New England Baseball All-Stars, Freshmen All-Americans From America East Honored

New England Baseball All-Stars, Freshmen All-Americans From America East Honored

Bookmark and Share

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- Five America East baseball student-athletes were recognized over the last week at both the regional and national levels, and three of them will play in the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association's All-Star Game tonight at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, Mass.

University of Vermont's Matt Duffy (Milton, Mass.) and Mark Micowski (Haddam, Conn.) were named to the first and second New England All-Star Teams, respectively, while University of Maine's Kevin McAvoy (Brewer, Maine) joined Duffy on the first team. All three will compete for the University Team who will take on the College Team in tonight's All-Star Game beginning at 7 p.m. A trophy ceremony will precede first pitch. 

Maine freshman designated hitter Ian Leisenheimer (Middle Village, N.Y.) and Binghamton rookie first baseman David Ciocchi (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) earned spots on the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Team as announced by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Wednesday. 

Duffy, a sophomore shortstop, and McAvoy, a senior outfielder, were both named to the America East First Team last month, while Micowski, a sophomore outfielder, was a second-team selection. Leisenheimer was tabbed an America East All-Rookie pick.

The 2009 America East Player of the Year, Duffy led the conference and ranked among the leaders in several offensive categories. He was UVM's first America East batting champion since 2002 with a .388 average while also leading the league in runs batted in (57), runs scored (57), slugging percentage (.713) and on base percentage (.495). He tied the UVM single-season record with 13 homers while setting new school marks for RBI and runs scored. A good fielder with an excellent arm, Duffy was also a finalist for the 2009 Brooks Wallace National Shortstop of the Year Award.

McAvoy, who was recently named to the America East First Team, had an outstanding senior season for the Black Bears. He led Maine and was third in America East with a .379 batting average. McAvoy scored 41 runs and drove in 39. He had 15 doubles, 10 home runs and one triple. McAvoy had a .649 slugging percentage and finished with a .988 fielding percentage. He recorded his 200th career hit on the season and finishes his career with 228 hits. McAvoy was named the America East Player of the Week on March 23. He also had a 19-game hitting streak midway through the season.

Micowski had an excellent season as Vermont's centerfielder and leadoff hitter. His .365 batting average was second on the Catamounts and fifth in the conference. He led the America East with a school-record 80 hits, tied for second in runs scored (55) and triples (4), and was second in stolen bases (28). He also equaled the UVM program-record with a 16-game hitting streak during the month of March.

Leisenheimer saw action in 47 games for the Black Bears, starting 43. He finished second on the team in batting with a .356 average. He scored 28 runs and drove in a team-high 41 RBI. Leisenheimer had two triples, four doubles and five home runs. He had a .500 slugging percentage and a .414 on-base percentage.  Leisenheimer was a four-time America East Rookie of the Week selection this season.

Ciocchi, the 2009 America East Rookie of the Year, was especially productive in conference play, helping the Bearcats win their third straight regular season title with a 13-3 record. He hit .455 with 27 RBI in 20 games against America East opponents and was the lone freshman position player named all-conference. Ciocchi had 56 hits and 41 RBI in 44 games and only committed eight errors in 363 chances in the field.