Three Mariners Named to ABCA All-Region Teams
[Complete All-New England Teams]
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The 2018 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division III All-Region teams and Regional Players of the Year were announced in all eight regions on Tuesday afternoon.
Senior Garet Griffin, junior Eric Marriott and senior Kyle Hartenstein were among the 52 players honored in the New England region. Griffin was a first-team selection at shortstop while Marriott grabbed a spot on the second team as an outfielder. Hartenstein rounded out the group as a third-team selection at second base.
The teams are voted on by members of the American Baseball Coaches Association and the process is led by the ABCA NCAA Div. III All-America Committee. ABCA/Rawlings All-Region first-team selections are nominated for ABCA/Rawlings All-America honors. ABCA/Rawlings All-Americans will be announced on the evening of Thursday, May 24.
The Mariners now boast 15 ABCA all-region selections in the past eight years. Griffin becomes the third Mitchell player to earn first-team status, joining Hartenstein (2017) and former teammate Al Jordan Johnson (2015).
Both Griffin and Hartenstein earned all-region honors for the second time in their careers, becoming the first positional players in school history to achieve the feat. Hartenstein was a first-team selection in 2017 while Griffin was a second-team pick in 2017.
The trio led the Mariners to a 31-10 record this season that included a 15-3 mark in New England Collegiate Conference play. Mitchell won its sixth NECC title and competed in the NCAA DIII regionals for the fifth time, picking up their third postseason win since 2014.
Griffin batted a team-high .392 over 41 games and led the Mariners in RBI (52), hits (65), triples (7), homers (6), stolen bases (21) and total bases (102). In three seasons at Mitchell he hit .383 and ranks among the school's all-time leaders in runs (116), hits (165), triples (10), homers (13), RBI (117) and steals (33).
Marriott made a big impact in his first season with the Mariners, earning all-conference first-team honors while batting leadoff and playing a stellar center field. In 41 games he hit .377 with 33 RBI and 49 runs scored and stole 13 bases. During Mitchell's NCAA run he hit safely in all three games and finished with a team-high five hits.
Hartenstein, an All-American last season and the 2018 NECC Player of the Year, batted .390 with 33 RBI and 52 runs scored over 39 games. During the season he became Mitchell's all-time career leader in hits (233), runs (167), RBI (128), total bases (314), games played (158) and starts (158).
The ABCA All-America team was first recognized in 1949 and now includes nine divisions: NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA Divisions I, II and III, Pacific Association Division, and high school. ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove teams were first recognized in 2007.
