Posted: May 09, 2017

Baseball Places Six On All-Conference Teams

ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Six members of the Elms College baseball team were selected to the 2017 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Baseball All-Conference squads, highlighted by sophomore Matt Plasse (Westfield, Mass.) being tabbed as Rookie of the Year, in an announcement from the league office Tuesday. Seniors Tim Gelzinis (North Dighton, Mass.) and Stephen Harrison (Southbury, Conn.), Plasse and freshman Jacob Graveline (Palmer, Mass.) received First Team All-NECC honors, while senior Aedin Wadja (Lebanon, Conn.) and sophomore Alex Hoss (Stafford Springs, Conn.) were selected Second Team All-NECC.

Plasse helped anchor the Blazers pitching staff in his first season at Elms, posting a team-high five wins in nine appearances with one complete game effort. Plasse delivered a 2.89 earned run average across 53 innings of work, while firing 38 strikeouts. Plasse had the second-lowest ERA in the NECC, while ranking seventh in strikeouts, eighth in strikeouts per game (6.45), and tenth in innings pitched. Plasse is the first player in program history to take home Rookie of the Year honors.

In his final season with the Green and Gold, Gelzinis batted a career-high .325 with 38 hits, including six doubles and a home run, and drove in a career-high 27 runs en route to his first First Team designation. Gelzinis made 12 appearances in a relief pitching role, racking up a career-high and NECC-high six saves, matching a single-season program record. Gelzinis logged a 2.63 ERA with nine strikeouts in 13.2 innings pitched. Gelzinis received All-Conference status during three of his four years with the Blazers, taking home Second Team as a freshman and Third Team honors last season.

Harrison provided pop to the Blazers lineup in 2017, slugging a career-high four home runs with a career-high 29 RBIs, fifth-most in a season in program history. Harrison registered a .333 batting average, tallying a team-high 46 hits, fifth-most in a single season in program history, and scoring 28 times. Harrison ranked sixth in the NECC in hits, seventh in doubles (11) and home runs, ninth in RBIs and slugging percentage (.514), and tenth in batting average. Harrison pairs his First Team honor with a Second Team selection during his junior season.

In his debut season with the Blazers, Graveline matched Plasse with a team-high five victories on the hill in 11 appearances. Graveline held a 4.21 ERA in 51.1 innings of work with two complete games and a save, while notching 39 strikeouts. Graveline ranked fifth in the NECC in wins and strikeouts, sixth in complete games, and seventh in strikeouts per game (6.84).

Wadja led the Blazers in at-bats during the 2017 season with a team-high 141, while batting .270 with 38 hits, including six doubles. Wadja scored a team-high 31 times, ninth-most in a season in program history, while driving in eight runs. Wadja posted a .975 fielding percentage with 67 putouts and 32 fielding assists during the season, spending time at shortstop and the outfield.

Hoss claimed his First All-Conference award after batting a career-high .317 with a career-high 40 hits, including a career-high three triples and two doubles. Hoss scored 29 times and drove in 13 runs, while adding a pair of stolen bases. Hoss recorded a career-high 75 putouts with four fielding assists in the outfield.

ELMS BASEBALL