13 Receive ABCA/Rawlings and d3baseball.com All-Region Honors

13 student-athletes from around the MASCAC received All-Region accolades as announced by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and d3baseball.com earlier this week.

May 31, 2024

ABCA All-Region | d3baseball.com All-Region

13 student-athletes from around the MASCAC received All-Region accolades as announced by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and d3baseball.com earlier this week.

Scott Emerson, Kevin Lindsay and Mathew Pigeon of Bridgewater State, Jacob Hurrell and Adam Koza of Fitchburg State, Ryan Boyle of Framingham State, AJ Pietrafesa and Brett Velzis of Mass. Maritime, Jake Boucher and Cam Fisher of Salem State, Ryan Lapierre and Sam Palmer of Westfield State and Ben Smith of Worcester State were recognized by the organizations. Pigeon, Hurrell, Boyle, Pietrafesa, Velzis and Lapierre were named to both the ABCA and d3baseball.com All-Region teams.

For the Bears, Emerson started all 42 games at second base in 2024 and batted .345 with 58 hits in 168 at-bats. He recorded 16 extra-base hits from the leadoff spot with eight doubles, five triples and three homers while driving in 29 runs. Emerson, who made just four errors in 173 chances (.977 fielding percentage), posted a .437 on-base percentage and stole 21 bases (third in the MASCAC) in 24 tries. In 129 career games, Emerson is hitting .347 with 173 hits, including 22 doubles, eight triples and three homers. He has been caught stealing just seven times in 89 tries.

Lindsay started all 42 games at shortstop and has a consecutive game streak of 131 since sitting out the second game of a doubleheader on March 5, 2022 against Hilbert in South Carolina. A native of East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, Lindsay batted .373 this season with 59 hits in 158 at-bats and scored 44 runs. Lindsay also checked in with seven doubles, a triple, 12 stolen bases, 24 RBI, and a .474 on-base percentage. A 2023 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division III Region Two All-Defensive Team selection, Lindsay committed just nine errors in 179 chances (54 putouts, 116 assists) this season for a .950 fielding percentage. He also helped turn 20 double plays.

Pigeon put together an outstanding final season of collegiate baseball, batting .392 with 49 hits in 37 games (35 starts) behind the plate. He notched ten doubles and a triple while driving in 35 runs and scoring 33 to go along with a .488 slugging percentage and a .483 on-base percentage. Defensively, Pigeon posted a .988 fielding percentage and threw out eight runners attempting to steal. In 117 games over four-plus seasons with the Bears, Pigeon batted .311 (104-334) with 19 doubles, five triples, a pair of home runs, 70 runs scored and 63 RBI.

Hurrell batted .329 with a career high 48 hits, nine doubles, three triples, and ten home runs. Hurrell's ten home runs this season put him second all-time in single-season homers. He also brought in a team-high 41 runs and scored 40 times himself.

Koza got hot at the end of the season, getting a hit in 12 of the last 13 contests. In that span, his average skyrocketed to a team-best .368 and a .658 slugging percentage. Koza had the second most home runs on the team with seven and was tied for second in RBIs with 31. The left fielder racked up 43 hits on the season with 11 doubles and one triple.

Boyle, a three-time All-MASCAC first team selection and 2024 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Player of the Year, earns the second all-region honors of his career after hitting .403 during his senior season with 17 doubles, three triples, two home runs and 34 RBI. Boyle finished the season ranked second in the MASCAC in average and fifth in both OBP and slugging. Boyle, selected All-Region as a sophomore and junior, finishes his career with a .368 average and 178 hits including 40 doubles, six triples, 19 home runs and 124 RBI.

Pietrafesa batted .400 this season with a .497 on-base percentage. He compiled 56 hits, a new Buc Ball single-season program record, had a team-high 11 doubles, and five home runs.

Early in the season, he put together a 24-game hit streak that spanned back to the 2023 MASCAC Playoff tournament and at one point had an eight-game streak of two or more hits. Defensively, Pietrafesa committed just two errors this season and finished 2024 with a .994 fielding percentage. He helped the Bucs turn 37 double plays this season and had 297 put outs in 327 total chances.

Velzis batted .364 with a .513 on-base percentage. He had 32 hits, 16 of which were for extra bases including a team-high five home runs. During the season, Velzis eclipsed 100 career hits and became the program's all-time home runs leader. In early May, he was named to the All-MASCAC 1st team for the second time in his career and has been a member of a MASCAC All-Conference team each of the last three seasons.

For the Vikings was a dual threat as he batted .306 with 30 hits, three doubles, a triple, 14 RBI, 21 runs scored and two stolen bases. On the mound, he finished with two wins over 18.2 innings pitched with a .261 batting average against and 8.20 strikeouts per game.

The 2024 MASCAC Rookie of the Year, Fisher appeared in nine games for the Vikings while recording an impressive 6-1 record in his rookie campaign. The freshman posted a 2.16 ERA with 50.0 innings pitched, allowing 50 hits, nine walks, and 29 strikeouts, finishing in the top-five in the league in earned run average (2nd) and wins (4th).

Lapierre was selected to the All-Region First Team as one of four pitchers named to region two's top team. He was named the MASCAC Pitcher of the Year after posting a perfect 9-0 record in ten starts this season, the best single-season record in Owls history. He fired a team-high 66.1 innings, leading the MASCAC with a 1.63 earned-run average while also fanning the second-most batters of any pitcher in the conference with 72 punchouts.

Palmer earned placement on the All-Region Second Team in the utility slot after delivering a strong all-around season at the top of the order for the Owls. He was named to the MASCAC All-Conference First Team for the second time in his three-year career with the Owls. Serving as both an outfielder and first baseman on the year, Palmer flashed his five-tool ability after finishing second in the MASCAC with seven home runs and 25 stolen bases. He led the Owls with a .333 batting average over a team-high 162 at-bats, topping Westfield in runs scored (45), hits (54), runs batted in (34), and extra base hits (21). He was third on the Owls with 113 putouts in the field, recording only four errors.

Smith, a first team MASCAC honoree, registered four wins for the Lancers on the hill with five complete games and a shutout over 59 innings pitched. He had a league-leading 76 strikeouts only allowing one home run with a 2.75 ERA and .220 batting average against.

Portions of this release courtesy of Bridgewater State, Framingham State, Mass. Maritime, Salem State and Westfield State Sports Information