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Lafayette's D'Angelis And Lehigh's Cerminaro Win Baseball's Major Awards
May 9, 2002
2002 Patriot League Baseball All-League Release
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. -- After helping Lehigh to its first-ever piece of the regular-season Patriot League baseball crown, Mountain Hawk hurlers Dave Cerminaro (Pottstown, Pa.) and Jack Muscalus (Harrisburg, Pa.) were honored as the Pitcher and Rookie of the Year, respectively, in a vote of the League's six head coaches. Also bringing home the hardware for an outstanding season is Lafayette senior third baseman Vince D'Angelis (Montvale, N.J.). Navy mentor Steve Whitmyer was selected as the Coach of the Year after guiding the Mids to their eighth PL regular-season title. D'Angelis, who was a second-team all-star in 2000, earns Player of the Year accolades after recording a .382 batting average in four contests this season, which places him second in the League. The senior third baseman also leads the PL in runs batted in with 47, including 22 of them in League action. In addition to his PL ranking in average and RBI, he is in the top five in the League in hits (58), runs scored (41), home runs (5) and slugging percentage (.586). The Lafayette slugger enters the League tourney with a .384 career average at the plate, .001 off of the League's career mark. In PL action this year, D'Angelis ripped 25 hits in 68 at-bats, including eight for extra bases. The senior accounted for 19 runs scored and 22 runs batted in. Rounding out his list of accolades in the 2002 season, D'Angelis was tabbed the Player of the Week to open the season on March 11. Cerminaro takes home Pitcher of the Year accolades after posting an 8-3 overall record with a 2.27 earned run average in 13 appearances this season. The senior fireballer leads the PL in strikeouts (57), complete games (8), shutouts (2), innings pitched (79.1) and wins (8) and is second in the League in ERA. Cerminaro's eight victories this season breaks the single-season school-record and is one off of the PL mark. He is 28th in the NCAA statistics in earned run average. The Lehigh righty was honored as the Pitcher of the Week in the final week of the season after helping the Mountain Hawks inch closer to a playoff berth. Cerminaro tossed a complete-game four-hitter in a 2-0 victory over Lafayette. The senior will likely end his career in the top 10 on several of the League's career charts, including strikeouts (174), victories (19) and earned run average (4.10). Muscalus has been a welcomed addition and a good compliment to Cerminaro for the LU pitching staff. In his first season in Bethlehem, Muscalus has been solid in League competition, registering a 4-1 record in five starts, including two shutouts. The freshman righthander allowed eight earned runs to cross the plate in PL action en route to a 2.20 ERA, which is fourth in the League. Overall, Muscalus was 7-3 in 11 appearances with a 3.54 earned run average. He is in the top 10 in the PL in ERA, wins, shutouts (2), opponents batting average (.256), complete games (5) and innings pitched (56.0). Whitmyer was honored by his peers as the Coach of the Year for the first time in his career after captaining the Mids to their fifth-straight regular-season title and eighth since joining the Patriot League in 1993. USNA heads into the playoffs with a 20-23 overall record and a 13-7 mark in League play. The Midshipmen lead the League in pitching with a 4.14 earned run average with four shutouts. Joining D'Angelis and Cerminaro on the All-League first-team this season is three-time all-star Tye Gonser (The Dalles, Ore.), a senior outfielder from Lafayette, who makes the jump to first-team after second-team appearances in 1999 and 2001. The lone student-athlete to make a repeat appearance on the first-team squad is Holy Cross junior catcher Dale Johnson (Beecher, Ill.). Lafayette has a League-best four players on the All-League first-team. In addition to D'Angelis and Gonser, junior first baseman Matt Tambellini (Millville, N.J.) and rookie designated hitter Adam Bucci (Trumbull, Conn.) also received a first-team nod. Tambellini ripped 33 hits this year to go along with his 21 runs batted in and 16 runs scored, while Bucci posted a .310 average at the plate with eight doubles. Navy, Army and Bucknell placed two student-athletes each on the first-team. For the Mids, sophomore starter Andy Froistad (St. Paul, Minn.) and senior reliever Bryan Koehler (Lutz, Fla.) take home top honors. Froistad leads the League and is 26th nationally in earned run average with a 2.19 mark in 11 appearances. Army's recipients include senior second baseman Miguel Gastellum (Tucson, Ariz.) and junior outfielder Josh Holden (Hudson, Ohio), both of which are two of the League's top base-stealers. Rounding out the list of honorees from Bucknell are senior shortstop Larry Scheetz (Newtown, Pa.) and fourth-year outfielder Eric Fishman (Springfield, N.J.). Headlining the All-League second-team are Bucknell senior reliever Gregg Farmery (Punxsutawney, Pa.), who is a two-time first-team honoree, and Army senior outfielder Kyle Kalkwarf (San Antonio, Texas), who was named to the first-team squad in 2001. Farmery tied with Fordham's Bill Conkling as the Patriot League's all-time saves leader with 14 holds. Lehigh placed four student-athletes on the second-team, including Muscalus, senior shortstop Anthony Piccola (Freehold Boro, N.J.), sophomore third baseman Jesse Novalis (Florham Park, N.J.) and junior outfielder Jeremy Mack (Coopersburg, Pa.). Novalis earned national recognition this season when he was named the national Co-Hitter of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association (NCBWA) after tying the PL single-game record with six hits versus Moravian. Topping the list of Navy second-team honorees is junior starter Rich McDevitt (Albany, N.Y.), senior outfielder John Cocca (Whitehall, Pa.) and rookie outfielder Pete Curnow (Morristown, N.J.). Cocca earns second-team accolades for the second year in a row and leads the League in stolen bases with 29. In addition to Kalkwarf, Army senior designated hitter Brandon Boyce (Temecula, Calif.) was tabbed a second-teamer. Three Lafayette sophomores complete the second-team list, led by starter Marcus Ward (New Tripoli, Pa.), catcher Craig Alexander (Fairport, N.Y.) and second baseman Jason Boyd (Littletown, Pa.). Alexander is making his second-straight appearance on the second-team squad. 2002 Patriot League Baseball All-League Team
First-Team
Second-Team
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Vince D'Angelis, Lafayette, Sr., Third Baseman
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