American East Conference

Half of 2019 #AEBASE Major Awards Handed to Pitchers on Eve of Championship

5/21/2019 7:00:00 PM

Vestal, N.Y. – The 2019 All-Conference teams and major award winners were recognized Tuesday night at the Binghamton Events Center ahead of the 2019 America East Baseball Championship.
 
Three teams were represented by major award winners, as Stony Brook junior Nick Grande was named Len Harlow Player of the Year, Binghamton pitchers Ben Anderson and Thomas Babalis earned Pitcher of the Year and Rookie of the year honors, respectively, and UAlbany Head Coach Jon Mueller was recognized as the Coach of the Year.
 
The 2019 #AEBASE awards, along with the All-Conference teams, were determined in a vote by the league's seven head coaches who were not permitted to vote for their own players.
 
Complete awards listing.
 
Len Harlow Player of the Year
Nick Grande, Jr., SS, Stony Brook

• Leads all players with 54 runs, 63 hits and a .450 on-base percentage.
• Ranks in the top-five in batting average, slugging percentage, doubles and stolen bases.
• Grande hit .375 in league play and led the conference in total bases during that span.
• The junior helped the Seawolves to their first regular season crown since 2015.
• He is the sixth Seawolf to be named Player of the Year and third in the past six years.

 
Pitcher of the Year
Ben Anderson, Jr., RHP, Binghamton

• Ranks in the conference’s top-three in wins, ERA, innings pitched and strikeouts.
• Anderson became the seventh pitcher in league history to strike out 100 batters in a single season (104).
• His eight wins are the most among America East hurlers.
• The junior also leads the league with three complete games, all of which were accomplished in conference games.
• Anderson is the sixth Binghamton pitcher all-time to be named Pitcher of the Year and third in the last four years.

 
Rookie of the Year
Thomas Babalis, Fr., LHP, Binghamton

• Led the league with a 2.56 ERA during league play en route to a 3-1 record.
• His 3.07 season ERA ranks third among Bearcats pitchers.
• The southpaw held opponents to a .210 batting average, striking out 32 batters in 44 innings pitched.
• He was named Rookie of the Week three times this season.
• A unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year and the first Bearcat to win the award since 2009.

 
Coach of the Year
Jon Mueller, UAlbany

• Guided UAlbany to its best finish since 2012, earning the second seed and a bye in the championship.
• The Great Danes hit a league-best .285 in conference play.
• They also led all teams with 130 runs, winning 14 games, their most since 2013.
• In his 20^th season, Mueller coached the Great Danes to 28 wins overall, their most since 2007.
• He is the Coach of the Year for the second time in his career and first time since 2004.

 
The 2019 America East Baseball Championship begins on Wednesday with No. 4 UMass Lowell vs. No. 5 Maine at 11 a.m. The next matchup will feature No. 3 Binghamton vs. No. 6 Hartford at 2:30 p.m. followed by an elimination game at 6 p.m. The top-two seeds will play on Thursday against the two winners from games one and two. No. 1 Stony Brook begins the day at 11 a.m. followed by No. 2 UAlbany at 2:30 p.m. and an elimination game after. Friday’s schedule includes three more games with Saturday playing host to the championship game(s). All early round action will be broadcast on AmericaEast.tv and the championship game(s) will be on ESPN+ on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
Stay up-to-date on the tournament by visiting Championship Central for streaming and live stats links as well as box scores, highlights and recaps following each day in addition to team information, tournament history and more.
 
Follow @AmericaEast and @AEDigitalNet on Twitter to get the real-time championship updates. Use the #AEChamps and #AEBASE hashtags to join the conversation.
 
About America East: The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field.