Four Baseball Players Earn All-NECC Honors

BASEBALL GARNERS ALL-NEW ENGLAND COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE AWARDS

Click here for complete 2009 All-NECC Teams

CHICOPEE, MA, May 2, 2009 - The New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) recently announced its 2009 All-Conference Baseball Team and Elms College had four players named.

Sophomore pitcher Matt Wood (Feeding Hills, MA) was named both Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-NECC, as he posted a perfect 4-0 record in conference play that included the program's first-ever no-hitter in a 6-0 win over Newbury on April 18. In five conference appearances, Wood struck out a team-leading 37 batters, issued just 14 walks and allowed just 11 earned runs in 30.0 innings of work.

Junior designated hitter Justin Jacobs (Springhill, FL) was named the NECC's inaugural Player of the Year as he finished third in the conference with a .469 battinage average that included a home run, five doubles, 13 RBI and a sizzling .719 slugging percentage in 10 games.

Sophomore second baseman Brendan Cordeiro (Berkley, MA) and freshman third baseman Nico Iavicoli (Hampden, MA) both joined Wood and Jacobs as First Team selections.

Cordeiro batted .387, went a perfect 8 for 8 in stolen base attempts and committed just two errors for a .949 fielding percentage in 10 starts at second base.

Iavicoli, meanwhile, batted a team-leading .516 in 10 starts with a double, a triple and 10 RBI.

Under fifth-year head coach Don LaValley, the Blazers set new single-season records for wins and also broke records in six offensive categories including batting average, hits, home runs, doubles, RBI and stolen bases.