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2002 Awards
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2002 YEAR
END AWARDS |
2002 MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD
Mike Wagner, North Adams SteepleCats |
2002 TOP PRO PROSPECT
Grant Reynolds, Concord Quarry Dogs |
2002 BATTING CHAMPION
Mike Wagner, North Adams SteepleCats (.342) |
2002 10th PLAYER AWARD
Trey Hendricks, Keene Swamp Bats |
2002 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Rafael Lara, Newport Gulls |
2002 TOP PITCHER
Grant Reynolds, Concord Quarry Dogs |
2002 TOP RELIEF PITCHER
Chris Homer, North Adams SteepleCats |
2002 SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Ranger Wiens, Newport Gulls |
2002 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Awarded to a Freshman player
Jeff Frazier, Danbury Westerners |
2002 MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
Mike Bergeron, Newport Gulls |
2002 MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Paul Swingle, Keene Swamp Bats |
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NECBL FIRST TEAM |
|
Catcher |
A.J. Zickgraf,
Newport Gulls |
| 1st
Base |
Trey Hendricks,
Keene Swamp Bats |
| 2nd
Base |
Rafael Lara,
Newport Gulls |
| 3rd
Base |
Rocky Baker, Keene
Swamp Bats |
|
Shortstop |
Josh DiScipio,
Concord Quarry Dogs |
| DH |
Clint Eury,
Danbury Westerners |
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Outfield |
Jeff Frazier,
Danbury Westerners |
|
Outfield |
Eddie Harper,
Newport Gulls |
|
Outfield |
Mike Wagner, North
Adams SteepleCats |
|
Pitcher |
David Austen,
Keene Swamp Bats |
|
Pitcher |
Chris Homer, North
Adams SteepleCats |
|
Pitcher |
Grant Reynolds,
Concord Quarry Dogs |
| NECBL
SECOND TEAM |
| Catcher |
Wick
Udy, Torrington Twisters |
| 1st Base |
Bennett Stapf, Danbury Westerners |
| 2nd Base |
Ryan
Klosterman, Manchester Silkworms |
| 3rd Base |
Jeff
Baisley, Danbury Westerners |
| Shortstop |
Ranger
Wiens, Newport Gulls |
| DH |
Luke
Lambo, Sanford Mainers |
| Outfield |
Jeff
Barry, Keene Swamp Bats |
| Outfield |
Cory
Lizarraga, Sanford Mainers |
| Outfield |
Lee
Laskowski, Danbury Westerners |
| Pitcher |
Chris
Lambert, Concord Quarry Dogs |
| Pitcher |
Mike
Bergeron, Newport Gulls |
| Pitcher |
James
Russell, Manchester Silkworms |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Stephen Repsys/NECBL Publicist
NECBL Awards Announced
Warwick, R.I. (Aug. 2, 2002) — Mike
Wagner of the North Adams SteepleCats was named Most Valuable Player of the
New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) and Grant Reynolds of the
Concord Quarry Dogs was named NECBL Top Pitcher highlighting the annual
league awards.
Wagner, a 6-2, 200– pound native of Seattle, Wash., led the NECBL in several
offensive categories including slugging percentage (.582); on-base
percentage (.445), hits (30); runs scored (39) and total bases (85). A
sophomore from the University of Washington, Wagner started in 38 games for
the SteepleCats and his .342 batting average was also tops in the league.
Reynolds, a 6-0, 185-pound native of South Wentworth, Australia, led the
league with a 0.46 earned run average. His earned run average is the lowest
in the nine-year history of the league. A junior at Kennesaw State, Reynolds
finished the NECBL regular season with a 6-1 record and his 66 strikeouts
were fourth-best in the league while opposing batters were held to a .166
average, which was second best in the league. Reynolds was also named NECBL
Top Pro Prospect, which is awarded to the player who has the best potential
to make it to the Major Leagues.
Rafael Lara of the Newport Gulls received the NECBL Defensive Player of the
Year Award. Lara, a 5-8, 170 pound junior out of Miami Dade Community
College, yielded a .955 fielding percentage as an infielder and made just
seven errors in 156 chances. A native of Miami, Fla., Lara also had 47
putouts and 102 assists. Lara recently made league history by playing all
nine positions and was the winning pitcher in a 5-4 win over the Mill City
(Lowell) All-Americans on July 29.
Ranger Wiens of the Newport Gulls was awarded the NECBL’s Sportsmanship
Award. The Sportsmanship Award is given annually based on exemplary
performance on the field combined with the leadership example they set for
both teammates and opponents.
Michael Bergeron of the Newport Gulls was named NECBL’s Most Improved
Player. A 6-2, 185-pound native of Middletown, R.I., Bergeron finished the
2001 NECBL season with a 3-0 record and a 5.73 ERA allowing 14 earned runs
in 22 innings pitched. This season, the sophomore from St. Petersburg Junior
College, was 6-2 with a 1.84 ERA surrendering 10 earned runs in 49 innings
pitched while striking out 51 batters and yielding just 16 walks.
Jeff Frazier of the Danbury Westerners was named the NECBL’s Rookie of the
Year. In his first year in the league, the Toms River, N.J. native was at
the top of numerous offensive categories. He hit a league-tying seven
homers; was second in hits with 49 and second in total bases with 77.
Frazier’s .325 batting average was third best in the league.
Chris Homer of the North Adams SteepleCats received the NECBL’s Top Relief
Pitcher Award. The resident of Jamesville, N.Y. set a league record with 13
saves. A 6-1 junior from Marist College, Homer also struck out 29 batters in
17 2/3 innings while holding batters to a .188 average this season in the
NECBL.
Hailing from Spring, Tex., Keene Swamp Bats infielder/DH Trey Hendricks was
named the NECBL’s 10th Player. This season in the NECBL, the Harvard
sophomore batted .327 with seven homers, 25 RBI and collected 48 hits.
Hendricks also possessed a .517 slugging percentage and .415 on-base
percentage.
Guiding the Keene Swamp Bats to a league record 31-win season, Paul Swingle
earned NECBL’s Manager of the Year. Swingle, a former reliever for the
California Angels, is in his second year at the helm of the Swamp Bats and
during that time has a 58-31 record with Keene. In both seasons, Swingle’s
teams have made the postseason.
Making the NECBL First Team were Newport Gulls catcher A.J. Zickgraf; Keene
Swamp Bats first baseman Trey Hendricks; Newport Gulls second baseman Rafael
Lara; third baseman Rocky Baker of the Keene Swamp Bats; Concord Quarry
Dogs’ shortstop Josh DiScipio and designated hitter Clint Eury of the
Danbury Westeners.
Outfielders Jeff Frazier of Danbury, Eddie Harper of Newport and Mike Wagner
of the North Adams SteepleCats also were named to the NECBL First Team.
Pitchers making the NECBL First Team were David Austen of Keene, Chris Homer
of North Adams and Grant Reynolds of Concord.
Zickgraf, a resident of New Castle, Del., batted .306 during the season with
a .400 slugging percentage and had a .427 on-base percentage.
Hendricks was tied for first with seven homers and batted.327, which was
second best in the league while knocking in 25 RBI. He also compiled a .517
slugging percentage, which was second best in the league, and a .415 on-base
percentage, which was third best in the league. Hendricks was also named
NECBL Offensive Player of the Week July 15.
Lara, hailing from Miami. Fla. batted .308 with a .358 slugging percentage
and a .364 on-base percentage while amassing a league-high 22 stolen bases.
A Georgia Southern University junior, Baker batted .310 while stealing 16
bases and totaling a .452 slugging percentage and a .357 on-base percentage.
DiScipio, a resident of Albany, N.Y., stole 12 bases, batted .355 and
amassed a .452 slugging percentage and a .439 on-base percentage.
Eury, a resident of Butler, Penn., batted .279 with 12 RBI while composing a
.311 slugging percentage and a .343 on-base percentage.
Frazier, a Tom Rivers. N.J. resident, batted .325, and slugged a
league-tying seven homers. The Rutgers University freshman accumulated 18
stolen bases, 25 RBI, a .510 slugging percentage and a .350 on-base
percentage.
Harper, a resident of Rome, N.Y., stole 17 bases, batted .320 and had 47
total bases along with a .385 slugging percentage and .364 on-base
percentage.
Wagner, also the MVP and batting champion, tallied 85 total bases, a .342
batting average, 22 RBI, five homers, a .445 on-base percentage and a .582
slugging percentage.
Austen led the NECBL in victories with seven and the right-hand pitcher from
Coconut Creek, Fla., struck out 77 batters in 65 1/3 innings. He also
compiled a 2.20 ERA and held batters to a .211 average.
Homer led the NECBL in saves with 13, composed a 0.51 ERA, fanned 29 batters
in 17 2/3 innings and held batters to a.188 average.
Reynolds, a junior at Kennesaw State, led the league with a 0.46 ERA– the
lowest in the league’s history– and sported a 6-1 record with two complete
games. The right-hander from Australia only allowed three earned runs in 59
1/3 innings while holding opponents to a.166 average.
Making the NECBL second team were catcher Wick Udy of Torrington; first
baseman Bennett Stapf of Danbury; second baseman Ryan Klosterman of
Manchester; third baseman Jeff Baisley of Danbury; Newport Gulls shortstop
Ranger Wiens; Sanford Mainers’ designated hitter Luke Lambo; Danbury
outfielder Lee
Laskowski; Keene outfielder Jeff Barry; Sanford outfielder Cory Lizarraga;
Concord pitcher Chris Lambert; Newport pitcher Mike Bergeron and Manchester
pitcher James Russell.
Udy, a native of Brigham City, UT, batted .253 and drove in 11 runs. Udy
also had a .337 slugging percentage and a .400 on-base percentage.
Stapf, a sophomore at Winthrop University, slugged a league-tying seven
homers, along with composing a .257 batting average, a .505 slugging
percentage and a .409 on-base percentage. The Hudsonville Michigan resident
also collected 51 total bases.
Kosterman, a Clemson University sophomore, stole 13 bases, batted .276 while
amassing 42 hits and 54 total bases. A resident of Montverde, Fla.,
Kosterman also had a .355 slugging percentage and a .380 on-base percentage.
A resident of Tampa, Fla., Baisley finished the season with a .298 batting
average and 18 RBI. The University of South Florida freshman also stole
seven bases and had a .338 slugging percentage along with a .383 on-base
percentage.
Wiens, a Brigham Young University sophomore, finished the NECBL season with
a .277 batting average and 11 RBI. Wiens was 12-for-12 in stolen bases and
had a .356 slugging percentage and a .382 on-base percentage.
Hailing from Conyers, Ga., Lambo stole seven bases while batting .232 and
driving in 11 runs. Lambo also collected 31 total bases while having a .313
slugging percentage and a .382 on-base percentage.
A resident of Clayton, Mo., Laskowski finished the season with a. 297
batting average and 19 RBI. Laskowski also gathered 40 total bases while
totaling a .396 slugging percentage and a .362 on-base percentage.
Barry, a resident of Essex Junction, Vt., drove in 18 runs and stole six
bases while batting .293. The University of Vermont sophomore also compiled
a. 414 slugging percentage and a .371 on-base percentage.
Lizarraga batted .288 on the season and had a season-high 15-game hit
streak. The Chandler, Ariz. resident also stole 12 bases and collected 50
total bases with a .342 slugging percentage and a .375 on-base percentage.
Lambert, a Manchester, N.H., resident compiled a 3-2 record and a 1.55 ERA
along with 72 strikeouts in 46 1/3 innings. Lambert, the NECBL Co-Pitcher of
the Week for June 24, also held opponents to a .174 batting average.
Bergeron, a Middletown, R.I. resident, sported a 6-2 record on the hill
while striking out 51 batters over 49 innings. The St. Petersburg Junior
College sophomore also finished the season with a 1.84 ERA while holding
batters to a .216 average.
Hailing from Rochester, N.Y., Russell made 18 appearances this season in
relief while fanning 30 batters and walking just four in 20 2/3 innings. The
6-6 junior from Villanova University also had a 0.44 ERA, eight saves and
held opponents to .118 average.
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