NEWS

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is pleased to unveil the winners of its annual End-of-Year Awards, as announced by Commissioner Sean McGrath on Thursday.

2018 NECBL Annual End-Of-Year Awards

Top Pro Prospect – Tim Tawa (Newport/Stanford)
The rising sophomore and All-Star reserve ranked 10th in the NECBL with a .336 batting average on the year. He also bashed 14 doubles (3rd/NECBL) and was tied for third in the league with 21 total extra-base hits. His .616 slugging percentage was good for second in the league and he was among the league’s top outfield arms with five assists and only one error in 53 chances. He had 42 total hits, 23 runs scored, 21 RBIs and seven homers, as well.

Rick Ligi Most Valuable Player – Brandon Smith (Keene/Palm Beach Atlantic)
Finishing just two batting average points back of the eventual league leader, the league’s MVP nearly won the triple crown, ranking tied for second with a .376 batting average, tied for second in homers (11) and first with a league-record 49 RBIs. His 33 runs scored were tied for fourth league-wide, while his 59 total hits and 107 total bases were the best marks in the NECBL. Smith – the All-Star Game starter at third base – ranked second in extra-base hits (24) and on-base percentage (.455) as well as first in slugging (.682). He was nearly perfect in the field at first base with only an error in 151 chances (.993) while also playing 18 games at third base and a few both in the outfield and at catcher.

Christopher Ashmos 10th Player Award – Mitchell Golden (Keene/Georgia Southern)
Honored for the late Chris Ashmos, who played for the former Mill City All-Americans in 2003 prior to his untimely passing, Golden was as reliable as they come for Keene. The Georgia Southern product batted well over .300 -- .324 to be precise – and had 45 hits in 139 at-bats along with 29 runs, 10 doubles, two homers and 12 RBIs. He slashed .324/.428/.439 for the summer and finished with a .867 OPS. He played 30 games at short stop, 11 at second and nine more at third base to account for one of the Swamp Bats’ most versatile players. He was the Fan Vote winner for the All-Star Game, as well.

Robin Roberts Best Starting Pitcher – Endy Morales (Valley/SNHU)
Named after the late and legendary Robin Roberts, one of the greatest pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball, Morales dominated the NECBL all summer. The North Division All-Star Game starting pitcher led the league with a 1.13 earned run average over 40 innings pitched. His five wins were tied for third in the league as he finished with 32 strikeouts and 13 walks. His 1.08 WHIP was among the top such marks in the league, and opponents hit just .199 against him.

Best Defensive Player – Eddie McCabe (Danbury/Georgetown)
One of the league’s most productive shortstops also had one of the best gloves, as the Danbury and Georgetown product and starting shortstop for the South in the All-Star Game earned the league’s top defensive player accolade. He finished the year with a .942 fielding percentage at one of the most challenging spots on the diamond, committing only eight errors in 137 chances while totaling 49 putouts and 80 assists. He also helped turn 21 double plays, the most by an NECBL shortstop this season. Meanwhile at the plate, McCabe ranked fifth in the league with a .368 batting average, totaling 31 runs, 46 hits and 21 RBIs. His .445 on-base percentage was fourth-best in the league, as well.

Joe Nathan Top Relief Pitcher – Nathan Wrighter (Newport/Bryant)
He led the league in saves and ranked second in the league in total appearances by any pitcher; for that, Wrighter lay claim to the league’s top relief pitcher award named after the legendary Joe Nathan, an NECBL Hall of Famer who was one of the league’s first MLB debutants. In that span, Wrighter logged a 3-0 record with a 2.16 ERA, 28 strikeouts and only 10 walks allowed over 25 innings. Opponents hit just .186 against him while he recorded a WHIP of just 1.04 on the summer.

Rookie of the Year – Jackson Coutts (North Adams/URI)
After going nearly the entire first half with at least a hit in every game, the North Adams and URI product went on to finish the year ranked second in the league with a .376 batting average, and that – among other accomplishments – earned him the league’s Rookie of the Year award. Coutts would finish with 50 hits, 28 RBIs and 16 runs scored. He had a perfect fielding percentage in 21 games and 151 chances at first base and even appeared in nine games as a pitcher. The North Division All-Star finished with a .376/.423/.504 slashing line and an impressive .927 OPS.

Batting Champion – Cam Walsh (Plymouth/Northeastern)
The Plymouth and Northeastern product used a torrid second half of the season to rise up and claim the league’s batting title in a wild finish that saw him win it by two hundredths of a point. Walsh – an All-Star for the South – also finished with 33 runs scored, 54 total hits, four homers and 23 RBIs. He ranked fourth in runs and third in total hits while finishing the year with a .965 OPS thanks to a .524 slugging percentage and .441 on-base percentage. From July 10 onward, Walsh had five games with three or more hits and 10 multi-hit outings.

Most Improved Player – CJ Dandeneau (New Bedford/UConn)
What a difference a year makes! After finishing with a 7.66 ERA, 28 strikeouts over 24-2/3 innings and only one save last summer with Plymouth, Dandeneau – a UConn product – made the short trek south to New Bedford and became one of the league’s best relievers, finishing with a 1.22 ERA, six saves and 37 strikeouts over 22 innings. He was so good that he was named the South Division’s closer for the All-Star Game. He finished with a 1.23 WHIP while limiting opponents to a .198 average against, while his 15.136 K/9 ratio was one of the best marks in the league.

Joel Cooney Manager of the Year – John Raiola (Valley/Western New England)
Twice as nice! That was the case for Raiola, who helped lead Valley to a second straight NECBL title and the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup in dominant fashion this summer. The Blue Sox went 30-12 in the regular season and could have had a chance to tie the league’s record for wins in a regular season (32) if their last two games hadn’t been rained out. Still, they wouldn’t need them, as Valley went undefeated in the postseason for the second year in a row, sweeping Sanford in the Divisional Finals before knocking out Ocean State in successive fashion for the second straight summer to return to the mountaintop of the NECBL. For his efforts in leading the league’s most dominant team, Raiola – the pitching coach at nearby Western New England University – garners his first Joel Cooney Manager of the Year award.

Umpire of the Year – Steve Williams (United Collegiate Umpires)

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The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the NECBL started play in 1994 and is enjoying its 25th-year anniversary season this summer. The New England League has sent nearly 150 alumni to the Major Leagues and has had nearly 100 alumni drafted in each of the last 10 Major League Baseball Drafts. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on Twitter, Instagram and on Facebook.