SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Endicott has won three major awards and placed eleven members of their baseball team on the 2013 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) All-Conference team.
Senior Tyler Hitchcock (Abington, Mass.) was selected as Pitcher of the Year, graduate student Colin Sitarz (West Hartford, Conn.) was named Senior Scholar Athlete, and Head Coach Bryan Haley was tabbed as CCC Coach of the Year in the awards that were announced Thursday by the CCC office and Commissioner Gregg M. Kaye.
Hitchcock was also named to the CCC First Team, where he was joined by first baseman Brett Holmgren (Middleboro, Mass.), second baseman Harry Oringer (Dartmouth, Mass.) and outfielder Conor Ressel (Rockport, Mass.)
Sitarz earned a spot on the CCC Second Team, along with catcher EJ Martinez (Brooklyn, N.Y.), while Endicott's Honorable Mention selections included freshman third baseman Matthew Paola (Middlebury, Conn.), outfielder Tad Gold (Martha's Vineyard, Mass.), designated hitter Eric Lemke (Southington, Conn.), and pitchers Mike Nich (Orange, Conn.) and Kevin Dupras (Belchertown, Mass.).
Hitchcock posted a 7-0 record and an impressive 1.25 ERA, which was good for the top ranking in the league and ranks him 21st among all NCAA Division III baseball players. Other categories in which Hitchcock has been nationally ranked include walks plus hits per innings pitched (0.79, 8th), hits allowed per nine innings (5.36, 11th), victories (7.0, 29th), and complete games (5.0, 34th). On the season, the right hander held opposing batters to a .170 batting average, while striking out 27, scattering 30 hits in 50.1 innings of work and only walking 10. Five of Hitchcock's wins came in conference play, where he only gave up six runs and struck out 22. At Endicott, he has a career ERA of 3.73, which is seventh all-time in program history and has moved into sixth all-time with 19 victories. This year Hitchcock has earned the fourth best ERA for a season in EC history and fifth best batting average against. His seven wins this season is the second most in school history, and five complete games is tied for first in a season.
Sitarz, a West Hartford, Conn. Native, sports a 3.87 grade point average as a Business Administration graduate student. He has been listed on the Dean's List for several semesters of his career and is a member of the Academic Varsity Club at Endicott. Sitarz keeps himself very busy as he has completed an internship with Athletic Evolution and Ameriprise Financial, while also studying abroad in Madrid, Spain. On the field, he has recorded 39 hits, 28 RBI, nine stolen bases, nine doubles, 31 runs scored, and has belted two triples and two homeruns. He has become the all-time Endicott leader in games started (171) and at-bats (583), while tying the record for most RBI (138) and most triples (13) in a career. He has a career batting average of .345, good for seventh all-time.
Haley is earning his second CCC Coach of the Year Award (2010) in a season where he has eclipsed the 150-win plateau with a career record of 156-103, good for a .602 winning percentage. His team is currently nationally ranked in the top 50 amongst all NCAA DIII baseball teams in seven statistical categories. Among NCAA DIII programs, Endicott ranks 23rd in stolen bases, 28th in doubles, 30th in stolen bases per game, 33rd in runs scored, 42nd in batting average, and 48th in both doubles per game and walks. In the CCC, the Gulls lead the league in hits (392), walks (154), and stolen bases (92), while also being tied for the lead in triples (12).
Oringer is having a strong sophomore campaign at second base, where he is hitting .346, has driven in 27 runs and has crossed the plate 35 times. Oringer is also making many superb defensive plays, has a fielding percentage of .961, and is earning his first All-CCC spot, as is Ressel, who has taken over right field and leadoff duties. The junior is sixth in the conference with a .383 batting average and has scored 23 runs, stolen a team-high 15 bases and collected 18 runs batted in. Hitting just a touch higher than Ressel, Brett Holmgren has delivered a .385 batting average and a team-leading .476 on-base percentage while pounding nine doubles and driving in 22 runs. Also taking over starting duties this year at first base, Holmgren has earned his first All-CCC appearance as well.
The only Endicott rookie to earn an all-conference spot, Paola has batted .398 to lead the team, while driving in 23 runs and smacking home runs in both ends of a CCC sweep over Salve Regina. He has collected 33 hits in 83 at bats, and has scored 21 times this season.
Gold, a first team selection a year ago, has patrolled center field for the Gulls in 29 games this year, and his speed has led him to steal 14 bases and score 24 runs this year, while his batting prowess has delivered a .327 average, one homer, and 18 runs batted in.
Martinez is hitting at a .300 clip this season, with 8 doubles and 22 runs scored. In conference play only, he ranks third in the conference with 16 runs batted in and fourth in batting average, hitting at .463. He has transitioned to catcher this season and, in doing so, earned his first spot on the list of CCC award winners.
In just 71 at-bats, Lemke has driven in 18 runs and scored 17 times, while hitting .324. Lemke has also drawn nine walks and has an on base percentage of .461, while earning his fourth straight All Conference nod. His conference numbers have been exceptional, as he has a .564 on base percentage and a .433 average with 14 RBIs in 13 CCC games played.
Nich earns his second consecutive All-CCC selection in a season in which he broke the record for most victories as an Endicott pitcher, with 23 and tied the record for complete games (14). Nich has posted a 5-1 record with a 2.86 earned run average, and has been even more dominant in conference games, throwing one complete game and allowing just 1.29 earned runs while going 2-0.
Dupras is making his second All-CCC appearance, and his first since appearing on the Second Team in his freshman year of 2010. The senior reliever leads the team with a 0.77 ERA in 23.1 innings pitched, and has collected six saves on the year, tied for second in the conference. Dupras also has a record of 2-1 and has struck out 30 batters, while allowing just four walks.
Endicott (28-11) has earned the No. 2 seed in the upcoming CCC Championship Tournament and will take on No. 5 Wentworth at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 2.
