Teams: Baseball: Press Releases

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

DEGOTI, COACH CASEY SELECTED FOR TOP NEW ENGLAND HONORS BY NEIBA

Sophomore closer Chris DeGoti was chosen as Co-Pitcher of the Year in New England

MEDFORD -- Sophomore closer Chris DeGoti (Miami, FL) of the Tufts University baseball team was selected as the New England region's 2010 Co-Pitcher of the Year by the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) on Monday. The NEIBA also named Tufts' John Casey as Coach of the Year, while junior second baseman Frank Petroskey (Dallas, TX) was voted to the All-New England Second Team and sophomore third baseman Sam Sager (Cranston, RI) is on the All-New England Third Team at third base.

DeGoti, who shares Pitcher of the Year honors with Wheaton College sophomore Nolan Corr, entered the week with 11 saves. That's the second-most in the NCAA Division III this season. He smashed the 22-year old previous Tufts record of eight saves established by Jeff Bloom in 1988. In just two seasons, DeGoti is also the career saves leader at Tufts with 16. Five of his saves came in NESCAC East Division play, where Tufts finished 10-2 to win the pennant and earn the right to host the conference championship. The Jumbos went on to win the NESCAC title, with DeGoti saving two out of the three games during the championship weekend. In 18 appearances totaling 20.1 innings overall, DeGoti allowed just three earned runs for a 1.33 earned run average. He did not allow a run in six NESCAC divisional appearances.

Casey has directed Tufts to a school-record 31 victories this spring. The team's 31-5 record is the fourth-best winning percentage (.861) in the NCAA Division III Statistics as of May 16. The 2010 Jumbos won their second NESCAC title and are making their third appearance in the NCAA Championship Regional at Eastern Connecticut State University this week. In the 6-1 conference championship victory over Bowdoin on May 9, the team also presented Coach Casey with the 500th victory of his 27-year career.

Petroskey leads Tufts regulars with a .398 batting average while driving home 29 runs and scoring 26 in 33 games. He hit at a .450 clip with 12 runs batted in during 12 NESCAC East games. With a slugging percentage of .544 to go with an on-base mark of .445, he has a .989 OPS percentage while hitting primarily out of the ninth spot in the Tufts order. Very steady at second base, he's made just six errors and has a .954 fielding percentage.

Sager leads the Jumbos with 54 hits, 36 runs batted in, 18 doubles, 80 total bases, three sacrifice bunts, and four sacrifice flies while starting all 36 games (32 at third base). He's hitting .380 with two home runs and 33 runs scored entering NCAA Championship Regional play this week. His 18 doubles broke a school record set by Dan Callahan back in 2000.

►2010 NEIBA All-New England Division III Teams

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