Baseball Earns NCAA DIII Accolades
The NCAA recently announced that the Mitchell College baseball team has been named the 2011 NCAA Division III team statistical champion for Batting Average and Slugging Percentage. In addition, John Apostolo was named the 2011 NCAA Division III statistical champion for Runs Batted in Per Game and Slugging Percentage.
The team's batting average was .352 and their slugging percentage was .539 in 2011. Apostolo has earned numerous accolades throughout the 2011 season. He was named to the NEIBA All-New England Second Team, and prior to that he became the first player in NECC history to be named both Player and Pitcher of the Year. The All-NECC First Team selection was also tabbed MVP of the 2011 NECC Baseball Championship after leading the Mariners to the tournament title.
Apostolo had a dramatic impact in his first season with the Mariners. In conference play he led the NECC in batting (.581), slugging (1.032), hits (36), RBI (30), home runs (6), total bases (64) and on-base percentage (.620) while splitting time between the outfield and the mound. In six NECC starts he posted a 6-0 record with a 2.27 ERA and a league-high 47 strikeouts in 39.2 innings. He was also the only starting pitcher in the conference to record a victory against every other school.
Apostolo, who ranks among the national leaders in several offensive categories, batted .463 for the season with 12 homers and 56 RBI. He leads the country in RBI per game (1.75) and slugging (.909) and ranks third in home runs per game (0.38) and sixth in batting average. On the mound he was 9-2 overall with a 3.13 ERA in 16 appearances. He struck out 91 batters in 77.2 innings and held opposing line-ups to a .232 batting average.