Boen Named As 2006 Northeast-10 Bob Bellizzi Baseball Co-Coach Of Year, Five Skyhawks Earn All-Conference Accolades

May 15, 2006

Northeast-10 Conference Baseball All Conference Teams Announced

May 15, 2006

South Easton, Mass. – Garrett Olson, a junior shortstop from Franklin Pierce College and a native of Norway, Maine has been named the Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Player of the Year as voted on by the conference coaches.

Olson helped lead the Ravens to its first Northeast-10 regular season title and a 40-10 record to date. The Raven shortstop leads Franklin Pierce, recently announced the top seed and host of the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional tournament, in runs scored with 53, total bases with 122 and a slugging percentage .610. He is among team and league leaders in home runs (8), hits (71), runs batted in (49), batting average (.355), walks (17), doubles (17), on base percentage (.412) and stolen bases (18).

Also garnering major awards, Scott Savastano of Franklin Pierce has been selected the NE-10 Freshman of the Year as he continues his impressive rookie campaign. Savastano has a .405 batting average, second highest in the league overall, and a slugging percentage of .564, which is fourth on the list. He ranks among the top ten in several other statistical categories, including on base percentage (.473) and stolen bases (18).

Junior Ryan Williams of Saint Anselm College was named Pitcher of the Year. Williams led the league in strikeouts and earned run average, retiring 95 batters in 105 total innings, finishing with a 1.03 ERA. In league play, Williams posted a 0.90 ERA in nine appearances for a 5-2 record. He pitched 70.1 total innings against conference opponents, nearly double of the totals for many other league starters, and only allowed seven earned runs during the regular season.

The league coaches' unanimously decided to honor their fallen peer, The College of Saint Rose mentor Bob Bellizzi. The coach of the year award will now be named the Bob Bellizzi Coach of the Year Award. Bellizzi, the 2003 NE-10 Co-Coach of the Year recipient, passed away on May 7, 2006 after a long battle with cancer. This year, the coaches chose Patrick Boen of Stonehill College to share the inaugural award with Bellizzi as co-coaches of the year. Boen led the Skyhawks to a second place finish in the league standings and a 22-8 NE-10 record (28-17 overall).

The Northeast-10 All-Conference First Team included Olson and Williams. Joining Olson were teammates Shane Presutti, Tyler Cummings, Mike Chambers, Elliot Shea, and Bryan Duplissie. Williams' teammate Jerod Edmondson was also named to the First Team. From The University of Massachusetts Lowell, Pat Donovan, Robert Theriault and Tim Manton were named to the First Team, while Pace University placed Jack Cawley and Matt Arburr. Merrimack College's Rick Sotiropoulos, Southern Connecticut State University's Jose Ortiz and Billy Sittig of Stonehill College were also selected for the First Team.

The Northeast-10 All-Conference Second Team included Savastano. Joining him were fellow Ravens Arric Mather and Vinny Pennell, Southern Connecticut's Justin Cox, Joe Kahlden, Jim McLaughlin and Mike Diaz, UMass Lowell's Peter Nickerson, Pat Wilson, Steve Paddock and Tim Keene and Earl Oakes and Dave Qualben of Pace. Bill Dacier of Bentley College and Coley Lyons and Max Vigliotti, both of Stonehill, rounded out the Second Team.

The Northeast-10 All-Conference Third Team consisted of Matt Hennessey of Southern Connecticut, Dan Fournier and Randy Fenton of Franklin Pierce, Kevin Graham and Tim Dempsey of UMass Lowell, Jim Fuller and Chad Lawrence of Southern New Hampshire University, Adam Vuolo, Paul Novakowski and Daryle Crowley of Bryant University, Jeff Rustico of American International College, Sean Lawrence and Tom Aldrich of Stonehill, Steve Gath of Bentley, Tyler Vivian of Assumption College and Nick Panza of Saint Rose.