Player summaries courtesy Maine, Hartford and Vermont Sports Information
Four America East players were named to the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association All-New England Division I All-Star team announced recently. Maine's Joel Barrett (Brewer, Maine/Brewer) was a first-team selection, while fellow Black Bear Curt Smith (Willemstad, Curacao/Peter Stuyvesant) along with Hartford's Ben Sobocinski (Waldorf, Md./McDonough) and Vermont's Bryan Rembisz (Clinton, Conn./Westbrook) were each named to the squad as second-team honorees. All players selected to the teams are invited to play in the NEIBA All-Star game at Fenway Park on July 22.
Barrett, the lone America East player named to the first team, hit .372 for the Black Bears his senior season with 40 runs scored and 44 RBI. He had 18 doubles and eight home runs. Barrett finished the season with a .587 slugging percentage and a .452 on-base percentage. He was one of just two players to play in all 53 games this season. Barrett was named to the America East Second Team.
Smith, who was named to the All-New England first team in 2006, hit .351 for Maine this season with team-highs in both runs scored with 46 and in RBI with 48. He hit 12 doubles, five triples and eight home runs. Smith had a .576 slugging percentage this season and was a perfect 9-of-9 in stolen bases. He was also named to the America East Second Team and to the America East All-Tournament Team.
Sobocinski an infielder / pitcher for the Hawks finished the 2007 baseball season leading the team in batting average (.333), hits (62) and had the lowest earned run average amongst all pitchers (2.61). He served as the teams closer recording the only two saves of the season and was named to the America East All-Conference Second Team for his play at second base.
On the mound, Rembisz led the America East with a 2.05 earned run average and was second in the conference averaging 10.11 strikeouts per nine innings to rank among the NCAA leaders in both categories. In 70.1 innings, he struck out 79 hitters while walking just 17 and opponents hit only .233 against him, fourth best in the America East. Rembisz led the Catamounts in batting average at .316 while hitting a team-high .341 in 23 conference games.