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2008 All-Gotham Team: Div II & III Squad |
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Written by Chip Armonaitis
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Tuesday, 30 September 2008 |
Selecting the All Gotham Teams is hard. Selecting the All Gotham
Division II & III team, well, it makes picking the Division I team
seem easy. Trying to determine who is the best – after taking into
account level of competition – is no easy task. Division II versus
Division III is a rough comparision, especially in Gotham where the
BEAST of the EAST, the New Jersey Athletic Conference resides.
Lou Politan – First Base – Montclair State
A .388 batting average, with three home runs and 33 runs batted in earned Politan All NJAC and All ECAC Metro honors for his senior season. A 1.082 OPS, thanks to an on-base percentage of .505, is evidence of the offensive presence Politan gave the Red Hawks, who qualified for the NCAA once again in 2008.
Honorable Mention: Tommy Maloney (Molloy); Bill Kropp (TCNJ)
Jhonny Reyes – Second Base –Lehman
Reyes led Lehman with a .468 batting average, with 44 steals in 48 attempts, earning him CUNYAC and ECAC Metro honors. The senior second baseman slugged 12 doubles, five triples and a home run en route to a .648 slugging percentage, and an OPS of 1.185.
Honorable Mention: Matt Connors (Rutgers-Newark); Adam Tussey (TCNJ), Mike Moceri (Kean)
Jeff Toth – Shortstop – The College of New Jersey
A member of the ECAC Metro Division III All Star team and a New Jersey Athletic Conference First Team seletection, Toth is one of the highest rated Division III players in the country. The junior batted .353 with 38 RBIs, nine doubles, three triples, six home runs and is 21-24 on stolen bases. Toth, who added a .563 slugging percentage this year, also scored 45 runs, connecting on 55 hits with 31 walks and was 21-24 on stolen base tries.
Honorable Mention: Maikel DeLaRosa (Kean);
Richard Gomez – Third Base – City College of New York
Despite playing in the weak City University Athletic Conference, it is impossible to leave Gomez off the All Gotham team following a season where he hit .505, good for fifth in Division III. Gomez, the CUNYAC Player of the Year, slugged eight home runs and had a slugging percentage of .847 (good for 7th in DIII) , with an on-base percentage, and a on-base percentage of .554 (17th nationally.)
Honorable Mention: Chris Nastasi (John Jay); Stephen Piscitello (Montclair State); Vince Mazzacarro (TCNJ): Colin Barnathan (Dowling)
Derek Gianakas– Outfielder - – Kean University
The leader of the Cougars potent offense, you can not blame Gianakas for Kean’s elimination in the College World Series. Slugging 12 home runs while hitting .350 and driving in 50 runs in 50 games, Gianakas was the ECAC Division III Metro Player of the Year, as well as the NJAC Player of the Year.
Mike Guadango – Outfielder – William Paterson University
A member of the 2008 American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-America Second Team, ABCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region First Team and the New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association (NJCBA) Division II/III All-State First Team, the outfielder has been named to the New Jersey Athletic Conference’s (NJAC) All-First Team each of his two seasons as a Pioneer.
Shows you what a .435 batting average, with eight home runs and 59 RBI will do for a guy.
Adric Saxon – Outfield (Caldwell)
With 10 home runs and 42 runs batted in, Saxon was the power source in the Cougars offense, despite being the best known quantity after a superb 2007 season.
Honorable Mention: Bryan Burke (Kean); Eric Ammirato (Kean); Ed Kloepping (Montclair State);
Marcos Torres – Catcher – (Felician)
Hitting .365 while assuming the catching responsibilities is one way to get yourself noticed in a hurry. The sophomore from Miami continues Felician’s emergence as a Division II baseball program on the rise in Gotham.
Honorable Mention: Jeff Miller, Montclair State; Chris Irwin (Molloy); Jack Cawley (Pace)
Joe Bartlinski – Starting Pitcher (Kean)
The ace of the Kean pitching staff went 8-3 with a 3.01 ERA while facing the best of the NJAC. The sophomore is a key reason that the Squires were able to make a return trip the DIII CWS, defending last year’s title. Bartlinski limited hitters to a .209 batting average while striking out 80 in 83 innings.
Honorable Mention: Tom Paglione (Kean); Bob Buskett (TCNJ); Mike Oliver (TCNJ); Scot VanNess (Felician)
Joe Brescia - Reliever – (Felician)
With seven saves and 1-0 record, Brescia limited opposing hitters to a .180 batting average, in 16 appearances for the Golden Falcons. No closer was better, at any level.
Honorable Mention: Brandon Aiche (Kean)
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 30 September 2008 )
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