University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Baseball Summer Wrap-Up
8/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Aug. 19, 2009
STORRS, Conn. - With the summer of 2009 coming to a close, the UConn Huskies have concluded their seasons with their respective summer ball clubs before preparing for another school year at the University of Connecticut. Pierre LePage, Scott Oberg, Nick Ahmed and Bob Van Woert each helped their respective teams win league championships in 2009.
This summer was highlighted by strong performances by many Huskies, including junior second baseman Pierre LePage, who was named to the Cape Cod Baseball League 2009 Year-End All-Star Team after leading the Bourne Braves to the CCBL Championship. LePage received postseason recognition as he was given The Manny Robello 10th Player Award, which is bestowed upon a Cape Leaguer who goes above and beyond what is expected of him throughout the season. He also earned the prestige circuit's Sportsmanship Award. He finished the season amongst the Cape leaders in several categories. He was sixth in batting average (.308), fourth in runs scored with 26 and third in hits with 49 on the season.
Scott Oberg also had a victory as a member of the Braves, a club which was led by former Huskies, Harvey Shapiro as manager and Joshua MacDonald as pitching coach.
UConn's first-ever BIG EAST Rookie of the Year (2009), George Springer, was also named to the CCBL Year-End All-Star Team after leading the Wareham Gatemen to a playoff berth. He also earned the Silvia Bigelow Award from his team for being the top positional player for the Gatemen as he recorded a .261 batting average with three home runs and 25 RBI (good enough for fourth highest total in the CCBL). His team finished at 19-19-6 on the year and received strong performances from Husky sophomore pitchers Matt Barnes and Dave Fischer. Barnes totaled 33 strikeouts in 26.1 innings, while Fischer registered 18 strikeouts in 16 innings of work.
Robert Van Woert finished his season by earning the win with a strong start in the Valley League Championship game, going six innings, while allowing four hits and one run, while striking out six for the Haymarket Senators. It was the first league title by his team in its history. The redshirt-junior finished the summer with a 6-1 record in 21 appearances. He was tied for the league lead in wins as opponents hit just .206 against him.
Elliot Glynn, who was named to the CCBL All-Star Game, and pitched a scoreless inning at Fenway Park in July, led the Orleans Firebirds to a final record of 27-15-2. He posted a record of 3-2 with a 2.03 ERA in seven starts and struck out 33 opponents. Teammate Mike Olt also suited up for the Firebirds, batting .218 with 27 hits, 14 RBI and three home runs. For his efforts, Olt received the Castleberry Coaches' Award from his team.
In the New England Collegiate Baseball League, Kevin Vance and the Vermont Mountaineers finished as runners-up in the NECBL. Vance finished the season with 28 hits in 31 games played, while batting .295. He also finished second in the league in home runs with seven round-trippers. In addition the sophomore posted an ERA of 0.00 with a record of 1-0 in three appearances. He had one save and struck out nine in 4.0 innings. Junior Mike Nemeth and senior Doug Jennings also played in the NECBL for the Holyoke Blue Sox and had solid summer performances as Nemeth batted .276 with 34 hits, including seven doubles, and 21 RBI. Jennings threw two complete games and one shutout in nine starts. He went 4-5 with a 3.42 ERA.
Redshirt-freshman Mike Zaccardo had a promising summer with the North Shore Navigators as he posted a 4-2 record and an ERA of 1.98 in six starts. Oberg began the summer with the Lowell All-Americans before moving to the Bourne Braves. He joined Greg Nappo in Lowell, as Nappo struck out 29 batters with a 1-4 record. Doug Elliot had 13 hits and eight RBI for the Sanford Mainers in the NECBL, while John Andreoli batted .261 with 23 hits, nine RBI and seven runs scored with the Pittsfield American Defenders.
Junior Joe Pavone played in the NECBL for the North Adams Steeple Cats and batted .217 with 18 hits, 15 runs scored and nine RBI in 27 games. Redshirt-sophomore left-handed pitcher Ted Hurvul registered a 3.27 era in eight appearances with the Danbury Westerners.
In the Prospect League, senior pitcher Trent DeLazzer was 2-2 on the season with 32 strikeouts and a 0.99 ERA in 36.1 innings of work for the Butler (Pa.) Blue Sox. Nick Ahmed recorded 26 hits, 14 RBI and 28 runs scored while playing with the Westhampton Aviators of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League. He was second in the league with 19 stolen bases and third in runs scored for the ACBL-Champion Aviators.
John Sulzicki had a fine summer as he batted .372 with 32 hits, including 10 doubles, while adding 22 runs scored and 14 RBI for the league runner-up Ocean Giants of the American Baseball Confederation Collegiate League (ABCCL).
