Bridgewater State's Kevin Lindsay, MCLA's Austin Rachiele and Mass. Maritime's AJ Pietrafesa have been selected to the 2023 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings NCAA Division III Region Two All-Defensive Team.

Lindsay appeared in all 46 games (45 starts) at shortstop for the Bears in 2023. He committed just seven errors in 191 chances (70 putouts, 114 assists) for an impressive .963 fielding percentage. Lindsay also helped turn 28 double plays. At the plate, Lindsay batted .338 (50-148) with six doubles, a triple, 41 runs, 22 RBI and 25 stolen bases. He also walked 17 times, was hit by a pitch on five occasions and posted a .414 on base percentage.

Starting all 38 games and playing in every inning this season in centerfield, Rachiele recorded 102 put outs, had five assists, and committed only one error finishing with a .991 fielding percentage. Rachiele also had a historic 2023 offensive campaign in which he led the MASCAC this past season in batting (.453), home runs (14), hits (63-which tied the MCLA program record), triples (4), total bases (127-which set a new program record), as well as on base percentage (.550- which was 13th in the nation) and slugging percentage (.914- 7th best in the nation). He also scored 53 runs (new program record), had 40 RBI, and drew 28 walks while stealing 17 bases.

Defensively, Pietrafesa played all 40 games in 2023 at first base for the Bucs posting a .994 fielding percentage with two errors in 322 total chances. Total chances includes putouts and assists by the fielder. In his career, AJ sports a .992 fielding percentage with five errors in 601 total chances in 84 games. He has racked up 571 putouts, 25 assists and has helped turn 53 double plays for the Buccaneers defense. 

The 2023 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division III Region All-Defensive Teams were voted on by members of the American Baseball Coaches Association and the process was led by the ABCA NCAA Division III All-America Committee. Players selected to the regional all-defensive teams were eligible for ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove honors. The Gold Glove Award winners in all divisions were announced Wednesday, June 21.

Founded in 1945, the American Baseball Coaches Association is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its over 15,000 members represent all 50 states and 40 countries. Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, Association membership has broadened to include nine divisions: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA, Pacific Association Division, High School, Youth and Travel.

Portions of this release courtesy of Bridgewater State, MCLA and Mass. Maritime Sports Information