HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. – Led by three first team selections, nine members of the Centenary University baseball team were honored as the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) released its end of the year awards on Monday afternoon.
Senior
Ryan Jasiecki, junior
Jon Fleck and freshman
Christopher Gass all earned First Team All-CSAC honors. It is the first time since the 2009 season that the Cyclones have had three players earn first team honors in the same season.
Freshmen
Keiji Ipposhi and
Paul Links were named Second Team All-CSAC.
Senior
JT Valley, juniors
Christopher Lilly and
Nick Scotto and sophomore
Jonathan Pezzato all took home All-CSAC Honorable Mention accolades.
In addition, Ipposhi was named the Cyclones' representative to the All-CSAC Sportsmanship Team.
Jasiecki had a solid final season with the Cyclones and was honored for the first time in his career by the league. The first baseman started all 36 games and hit .358 with 28 RBIs and 23 runs scored. He ranked among the top 10 in the CSAC for batting average, slugging percentage, hits, RBIs, doubles and walks throughout much of the season. Jasiecki finished the regular season leading the CSAC in triples (6) and sac flies (4). His six triples are tied for fourth in single-season history at Centenary. Jasiecki had 13 multi-hit games and seven games with multiple RBIs. He was named CSAC Player of the Week on April 15 after leading the Cyclones to five straight wins and hitting .474 with nine RBIs in that stretch.
Fleck had a breakthrough junior season for the Cyclones in the outfield. He made 33 starts in either center field or right field for the Cyclones and led the team with a .380 batting average with 32 runs scored and 32 RBIs. Fleck ranked among the top 10 in the CSAC for batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, runs scored, hits, RBIs, triples, home runs, hit by a pitch and sac flies for most of the season. He had 13 multi-hit games and scored multiple runs in 10 games. He had five games with multiple RBIs. Fleck hit for the cycle in the first game against Keystone and tied the school record for single-game home runs with three against John Jay. His seven RBIs in the first game of the year against Valley Forge are tied for second most in single-game history at Centenary. Fleck was 8-for-14 in the three game sweep of Clarks Summit and also recorded his 100
th career hit in that stretch.
Gass made an immediate impact in his first season at shortstop for the Cyclones. He started all 36 games at shortstop and ranked third on the team with a .347 batting average. He was one of three freshmen to be named to the first team and was the only freshman with over 100 at bats to rank among the top 15 for batting average in the CSAC. Gass ranked among the top 10 in the CSAC for hits, RBIs, walks, sac bunts and sac flies for most of the season. He has 10 multi-hit games and drove in multiple runs in eight games. Gass had an eight game hit streak and a six game hit streak.
Ipposhi earned second team accolades as the designated hitter for the Cyclones. He appeared in 18 games and made 12 starts while hitting .366 with 13 RBIs and 11 runs scored. Ipposhi had 13 of his 15 hits during CSAC play. All 13 of his RBIs have come against CSAC opponents while he scored a season-best four runs while serving as the DH in game two at Wilson. Â Ipposhi drew eight walks and was hit by a pitch four times.
Links started 33 games in the outfield and batted .316 on the year. He was one of six Cyclones to score 20 or more runs this season as he crossed the plate 31 times. He scored two runs in a game 10 times and had nine multi-hit games. He had hit streaks of nine and five games this season. Links ranked second on the team with five triples this season.
Pezzato appeared in 29 games and made 24 starts for the Cyclones primarily in left field. He batted .279 with 13 runs scored and 11 RBIs in his first season with the Cyclones. He has four multi-hit games and recorded a five game hit streak. He had four stolen bases and four doubles.
Lilly made 14 appearances on the mound and 13 of those have been starts. He finished the year with a 7-3 record with a 4.85 ERA in a CSAC best 65 innings pitched. He led the CSAC with seven wins of the year. Lilly has thrown four complete game and been a part of three shutouts. He is tied for second for single-season wins at Centenary and set the school record for single-season starts with his 12
th against Clarks Summit. Lilly took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against Clarks Summit and ranks among the top 10 in the CSAC for strikeouts. He was named the CSAC Pitcher of the Week on March 11 after going 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 11 innings of work.
Scotto made nine appearance on the mound and earned the start five times. He ranked among the top 10 in the CSAC for strikeouts this season. Scotto posted a 4-1 record with a save and a 3.90 ERA in 30 innings pitched. He recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts in the complete game performance against CCNY. He was named the CSAC Pitcher of the Week on March 25 after his 10 strikeout performance against CCNY.
Valley joined the Cyclones after the completing of wrestling season and made 10 appearances out of the bullpen. He went 2-1 with a 3.60 ERA in 20 innings of work this year. He picked up the win in relief against Wilson after going 4.1 innings in relief and giving up just one run. Valley also recorded the win against PSU Brandywine with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief work. He was named the CSAC Pitcher of the Week for his performances against Delaware Valley and Wilson.
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