Baseball Nabs Top NECC Honors & 10 All-Conference Spots

MARSHFIELD, Mass. – Mitchell College won three major awards and had a total of 10 players named to all-conference teams by the New England Collegiate Conference on Thursday afternoon as the league announced its annual baseball honors.

Junior Dougie DelaCruz was named NECC Player of the Year, becoming the first Mitchell player to earn the conference's top honor for a second time (2019). Senior Roland Thivierge was also a repeat selection as NECC Pitcher of the Year, becoming just the second Mitchell player to earn the honor twice. Travis Beausoleil was named NECC Coach of the Year for the third time since 2015.

DelaCruz and Thivierge also earned spots on the all-conference first team. Joining them were seniors Jakari Pellegrini and Anthony Diaz, junior Hunter Yaworski, and sophomores Camren Varney and Matt Falk, giving the Mariners a total of seven of the 14 spots available. All but DelaCruz, Thivierge and Pellegrini were first-time honorees.

Seniors Anthony Laureano and Jeremy Sagun and sophomore Lelo Martinez all earned second team honors in their first full season with the Mariners. All awards were determined by a vote of the league's head coaches.

DelaCruz, Mitchell's starting left fielder, is only the second player in conference history to repeat as Player of the Year. He totaled 24 hits and 34 RBI in league play, both good for tops in the league. His .471 batting average, .843 slugging average and five home runs were each second in the NECC, and he also ranked among the top-five leaders in total bases (43), on-base percentage (.500) and runs (18).

Thivierge was tops in the league in innings pitched (43.0) and wins (6) and posted three victories in conference play. His 46 strikeouts also led the league. Overall, he finished with a 3.50 ERA, good for third in the NECC, while in conference action it dropped to 1.50. He joins Mitchell's Tyler Shamas '16 as the only players to win the Pitcher of the Year twice.

Beausoleil, now in his 10th season at Mitchell, led the Mariners (21-6 overall) to a first-place finish in the conference for a seventh-straight season with a 14-2 record. He also received Coach of the Year honors in 2015 and 2019.

Pellegrini earned all-conference recognition for the third time in his career, albeit in a slightly different role. His first-team spot came under the utility delineation, as the left-handed pitcher also assumed duties at first base this season. He batted .462 with a homer, eight RBI and 15 runs scored while playing a stellar first base, and on the bump he went 3-0 in four starts and struck out 19 batters over 19.2 innings.

After an extended absence midway through the season, Diaz returned to the lineup as a designated hitter for the final portion of league play and enjoyed a strong finish. In eight conference games he batted .500 with three homers and 18 RBI, with the bulk of the damage coming in series against New England College and Elms College.

Yaworski, a center fielder, saw his production jump in his first season as a starter. In conference play he led the NECC in batting average (.489), slugging (1.022), total bases (46), homers (6) and runs (20), and he also ranked second in RBI (23) and third in hits (22). He finished with seven multi-hit games in NECC play, and he was the only Mitchell player to homer against every conference opponent.

Varney was one of four pitchers who earned first-team status. He logged the most innings (21.2) of any Mitchell pitcher in league action, going 2-0 with a save and a 2.91 ERA, good enough for third in the NECC.  

Falk split time behind the plate but still put up numbers to warrant first-team status. In 10 conference games he hit .476 with three doubles, six RBI and 11 runs scored.

Laureano played second base for all but one league game and hit .343 with five doubles, one triple, two homers, 15 RBI and 16 runs scored. He also didn't commit an error in 39 total chances in the field.

Sagun started 15 league games at shortstop and batted leadoff for the Mariners, hitting .250 with two doubles and seven RBI. His 18 runs scored tied for fifth-most in the NECC.

Martinez hit .356 in 15 league games while manning the hot corner. He finished the regular season with five doubles, two triples, eight RBI and 19 runs scored.

Senior David Appelbaum rounded out Mitchell's award recipients by being named to the Del Malloy Sportsmanship Team. He played in eight games and batted .333 with two RBI and six runs scored.

Mitchell has earned the top seed and will host the 2021 NECC Baseball Championship on May 7-9. The Mariners will open the tournament against fourth-seeded Becker College on Friday at 9:30 a.m.

2021 NECC Baseball Awards

Player of the Year – Dougie DelaCruz, Mitchell
Pitcher of the Year – Roland Thivierge, Mitchell
Rookie of the Year – Garrett Langis, NEC
Coach of the Year – Travis Beausoleil, Mitchell

NECC All-Conference First Team
P - Tevon Johnson, Becker (Jr., New Bedford, Mass.)
P - Roland Thivierge, Mitchell (Sr., Portland, Conn.)
P - Camren Varney, Mitchell (So., Manchester, N.H.) 
P - Shaun Cormier, New England Col. (Sr., Rochester, N.H.) 
C - Matt Falk, Mitchell (So., Enfield, Conn.)
1B - Connor Morin, New England Col. (Sr., North Andover, Mass.)
2B - Coby Hussey, Becker (Sr., Claremont, N.H.)
3B - Garrett Langis, New England Col. (Fr., Rochester, N.H.)
SS - Giovanni Torres, Lesley (GS,  N/A)
OF - Dougie DelaCruz, Mitchell (Jr., Uncasville, Conn.)
OF - Hunter Yaworski, Mitchell (Jr., Brooklyn, Conn.) 
OF - Michael Ciccotelli, New England Col. (So., Rochester, N.H.)
UT - Jakari Pellegrini, Mitchell (Sr., New Britain, Conn.)
DH - Anthony Diaz, Mitchell (Sr., Holyoke, Mass.)

NECC All-Conference Second Team
P - Russell Dunlap, Becker (Fr., North Attleboro, Mass.) 
P - Jamie Carey, Eastern Nazarene (Gr., Amherst, Mass.) 
P - Briley Seiter, Eastern Nazarene (Gr., Bellevue, Ky.) 
P - Tim Krol, New England Col. (So., East Longmeadow, Mass.)
C - Nathan Ayala, Elms (Sr., Springfield, Mass.)
1B - Tyler Galenski, Elms (Jr., Wilbraham, Mass.)
2B - Anthony Laureano, Mitchell (Sr., Emerson, N.J.) 
3B - Lelo Martinez, Mitchell (So., New London, Conn.)
SS - Jeremy Sagun, Mitchell (Sr., Montville, Conn.)
OF - Kevin Santiago, Becker (Sr., New Bedford, Mass.)
OF - Silas Thomas, Becker (Fr., Sequim, Wash.)
OF - BJ Minarcin, New England Col. (Sr., Naples, Fla.)
DH - Ethan Perry, Becker (Fr., Dartmouth, Mass.) 
UT - Tim Krol, New England Col. (So., East Longmeadow, Mass.)

Del Malloy Sportsmanship Team
Cooper Harris, Becker (Sr., Winnetka, Ill.)
Andres Medina, Eastern Nazarene (So., Wesley Chapel, Fla.)
Nathan Ayala, Elms (Sr., Springfield, Mass.)
Ronald James, Lesley (Jr.,  Scranton, Pa.)
David Appelbaum, Mitchell (Sr., Bedford, Mass.)
Matt White, New England Col. (Sr., Sanbornville, N.H.)