SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Student-athletes from all nine institutions that sponsor baseball in the Commonwealth Coast Conference were represented on the 2012 All-CCC Baseball Team, it was announced today by Commissioner Gregg M. Kaye.

Curry College placed seven student-athletes on the all-conference squad: Junior outfielder Sam Barron earned All-CCC First Team honors; junior catcher Matt Rodriguez and junior outfielder Shayne McDonald earned All-CCC Second Team honors; and senior second baseman David Stevens, senior shortstop Carlos Cornejo, sophomore outfielder Kyle Connors and senior pitcher Matt Drew earned All-CCC Honorable Mention honors. 

In addition to the all-conference team, winners of five major individual awards and the team sportsmanship award were also selected. Western New England junior Tim Clark was selected CCC Player of the Year, Western New England sophomore Brendan Nugent was named CCC Pitcher of the Year, Western New England freshman Trevor Breton was chosen CCC Rookie of the Year, Salve Regina’s Nicholas Politelli was honored as CCC Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year, Western New England’s Matt LaBranche was selected as CCC Coach of the Year and Gordon College was the recipient of the Team Sportsmanship Award.

Voting for the All-CCC team and each of the major awards was conducted among CCC baseball coaches.

Joining Clark (second base), Nugent and Breton (pitchers) on the first team included catcher Dominic Di Sano (Salve Regina), first baseman Colin Sitarz (Endicott), third baseman Mike Rubino (Western New England), shortstop Kyle McKelvey (Western New England), outfielders Matt Anthonis (Western New England), Barron (Curry), Tad Gold (Endicott) and Alex Wong (Wentworth), designated hitter Max Pugh (Eastern Nazarene) and pitcher Mark DiTommaso (Western New England).

Wong was also named a second team selection as a pitcher.  Accompanying him on the second team All-CCC
selections were catcher Rodriguez (Curry), first baseman Eric Wolak (Gordon), second baseman Joe Haley (Salve Regina), third baseman Dan Mello (Endicott), shortstop John Oppenhimer (Roger Williams), outfielders Mike Chiaradio (Eastern Nazarene), McDonald (Curry), Mike Russo (Endicott) and Jeff Schult (Western New England), designated hitter Eric Lemke (Endicott), and pitchers Sean Boyle (Roger Williams) and Mike Nich (Endicott).

In addition to Politelli (first base), honorable mention selections were catchers Robert Goldstick (Endicott) and Jake Mailman (Wentworth), first baseman Trevor Manzi (Roger Williams), second basemen Stevens (Curry) and Jon Spitz (Wentworth), third baseman Steve Doyle (Eastern Nazarene), shortstops Anthony Berroa (Eastern Nazarene) and Cornejo (Curry), outfielders Matt Capone (Salve Regina) and Connors (Curry), designated hitter James Burrell (Gordon), and pitchers Drew (Curry), Connor McLaughlin (Endicott), Benjamin Petrides (Endicott), Tyler Shute (Nichols) and Brian Harrington (Gordon). Harrington also earn honorable mention as a third baseman.

Clark, a junior second baseman from West Springfield, Mass., was a vital component for a potent Golden Bear lineup which led the league in nearly every offensive category. He enjoyed a solid year at the plate as he batted .419 (57-for-136) to top all CCC players and is ranked 51st among all NCAA Division III baseball players as of the latest statistical rankings (April 29). He also placed in the top six among CCC leaders in several statistical categories, including second in hits (57), total bases (77) and slugging percentage (.566), tied for third in triples (4), tied for fourth in RBI (35), and sixth in on-base-percentage (.451).

Nugent, a sophomore native of Milford, Conn., posted a 2.42 ERA and a 6-1 overall, while ranking seventh in strikeouts (34) and fourth in innings pitched (52) among CCC pitchers. His record was good enough to be tied for the top spot among league pitchers. Three of Nugent’s wins came in conference play, with his only loss of the season coming against national powerhouse Wheaton (Mass.), which was ranked second in the Collegiate Baseball Top-30 (April 24). He also held opposing batters to a .247 batting average, which ranked fourth in the league.

Breton, a freshman from Enfield, Conn., posted an impressive 1.99 ERA to go along with a 6-1 overall record (tied-3rd), topping the league in each category, striking out 36 batters in just 45.1 innings of work to rank fifth in strikeouts and eighth in innings pitched among conference pitchers. The rookie held opposing batters to a stingy .178 batting average, allowing just 27 hits in 45.1 innings, which was the best among CCC pitchers.

Politelli, a first baseman out of Warwick, R.I., sports an impressive 3.76 grade point average as an English major, which is the highest among current senior male scholar-athletes at Salve Regina. In addition to being named CCC Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year, his efforts have earned him the recognition of Distinguished Senior Scholar Athlete at Salve Regina and a nomination for Academic All-America. Politelli has earned CCC All-Academic honors each year he has been eligible. In addition to being an outstanding student, Politelli has batted .336 (40-for-119), with seven doubles, 21 runs scored and 11 RBI to help the Seahawks earn the #6 seed in the upcoming CCC Tournament.

In his 13th season as head coach of the Golden Bears, LaBranche is earning his second consecutive CCC Coach of the Year recognition. The Golden Bears enter the tournament as the top seed for the second time since joining the league in 2008, posting a league record of 15-1 while compiling an overall record of 29-10. LaBranche leads a squad that ranked fifth in last week’s NCAA DIII Regional Rankings (April 24th). Among NCAA DIII programs, WNE ranks fourth in batting average (.345), seventh in scoring (8.8), runs (333) and hits (456).

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