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South Easton, Mass. – Assumption College senior second baseman Mike Baillargeon (Worcester, Mass.) was named the 2009 Northeast-10 Baseball Player of the Year as voted by the conference’s head coaches.

Baillargeon helped lead Assumption to the Northeast-10 Championship final as the Greyhounds finished conference play with a 20-9-1 record. Assumption is 32-19-1 overall thus far and the 32 wins marks a program record for victories in a season. He currently ranks among the conference leaders in a number of offensive categories and ranks first in runs (55), hits (77) and home runs (11). Baillargeon is hitting .379, which is fifth best in the NE-10 and has driven in 44 runs to go along with a .635 slugging percentage and a .453 on-base percentage. In addition, he was named to the All-Northeast-10 First Team for the second straight season.

Franklin Pierce University junior starting pitcher Kyle Vazquez (Berlin, Conn.) was selected the 2009 Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Year. Vazquez recorded a career high eight victories this year as he helped lead the Ravens to the Northeast-10 Regular Season Title and their third straight Northeast-10 Championship. He currently ranks second in wins, earned run average (1.77) and innings pitched (86.1), while leading the NE-10 with 103 strikeouts. Vazquez has held opposing batters to a .206 average, fourth best in the conference, and has only issued 19 walks in 86.1 innings. He was also named to the All-Northeast-10 First Team for the first time in his collegiate career after earning Third Team honors in 2008.

The post-season honors continue for Franklin Pierce as Vazquez’s teammate Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and Southern Connecticut State University’s Ryan Geffert (Plymouth, Pa.) were named the 2009 Northeast-10 Co-Freshmen of the Year.

In his first year of collegiate play, Dowd currently leads the Ravens in hitting with a .393 average and ranks third among the Northeast-10 leaders. He ranks in the top ten in a number of offensive categories, including leading the NE-10 in hits (77) and on-base percentage (.464). Dowd is fifth in runs (46), seventh in home runs (7), RBI (43) and slugging percentage (.587). In addition, he was named to All-Northeast-10 First Team and the All-Rookie Team.

Geffert made an immediate impact for Southern Connecticut in his first year of play as he led the team in hitting with a .375 average and helped the Owls advance to the Northeast-10 Championships. He is ranked third in the conference with 15 doubles, nine home runs and an on-base percentage of .448. Geffert also finished the year with 54 RBI, second best in the NE-10, and scored 36 runs, while slugging a conference best .637. Geffert was named to the All-Northeast-10 First Team as well as the All-Rookie Team.

The University of Massachusetts Lowell starting pitcher Jack Leathersich (Beverly, Mass.) was selected the 2009 Northeast-10 Freshman Pitcher of the Year. In his first year pitching at the collegiate level, Leathersich finished the year with a 7-4 record as the River Hawks advanced to the Northeast-10 Championships. In ranks in the top ten in nearly every pitching category including wins (4th), ERA (2.18 -7th), earned runs (17 – 5th), strikeouts (63 – 8th) and opposing batting average (.226 – 8th). In addition, Leathersich was named to the All-Northeast-10 First Team and the All-Rookie Team.

Assumption head coach George Reidy was voted the 2009 Northeast-10 Coach of the Year by his peers. Reidy helped guide the Greyhounds to a school record 32 wins and were the finalist in this year’s Northeast-10 Championship. Assumption finished conference play with a 20-9-1 record and are currently 32-19-1.

With 15 member institutions the Northeast-10 is the second largest NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

- NE-10 -

Northeast-10 All-Conference Teams


First Team
Catcher - Mike Dowd, Franklin Pierce
First Base - Ryan Geffert, So. Connecticut
Second Base - Mike Baillargeon, Assumption
Third Base - Mike DiReda, Assumption
Shortstop - Andre Liscinsky, Pace
Outfield - Jeff Bercume, Merrimack
Outfield - Karl Derbacher, So. Connecticut
Outfield - Derek Migrants, Assumption
Outfield - James Roche, Bentley
DH - Derek Ingui, Franklin Pierce
Starting Pitcher - Tom Cote, Franklin Pierce
Starting Pitcher - Matt Giusti, Stonehill
Starting Pitcher - Jack Leathersich, UMass Lowell
Starting Pitcher - Kyle Vazquez, Franklin Pierce
Relief Pitcher - Rob Nicholas, Franklin Pierce
Utility - Ted Lerud, Franklin Pierce

Second Team
Catcher - Jimmy Rivas, New Haven
First Base - Ben Waldrip, Saint Anselm
Second Base - Charlie Pagliarulo, Bentley
Third Base - Tom Rombilus, New Haven
Shortstop - Shawn Frigon, Assumption
Outfield - Brett Damato, Bentley
Outifled - Cliff Hicks, Franklin Pierce
Outfield - Kevin Rivers, Franklin Pierce
Outfield - Steve Scannell, Assumption
DH - Derek Marshall, Saint Rose
Starting Pitcher - Rob Finneran, Bentley
Starting Pitcher - Ted Haley, UMass Lowell
Starting Pitcher - Chris Smith, New Haven
Starting Pitcher - Jeremiah St. Louis, Saint Rose
Relief Pitcher - Tim Dupuis, Assumption
Utility - Scott Hackett, Stonehill

Third Team
Catcher - Jared Notargiacomo, UMass Lowell
First Base - Tim Scafidi, Assumption
Second Base - Evan Okon, New Haven
Third Base - Brendan Pyburn, Merrimack
Shortstop - Sam Greenberg, So. Connecticut
Outfield - Joe Cotone, Pace
Outfield - Pete Onorato, UMass Lowell
Outfield - Ryan Price, Saint Rose
Outfield - Nate Weber, Stonehill
DH - Eric Schlitter, So. Connecticut
Starting Pitcher - Jeff Barbale, Assumption
Starting Pitcher - Ed Bethke, So. Connecticut
Starting Pitcher - Ryan McNeil, Merrimack
Starting Pitcher - Ryan Quinn, So. New Hampshire
Relief Pitcher - Dallas Nunes, UMass Lowell
Utility - Mike Foley, Assumption

All-Rookie Team
Frank Flynn, Assumption
Dan Murphy, Bentley
Mike Dowd, Franklin Pierce
Ben Benigno, Franklin Pierce
Pat Devlin, UMass Lowell
Dallas Nunes, UMass Lowell
Jack Leathersich, UMass Lowell
Cory Carr, New Haven
Ben Waldrip, Saint Anselm
Michael Carbone, Saint Rose
Ryan Geffert, So. Connecticut
Sam Greenberg, So. Connecticut
Eric Schlitter, So. Connecticut
Ryan Yerina, So. Connecticut