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MEAC Announces Baseball All-Conference Honors
Delaware State University third baseman Ross Babineaux was named the 2009 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Baseball Player of the Year. Teammate Dan Perkins was selected as Pitcher of the Year, while Bethune-Cookman University pitcher Ali Simpson was named Rookie of the Year. Head Coach Mervyl Melendez of Bethune-Cookman earned Coach of the Year accolades. All awards are voted on by the conference’s head baseball coaches and sports information directors. Post season awards will be distributed to all honorees during a pre-tournament banquet tonight at the Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach, Florida. Babineaux ranks second in the conference and 46th in the nation with a .422 batting average in 41 games. He guided his team to a 10-8 MEAC mark and 19-23-1 record overall. Babineaux tallied one home run, one triple, eight doubles and 33 RBI. In 136 at bat appearances he recorded 56 hits, stole 11 bases and walked 16 times. He added 105 putouts and 56 assists from the third base position. Perkins pitched 78.0 innings and recorded five wins at the mound. He was second in the MEAC and 35th in the nation with a 2.77 ERA. Perkins started in 11 games, striking out 77 batters and allowing 24 walks. The five-time MEAC Pitcher of the Week posted a 4-2 record against conference opponents and tallied a 1.17 ERA. Simpson leads the league and ranks seventh in the nation with a 2.11 ERA. The rookie is 21st in the nation with eight victories in 11 starts on the mound. In 68.1 innings pitched, he struck out 73 batters and allowed 24 walks. Simpson tallied a 1.09 ERA against MEAC opponents. He posted a 5-0 MEAC record and struck out 39 batters in 33 innings of play. Melendez garnered his fourth consecutive MEAC Coach of the Year honor and sixth overall. In his tenth season at the helm, the Wildcats posted a 16-2 record in conference play and 29-26 record overall. Under his tutelage, Bethune-Cookman has won 11 of the last 13 MEAC crowns. In addition, Melendez won his 300th career victory this season. Florida A&M led the conference with six student-athletes earning all-conference first and second teams selections. Bethune-Cookman and Delaware State had five players receive all-conference accolades, while Norfolk State and North Carolina A&T had three players listed. Maryland Eastern Shore followed with two players who were named to the MEAC’s post season second team. The 2009 MEAC Baseball Championship Tournament begins at 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 14, with #1 Bethune-Cookman against #6 Norfolk State. #2 Delaware State drew #5 North Carolina A&T for game two at 2 p.m., while #3 Florida A&M will take on #4 Maryland Eastern Shore in game three beginning at 6 p.m. The championship finale is set for Sunday, May 17 at 2 p.m. Admission for the 2009 MEAC Baseball Championship is $8 for adults and $4 for children ages four and older, students and senior citizens. Ticket prices for the entire tournament are $20 for adults and $10 for children ages four and older, students and senior citizens. Children ages three (3) and under are admitted free. Tickets are available at the Jackie Robinson Ballpark, 105 E Orange Ave, Daytona Beach, Florida beginning on May 14. For more information on MEAC Baseball, logo on to www.meacsports.com.
2009 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Player of the Year Pitcher of the Year Rookie of the Year Coach of the Year
First Team Pos Name School Class Ht. Wt. Hometown P Dan Perkins Delaware State Sr. 6-4 200 Newark, Delaware P Ali Simpson Bethune-Cookman Fr. 6-2 170 Campbell River, British Columbia C Peter O’Brien Bethune-Cookman Fr. 6-3 215 Miami Gardens, Florida INF Jared Jeffries Florida A&M Jr. 5-9 165 Decatur, Georgia INF Anselmo Cantu Norfolk State Sr. 6-0 195 Virginia Beach, Virginia INF Ross Babineaux Delaware State Sr. 6-1 210 New Iberia, Louisiana INF Tim Schalch, Florida A&M Sr. 6-1 165 Sarasota, Florida OF CJ Beatty North Carolina A&T Jr. 5-10 185 Winston-Salem, North Carolina OF CJ Lauriello Bethune-Cookman Jr. 5-9 180 Miami, Florida DH Derrick Shaw Florida A&M Fr. 6-0 185 Orlando, Florida Second Team Pos Name School Class Ht. Wt. Hometown P Eric Thomas Bethune-Cookman Sr. 5-11 185 Gainesville, Florida INF Abe Eubank Delaware State Jr. 6-3 215 Medford, Oregon INF Justin Bittner Delaware State Sr. 6-0 185 Newark, Delaware INF Nick Rogers North Carolina A&T Jr. 6-1 195 Greensboro, North Carolina INF Tim Jones Florida A&M So. 6-5 220 Atlanta, Georgia OF Darryl Evans Florida A&M So. 5-10 175 Merrillville, Indiana OF Jerrod Farley Norfolk State Sr. 6-1 200 Chester, Virginia OF Pat Hercinger Maryland E. Shore** Sr. 6-0 200 Papillion, Nebraska OF John Lynch Norfolk State** So. 6-2 215 Newport News, Virginia DH Bryan Chaikowsky Maryland E. Shore So. 6-2 210 Bethlehem, Pennsylvania **indicates tie |
Photo courtesy of: MEAC Media Relations
