Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Announces 2015 All-MAAC Baseball Team
MAAC Sports
EDISON, N.J. – Canisius College junior outfielder Brett Siddall has been chosen as the 2015 MAAC Player of the Year and Iona College right handed pitcher Mariano Rivera has been selected as the 2015 MAAC Pitcher of the Year, as voted on by the leagues eleven head coaches. The 2015 MAAC Baseball Championship will be held May 20-24 at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, N.Y.
Siddall, a junior outfielder from Windsor, Ontario, helped lead Canisius to a 29-27 overall mark, including 16-8 in MAAC play. Siddall led the MAAC with 55 RBI, 19 doubles and 11 home runs. The outfielder slugged a line of .343/.388/.593 while leading conference play with a .414 average, 20 RBI and five home runs. On the season Siddall recorded 74 hits, 36 in conference play, and tallied 31 extra base hits.
Rivera, a junior righty from Harrison, N.Y., led the MAAC in strikeouts during the 2015 season racking up 113. Rivera posted a dominating 11.96 strikeout per game mark and 12.87 strikeouts per game in conference play. The right hander grabbed 5 wins with a 2.65 ERA and lowered his season mark even further in conference play registering a 1.81 ERA. He held opposing batters to a .211 average against him and kept conference hitters south of a .155 batting average against. Rivera threw six complete games, leading the MAAC with three shutouts in 85.0 innings. He was a three-time recipient of the MAAC’s Pitcher of the Week Award.
The 2015 MAAC Rookie of the Year is Joe Drpich of Siena College. Drpich, a freshman from South Salem, N.Y., stepped into the starting lineup in his first year and finished the regular season as the Saints’ second leading hitter with a .314 batting average. The slugger recorded 18 extra base hits including eight home runs, which is good four fourth in the conference. Drpich led the Saints and ranked second in the league with a .610 slugging percentage and totaled 37 hits while adding 21 walks boasting a .418 on-base percentage.
Relief Pitcher of the Year honors go to senior Eric Thomas of Rider. Thomas, of Dallastown, Pa., led the Broncs with a 1.07 ERA, while making 26 appearances and contributing a league best 10 saves as a senior. Thomas allowed less than one hit per inning pitched, and struck out 34 while yielding just three earned runs in 25.1 innings pitched. Opposing batters hit just .186 against him.
The 2015 Lids Team Sports MAAC Coach of the Year is Barry Davis of Rider University. Davis guided the Broncs (28-20, 15-6) to the MAAC’s regular season title, and to the No. 1 seed in the MAAC Baseball Championship. The Broncs offense ranked second in the league in runs scored, third in walks taken and fifth in hits. On the mound, Riders pitching staff ranked first in the league with a 4.12 ERA. It is the third time that Davis has received the MAAC Coach of the Year Award.
The 2015 All-MAAC First Team infield includes catcher Eric Strano of Rider, 1B Vincent Guglietti of Quinnipiac, 2B Scott Donaghue of Quinnipiac, 3B Justin Esquerra of Siena and SS Matt Batten of Quinnipiac.
First team outfielders are Chris Kalousdian of Manhattan, James Locklear of Rider, Mike Palladino of Quinnipiac and Siddall of Canisius. The first-team DH is Drpich of Siena of Fairfield and the first team utility player is Connor Panas of Canisius. First team pitchers are Thomas Jankins of Quinnipiac, Zach Mawson of Rider, Rivera of Iona and Mike Wallace of Fairfield.
The All-MAAC Second Team includes catcher Kyle Perry of Monmouth, 1B Stephen Laurino of Marist, 2B Joey Aiola of Marist, 3B Tanner Kirwer of Niagara and SS Vinny DeMaria of Iona.
The outfield consists of Greg Fazio of Rider, Graham McIntire of Marist and Travis Mistretta of Iona. The second-team DH is Thomas Rodrigues of Niagara and the utility player is Michael Fuhrman. All-MAAC second team pitchers include T.J. Hunt of Monmouth, Matt Quintana of Siena and Devon Stewart of Canisius.
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2015 ALL-MAAC BASEBALL FIRST TEAM
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C – Eric Strano
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Rider
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1B – Vincent Guglietti
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Quinnipiac
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2B – Scott Donaghue
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Quinnipiac
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3B – Justin Esquerra
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Siena
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SS – Matt Batten
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Quinnipiac
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OF – Chris Kalousdian
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Manhattan
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OF – James Locklear
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Rider
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OF – Mike Palladino
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Quinnipiac
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OF – Brett Siddall
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Canisius
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DH – Joe Drpich
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Siena
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UTIL – Connor Panas
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Canisius
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P- Thomas Jankins
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Quinnipiac
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P – Zach Mawson
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Rider
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P – Mariano Rivera
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Iona
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P – Mike Wallace
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Fairfield
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2015 ALL-MAAC BASEBALL SECOND TEAM
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C – Kyle Perry
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Monmouth
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1B – Stephen Laurino
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Marist
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2B – Joey Aiola
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Marist
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3B – Tanner Kirwer
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Niagara
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SS - Vinny DeMaria
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Iona
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OF – Greg Fazio
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Rider
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OF – Graham McIntire
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Marist
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OF – Travis Mistretta
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Iona
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DH – Thomas Rodrigues
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Niagara
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UTIL – Mike Fuhrman
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Niagara
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P – T.J. Hunt
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Monmouth
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P – Matt Quintana
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Siena
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P – Devon Stewart
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Canisius
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2015 MAAC Major Awards Winners
MAAC Player of the Year: Brett Siddall - Canisius
MAAC Pitcher of the Year: Mariano Rivera - Iona
MAAC Rookie of the Year: Joe Drpich – Siena
MAAC Relief Pitcher of the Year: Eric Thomas - Rider
Lids Team Sports MAAC Coach of the Year: Barry Davis - Rider
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