Teams: Baseball: Press Releases

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

FIVE FROM BASEBALL EARN CONFERENCE, REGIONAL HONORS ANNOUNCED TODAY

MEDFORD -- Five members of the 2007 Tufts University baseball team have been awarded honors for their play this spring by the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) and by the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) today.

Steve Ragonese hit nine home runs in 2007 and was an All-NESCAC First Team selection

On the All-NESCAC team, head coach John Casey's Jumbos have three players on the First Team: senior 1B Bryan McDavitt (Holden, MA/St. Peter-Marian), junior RF Steve Ragonese (Upper Saddle River, NJ/Don Bosco) and junior pitcher Adam Telian (Stoughton, MA/Stoughton). Senior shortstop/pitcher Brian Casey (Milford, MA/Milford) was named to the All-NESCAC Second Team. The vote of the NEIBA coaches had Brian Casey on the Second Team, and sophomore infielder Kevin Casey (Milford, MA/Milford) along with McDavitt on the Third Team.

Brian Casey was a versatile leader for the Jumbos, who finished 25-12 and advanced to the NESCAC championship game this season. He hit .318, leading the squad with 49 hits, scored 31 runs and had 26 runs batted in. He was superb at short, making just 10 errors in 168 chances for a .940 fielding mark. Thrust into the closer's roll because of injuries, he recorded a 3-0 record with five saves and a 2.00 earned run average with 16 strikeouts in 18 innings.

McDavitt missed five games with an injury, but was a fearsome bat in the line-up otherwise. He finished at .370 with two home runs, 23 RBIs and 27 runs scored. With 21 walks, he was on base in nearly half of his plate appearances with a .479 on-base percentage. He also stole seven bases and made just two errors in 202 chances at first base. For McDavitt, this was his third All-NESCAC citation, including First Team nods in 2005 and 2006. He was also on the NEIBA First Team last spring.

Ragonese hit nine home runs for the Jumbos, the second-best single-season total in team history. He finished at .293 with 39 RBIs and 27 runs scored while playing a strong right field. The 39 RBIs are tied for the third-best amount in the team's long history. Telian was the team's ace, finishing 5-2 with a 2.41 earned run average and 44 strikeouts in 56 innings. He pitched two complete games and allowed only nine walks in 10 appearances. Kevin Casey was an offensive force and stellar defensively for Tufts. He hit .346 with 31 runs scored and 30 RBIs in 35 starts. Moved around the infield depending on need, he made only eight errors in 107 chances for a .925 fielding percentage.

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