ABCA/RAWLINGS ALL-AMERICA TEAMS RELEASE | ENDICOTT BASEBALL ALL-AMERICA HISTORY
DEDONATO SELECTED TO PLAY IN NEIBA ALL-STAR GAME | DEDONATO EARNS GOOGLE CLOUD ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT® HONORS
BEVERLY, Mass. — Endicott senior second baseman Michael DeDonato (Chelmsford, Mass.) has earned ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division III All-America First Team honors, as announced by the organization yesterday.
The ABCA/Rawlings' announcement marks DeDonato's first career All-America honor and fifth overall for the Endicott baseball program.
Tad Gold highlights the program's list of All-American's as a two-time honoree in addition to his D3baseball.com Player of the Year accolades in 2014. Meanwhile, Tyler Hitchcock and Harry Oringer round out the list of All-Americans for the Gulls with selections in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
In regards to the 2018 ABCA/Rawlings All-America teams, DeDonato was the only student-athlete from Massachusetts represented on the first team and just one of two student-athletes picked from New England on the first team list. DeDonato also served as the lone representative from the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) on either the first, second, or third teams.
DeDonato earned his spot on the All-America First Team behind a .403/.454/.540 slash line (.avg/.obp/.slg) in 44 games played/started, all at second base. DeDonato also compiled 41 runs scored, 71 hits, 15 doubles, three home runs, 37 RBI, 95 total bases, 12 walks, and 41 stolen bases on the year.
Additionally, DeDonato paced the conference in hits, doubles, total bases, stolen bases, and batting average, and also finished in the top-10 in runs (5th), home runs (8th), RBI (6th), on-base percentage (9th), and slugging percentage (3rd). Meanwhile, nationally, DeDonato is No. 1 in the country in stolen bases, No. 4 in stolen bases per game (0.93), No. 23 in hits, and No. 81 in batting average.
Other highlights from DeDonato's senior campaign included the following totals: 22 multi-hit games (2-14, 3-5, 4-3), 10 multi-RBI contests (2-7, 3-2, 4-1), a 12-game hitting streak to end the year, a 15-game on-base streak, a .463 batting average with runners in scoring position (25-for-54), and a .449 batting average with two outs (22-for-49).
YEAR IN REVIEW
Endicott went 27-17 overall this spring and advanced to the CCC Tournament semifinals, which extended the Gulls' postseason streak to 23 straight seasons. The Blue and Green also secured their 17th 20-win season in program history and ninth straight season with 25 wins or more in 2018.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN BASEBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION (ABCA)
The ABCA, founded in 1945, is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its over 9,600 members represent all 50 states and 25 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 75th annual ABCA Convention will be held Jan. 3-6, 2019 in Dallas, Texas.
ABOUT RAWLINGS
Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc. is an innovative manufacturer and marketer of sporting goods worldwide. Founded in 1887, Rawlings is an authentic global sports brand, trusted by generations of athletes of all skill levels. Rawlings' unparalleled quality, innovative engineering, and expert craftsmanship are the fundamental reasons why more professional athletes, national governing bodies, and sports leagues choose Rawlings. Rawlings is the Official Ball Supplier and Batting Helmet of Major League Baseball®, the official baseball of Minor League Baseball™ and the NCAA®, and the approved baseball, basketball, football, and softball of the National High School Federation®. For more information, please visit Rawlings.com or by phone at (314) 819-2800.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)
