Merrimack Sophomore Frank Crinella Named 2014 Northeast-10 Baseball Player of the Year

Merrimack Sophomore Frank Crinella Named 2014 Northeast-10 Baseball Player of the Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 7, 2014

Southern Connecticut senior righty Rocco
Cundari voted Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Year

SOUTH EASTON, Mass. – The Northeast-10 Conference announced its 2014 Baseball All-Conference Teams on Wednesday morning, as Merrimack College sophomore Frank Crinella has been named the Northeast-10 Player of the Year and Southern Connecticut State University senior Rocco Cundari has been selected as the Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Year, as voted upon by the league's head coaches.

For the complete list of All-Conference selections and major award winners, please see below.

Crinella, a Springfield, Mass. native, finished his season second among conference leaders in hitting with a .401 average, tied for first with 40 RBI and fifth with six home runs. He also ranked first in the Northeast-10 in on-base percentage (.493), slugging percentage (.651), runs (53), hits (69) and triples (6).

Named First Team All-Conference at third base, Crinella also stole 28 bases in 29 attempts and walked (26) more than he struck out (25) in 42 games for the Warriors. It marks the second straight year Merrimack has produced the conference's Player of the Year, as former Warrior Casey Cotter won last year's major individual honor.

Cundari, a 6-1 right-hander from Norwalk, Conn., helped lead the Owls to the 2014 Northeast-10 Southwest Division title. In 11 games (nine starts) spanning 74.1 innings, he has gone 5-2 with a 0.85 ERA while registering 63 strikeouts to just 15 walks. He also has four complete games entering Northeast-10 Championship play.

Cundari, who also earned a First Team selection, did not allow more than two earned runs in any of his nine starts and went at least seven innings in eight of the nine starts. He also managed to record the save in each of his two relief appearances on the year.

University of New Haven shortstop Tom Walraven and Southern New Hampshire University reliever Benjamin Criscuolo were voted Northeast-10 Co-Rookies of the Year.

Walraven is hitting .318 and has posted a .400 OBP through 32 games for the Chargers, who received a No. 2 seed in the Northeast-10 Championship. The rookie has scored 18 runs and driven in 16 on the season, while stealing nine bases in as many attempts and striking out just nine times in 129 at-bats. The Pine Bush, N.Y. native also received Third Team honors.

Criscuolo, a Branford, Conn. native, is currently tied for the league lead in saves (12) entering championship action on Wednesday. Over 21 appearances for the Penmen, who won a share of the Northeast Division regular-season crown, the 6-1 right-hander owns a miniscule 0.59 ERA with 41 strikeouts and just seven walks in 30.2 innings (12.03 K/9). The freshman also has a 5-0 record and was a First Team All-Conference selection.

So. New Hampshire sixth-year man Scott Loiseau was voted the Bob Bellizzi Northeast-10 Coach of the Year by his peers, having led the Penmen to their third straight 35-plus win season and a top seed in the Northeast-10 Championship. Loiseau's team went 20-7 in conference-play, 15-6 in its division and had 10 student-athletes receive All-Conference recognition, including three on the First Team.

The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 15 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,000 student-athletes. Each year, 4,000 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.

First Team
C – Matt Walsh, Franklin Pierce (Jr., Plymouth, Mass.)
1B – Zach Collett, New Haven (Jr., Westbrook, Maine)
2B – Nick Baviello, Southern Connecticut (Jr., Orange, Conn.)
3B – Frank Crinella, Merrimack (So., Springfield, Mass.)
SS – Will Brennan, Bentley (Sr., Locust Valley, N.Y.)
OF – Cliff Brantley, Adelphi (Jr., Staten Island, N.Y.)
OF – Calvin Graves, Franklin Pierce (Sr., Boston, Mass.)
OF – Matt Burns, Southern Connecticut (So., Cheshire, Conn.)
OF – Brendan O'Brien, Southern New Hampshire (Sr., East Bridgewater, Mass.)
DH – Richard Mejia, Adelphi (Sr., Jackson, N.J.)
UTIL – Brendon Buckley, New Haven (Sr., Monroe, Conn.)
SP – Conor Gleason, Franklin Pierce (Jr., North Stonington, Conn.)
SP – Rocco Cundari, Southern Connecticut (Sr., RHP, Norwalk, Conn.)
SP – Derrick Sylvester, Southern New Hampshire (Sr., RHP, Franklin, N.H.)
SP – Jim Duff, Stonehill (Jr., RHP, Garden City, N.Y.)
RP – Benjamin Criscuolo, Southern New Hampshire (Fr., RHP, Branford, Conn.)

Second Team
C – T.J. Riccio, New Haven (So., Port Jeff Station, N.Y.)
1B – Zac Bellinger, Saint Rose (Jr., Elmira, N.Y.)
2B – Kyle Hood, Franklin Pierce (Fr., Arlington, Mass.)
3B – Riley Palmer, Southern New Hampshire (Sr., Goffstown, N.H.)
SS – Manny Cruz, Southern New Hampshire (Fr., Wolcott, Conn.)
OF – Sean Keady, Bentley (Sr., Norwood, Mass.)
OF – Nate Reynolds, Le Moyne (Sr., Johnson City, N.Y.)
OF – Chris DeMorais, New Haven (Sr., West Hartford, Conn.)
OF – Billy Karalis, Stonehill (Sr., Pawtucket, R.I.)
DH – Sean O'Neill, Merrimack (So., Norwood, Mass.)
UTIL – Ysander Figueroa, Assumption (Sr., Worcester, Mass.)
SP – Brendan O'Rourke, Franklin Pierce (Jr., Shrewsbury, Mass.)
SP – Conner McMahon, Merrimack (Sr., LHP, Westfield, Mass.)
SP – Tim Viehoff, Southern New Hampshire (Fr., LHP, Derry, N.H.)
SP – Zach Soulier, Stonehill (Sr., LHP, Milford, Conn.)
RP – Armand Rugel, Stonehill (Jr., RHP, Middletown, R.I.)

Third Team
C – T.J. Shea, Southern Connecticut (Sr., Hamden, Conn.)
1B – Alejandra Diaz, Southern New Hampshire (Jr., Old Bridge, N.J.)
2B – Michael Mastroberti, Southern New Hampshire (Jr., Ramsey, N.J.)
3B – Greg O'Donnell, Assumption (Jr., Northbridge, Mass.)
SS – Tom Walraven, New Haven (Fr., Pine Bush, N.Y.)
OF – Tom Nagy, Bentley (Sr., Fairfield, Conn.)
OF – John Razzino, Franklin Pierce (Jr., Cranston, R.I.)
OF – Kyle Cullen, New Haven (Jr., Dumont, N.J.)
OF – Al Stanton, Southern New Hampshire (Sr., Sandwich, Mass.)
DH – Trey West, Le Moyne (So., Fairport, N.Y.)
UTIL – T.K. Kiernan, Southern Connecticut (Sr., Wallingford, Conn.)
SP – Harrison Paige, American International (So., Springfield, Mass.)
SP – Ryan O'Connor, Bentley (Jr., LHP, Newburyport, Mass.)
SP – Pat Simone, New Haven (Sr., LHP, Branford, Conn.)
SP – Mike Robert, Southern New Hampshire (Fr., LHP, Nashua, N.H.)
RP – Mike Yerina, Southern Connecticut (So., RHP, Trumbull, Conn.)

All-Rookie Team
Eric Hassell, Adelphi (OF, Massapequa, N.Y.)
TJ Santiago, Adelphi (RHP, Linden, N.J.)
Mike Gentile, American International (LHP, Windsor Locks, Conn.)
Mike Coggeshall, Assumption (IF, Shrewsbury, Mass.)
Kyle Hood, Franklin Pierce (SS, Arlington, Mass.)
Chris LaVorgna, Franklin Pierce (OF, North Haven, Conn.)
Ryan O'Kane, Le Moyne (RHP, Memphis, N.Y.)
Damian Powers, Le Moyne (RHP, Williamsville, N.Y.)
Cam DiSarcina, Merrimack (IF/OF, Shirley, Mass.)
Joe Velozo, Merrimack (LHP, Tewksbury, Mass.)
Tom Walraven, New Haven (SS, Pine Bush, N.Y.)
Dylan Lavery, Saint Michael's (RHP, Billerica, Mass.)
Alex Winkelmann, Saint Michael's (LHP, Gilford, N.H.)
Jordan Hamler, Southern Connecticut (RHP, Waterford, Conn.)
Ethan Joyce, Southern Connecticut (SS, Exeter, N.H.)
Ben Criscuolo, Southern New Hampshire (RHP, Branford, Conn.)
Manny Cruz, Southern New (SS, Wolcott, Conn.)
Alex Person, Southern New Hampshire (RHP, Foxboro, Mass.)
Michael Robert, Southern New Hampshire (LHP, Nashua, N.H.)
Tim Viehoff, Southern New Hampshire (LHP, Derry, N.H.)
Jeremy Roberts, Stonehill (LHP, Reading, Mass.)

Player of the Year –
Frank Crinella, Merrimack
Pitcher of the Year –
Rocco Cundari, Southern Connecticut
Co-Rookies of the Year –
Tom Walraven, New Haven/Benjamin Criscuolo, Southern New Hampshire
Bob Bellizzi Coach of the Year –
Scott Loiseau, Southern New Hampshire

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