Junior outfielder Tom DeAngelis (Pottstown, PA) was named Commonwealth Conference Baseball Player of the Year and was one of seven players for Widener to be citied for all-league awards.
Junior second baseman Alex Oliver (Lebanon, NJ), sophomore utility man Sean Saverio (Horsham, PA) and sophomore pitcher Rick Kazigian (West Chester, PA) also were tabbed first team all-conference. Sophomore southpaw Jason Ferrie (Royersford, PA), junior shortstop Tom Mahoney (Norristown, PA) and sophomore first baseman Bill Hollingsworth (Drexel Hill, PA) were picked for the second team with Steve Carcarey being named Coach of the Year.
DeAngelis has put forth another solid campaign in which he is fifth in the league with a .400 batting average, tied for third with 54 hits, tied for fourth with four home runs and second with a .615 slugging percentage. He also notched a team-season-high 17-game hitting streak, second to his 25-game run in 2008 that was ninth in the country, and a .976 fielding percentage.
Also picked conference Rookie of the Year and first team all-league in 2008, DeAngelis that season batted .392 to finish fifth in the league and was 20-for-22 on stolen base attempts.
Oliver has been a force at the plate all season, leading the league with a .434 batting average, sitting fourth with a .566 slugging percentage and second with a .496 on-base percentage. The second team all-conference pick from last year also is third on the team with 49 hits, seventh with 22 RBI and 7-for-7 on stolen base attempts.
Saverio, who has started 16 games at catcher and 13 at designated hitter, is second in the league with a .417 batting average, tops with a .647 slugging percentage, second with 58 hits, third with 41 RBI and tied for third with five triples. He was named Most Outstanding Player of the conference tournament after batting .444 with three doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI.
Kazigian worked his way into the rotation and stayed by notching a 4-2 record to go with 36 strikeouts, a .257 opposing batting average and just 18 earned runs with 19 walks over 51 2/3 innings. He made seven starts on the season and tossed two complete games, including a huge 5-3 victory over Alvernia on May 7 in the conference tournament.
Ferrie went on a tear with a seven-game winning streak and then improved to 8-2 with seven clutch innings May 8 against Elizabethtown in the first game of the finals. In beating every team in the league at least once, the 2009 conference Rookie of the Year was tied for first in the league with eight wins and tied for third with 59 strikeouts in addition to posting only 14 walks and 26 earned runs over 57 2/3 innings.
Mahoney has seen almost all of his numbers increase this season and is fourth in the league with 108 assists, sixth on the team with 36 hits and tied for fourth with 24 RBI to go with three doubles and a triple. He and Saverio are the only two for Widener to start all 37 games and Mahoney is the only one to start each contest at one position.
Hollingsworth moved into the starting role and the Pride have notched a 14-2 record in the 16 games he started. He is fifth on the team with a .323 batting average to go with 20 hits, six doubles, two home runs, 18 RBI, a .516 slugging percentage and a 1.000 fielding percentage over 141 chances.
Carcarey has done a solid job in leading the Pride over seven seasons, including six straight trips to the conference tournament. He has recorded six straight 20-win years, a first in school history, and back-to-back 26-wins seasons in 2007 and 2008 that tied the Widener mark. He is 159-107-2 for the Pride and is the school’s second winningest coach.
Widener (25-12, 14-4 CC) last Saturday won its first conference title since taking the Middle Atlantic Conference in 1999 and seventh overall. It was the top seed coming off its first regular-season league championship since taking the MAC Southern Division in 1978.
The Pride are in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in school history and await the selection show, which takes place Sunday. The tournament begins Wednesday.