Post by wgt on May 23, 2006 20:31:14 GMT -5
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - St. Bonaventure has claimed two of the top post-season baseball awards given by the Atlantic 10 Conference as junior first baseman Brian Pellegrini was named the 2006 A-10 Player of the Year and Larry Sudbrook was named the Coach of the Year.
Three of Pellegrini's teammates join him on the All-Conference team: junior left fielder Joe Rizzo was named to the first team while senior pitchers Matt Agostinelli and John Zinnicker were both named to the second team.
In addition, sophomore center fielder Randy Moley was named to the 11-man Academic All-Conference team.
A-10 Coach of the Year Larry Sudbrook
The awards come as St. Bonaventure prepares to open the A-10 Championship tournament on Thursday. The Bonnies (26-19) finished second in the conference in the regular season to earn an opening round bye in the tournament. Sudbrook's club set a school record with 18 wins in Atlantic 10 play, finishing 18-8. In the A-10's pre-season coaches poll, St. Bonaventure was picked to finish seventh out of 14 teams.
Pellegrini is the first St. Bonaventure player to be named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year. Sudbrook, who is in his 21st season as the Bonnies' head coach, earned his second A-10 Coach of the Year honor. He previously was tabbed in 2000.
Pellegrini leads the A-10 in batting (.387) and on-base percentage (.490) and ranks second in the conference in home runs (12), RBI (54) and slugging percentage (.685). The 6-foot-1, 240-lb. Pellegrini has 14 doubles, six stolen bases and has scored a team-high 44 runs. He also has been charged with only three errors in his first season at first base. Pellegrini has played the entire season with a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder which prevented him from pitching, as he did the first two seasons of his college career. Pellegrini, whose 30 career home runs is only one shy of the school record, was a second team All-Conference selection both his freshman and sophomore seasons.
Rizzo's season has been nearly as productive as Pellegrini's. The lefthander ranks third in the conference in home runs with 10, fourth in RBI (49) and seventh in slugging (.561). Rizzo is batting .306 with 10 doubles and two triples and has scored 29 runs.
In his first full season in the starting rotation, Zinnicker has set career highs in every statistical category. He enters the A-10 Tournament with a record of 7-2 and a 2.59 ERA. Zinnicker, who has won his last six decisions, has 56 strikeouts against only 22 walks in 76 innings.
Agostinelli has emerged as the Bonnies' top relief pitcher. He is 3-0 with four saves and a 2.64 ERA. He has tied the school record with 21 appearances and has logged a total of 47-2/3 innings. The 6-foot Agostinelli also is batting .268 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 19 games as a third baseman.
Moley, who is a management sciences major with better than a 3.9 grade point average, is batting .367 in his first season as a starter. The Bonnies' leadoff hitter has stolen 13 bases and scored 42 runs.
St. Bonaventure's four All-Conference players is an all-time high for the program. The Bonnies have had two or more players named to the All-Conference team in baseball six of the past seven seasons.
In the other major awards, Steve Holmes of Rhode Island was named the Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year while Charlotte's Aaron Bray and Mike Ambrose were tabbed Rookie of the Year and Student-Athlete of the Year, respectively.
Three of Pellegrini's teammates join him on the All-Conference team: junior left fielder Joe Rizzo was named to the first team while senior pitchers Matt Agostinelli and John Zinnicker were both named to the second team.
In addition, sophomore center fielder Randy Moley was named to the 11-man Academic All-Conference team.
A-10 Coach of the Year Larry Sudbrook
The awards come as St. Bonaventure prepares to open the A-10 Championship tournament on Thursday. The Bonnies (26-19) finished second in the conference in the regular season to earn an opening round bye in the tournament. Sudbrook's club set a school record with 18 wins in Atlantic 10 play, finishing 18-8. In the A-10's pre-season coaches poll, St. Bonaventure was picked to finish seventh out of 14 teams.
Pellegrini is the first St. Bonaventure player to be named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year. Sudbrook, who is in his 21st season as the Bonnies' head coach, earned his second A-10 Coach of the Year honor. He previously was tabbed in 2000.
Pellegrini leads the A-10 in batting (.387) and on-base percentage (.490) and ranks second in the conference in home runs (12), RBI (54) and slugging percentage (.685). The 6-foot-1, 240-lb. Pellegrini has 14 doubles, six stolen bases and has scored a team-high 44 runs. He also has been charged with only three errors in his first season at first base. Pellegrini has played the entire season with a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder which prevented him from pitching, as he did the first two seasons of his college career. Pellegrini, whose 30 career home runs is only one shy of the school record, was a second team All-Conference selection both his freshman and sophomore seasons.
Rizzo's season has been nearly as productive as Pellegrini's. The lefthander ranks third in the conference in home runs with 10, fourth in RBI (49) and seventh in slugging (.561). Rizzo is batting .306 with 10 doubles and two triples and has scored 29 runs.
In his first full season in the starting rotation, Zinnicker has set career highs in every statistical category. He enters the A-10 Tournament with a record of 7-2 and a 2.59 ERA. Zinnicker, who has won his last six decisions, has 56 strikeouts against only 22 walks in 76 innings.
Agostinelli has emerged as the Bonnies' top relief pitcher. He is 3-0 with four saves and a 2.64 ERA. He has tied the school record with 21 appearances and has logged a total of 47-2/3 innings. The 6-foot Agostinelli also is batting .268 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 19 games as a third baseman.
Moley, who is a management sciences major with better than a 3.9 grade point average, is batting .367 in his first season as a starter. The Bonnies' leadoff hitter has stolen 13 bases and scored 42 runs.
St. Bonaventure's four All-Conference players is an all-time high for the program. The Bonnies have had two or more players named to the All-Conference team in baseball six of the past seven seasons.
In the other major awards, Steve Holmes of Rhode Island was named the Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year while Charlotte's Aaron Bray and Mike Ambrose were tabbed Rookie of the Year and Student-Athlete of the Year, respectively.
