Vermont’s Miguel Magrass (West Roxbury, Mass/Salisbury) earns the final America East Player of the Week award of the 2005 season, while Adam Ottavino (Brooklyn, NY/Berkeley Carroll) of Northeastern garners his first Pitcher of the Week award of the 2005 season. and UMBC’s Steve Russo (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley) takes home his second Rookie of the Week award of the season. The awards were handed out on Monday (May 23).
Magrass hit .438 for the week but most importantly, he hit .500 (6-for-12) with five RBI in three-game sweep of Albany. His dramatic, game-ending two-run, two-out single in the bottom of the seventh gave Vermont a 3-2 win over UA in Friday’s second game to clinch a spot in the America East Baseball Championship. Saturday, he went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, and RBI, two runs scored, and three stolen bases. He doubled in the ninth and scored the winning run as UVM again won in its last at bat to earn a share of second place. Magrass also hit a mammoth three-run homer against Connecticut.
Ottavino continued to dominate America East, shutting out Stony Brook over seven innings and allowing just one hit in a 5-0 win. His 11 strikeouts have moved him within four of NU’s school record 105 punchouts in a season. He is now 6-0 with a 1.96 ERA and 67 strikeouts in conference play.
Russo recorded an outstanding week as the rookie shortstop hit .500, slugged .929 and held an on-base percentage of .611. Russo scored and recorded at least one RBI in all four games last week, including tallying three multi-hit games during the Hartford series. Russo hit a two-run homerun in UMBC’s 4-2 loss to George Washington to open the week. Russo went on to record three doubles, score five runs and drive in four in the three-game sweep of Hartford, leading UMBC to their first conference series sweep since joining the league last year. Russo with the stellar week bumped his average up to .311 on the year.