams in conference games in doubles (7), triples (3), and had one of Endicott's two homeruns in TCCC matchups. The junior drove in 13 runs and scored 25 times, which was 10 more runs than his next closest teammate.
Junior Joe Klein also played his way to an Honorable Mention selection after batting .309 in 19 conference games. The Gulls' catcher was steady behind the plate, as he boasted a .954 fielding percentage while also notching three doubles and 20 total bases. Klein had five multi-hit conference games, including a 2-for-3 effort with three RBI against Colby-Sawyer on April 15th.
Freshman outfielder Michael Russo rounds out the Endicott selections as the rookie hit a team-best .397 in 22 conference games which included a .452 slugging and .443 on-base percentage. Russo led the team with 29 hits, resulting in 33 total bases and 10 stolen bases. The freshman had four three-hit games and was the TCCC Rookie of the Week on week ending April 26th. Russo helped lead the Gulls into the postseason by batting .714 in the final week of the season, including six RBI in four games.
Student-athletes from twelve different institutions in The Commonwealth Coast Conference were represented on the 2009 All-TCCC Baseball Teams. In addition to the all-conference team, winners of five major individual awards and the team sportsmanship award were also selected. Curry College junior Rick Vail was selected TCCC Player of the Year, Wentworth Institute of Technology junior Chris Sandini was named TCCC Pitcher of the Year, Western New England College freshman Matt Fleishman was chosen TCCC Rookie of the Year, Western New England College's Bryan Calzone was honored as TCCC Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year, Curry College's Dave Perdios selected as TCCC Coach of the Year, and New England College was the recipient of the Team Sportsmanship Award. Voting for the All-TCCC team and each of the major awards was conducted among TCCC baseball coaches.
To view the entire 2009 TCCC Baseball All-Conference Teams, please click here.