NEW HAVEN, CT-Cody Levins of Nyack College has been named the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Baseball Player of the Year in balloting released today. Caldwell College's Robert Casal was selected Pitcher of the Year, while Hector Bello of Felician College was the choice for Rookie of the Year. Coach of the Year accolades went to Mark Heineman of Philadelphia University, and Philadelphia also received the annual Team Sportsmanship Award. The league's 10 coaches conducted the voting.
Levins, a junior first baseman from McKinney, TX, led the CACC in batting average this season by a wide margin, hitting .433 - about 30 points higher than the second player listed. His average ranks second in the CACC Division II-era record books. He also paced the conference in slugging percentage (.709), on-base percentage (.513) and doubles (18). His on-base percentage is tied for second all-time in the CACC, his slugging percentage is fourth and his 18 doubles tie for fourth.
Casal was one of only three repeat selections on the All-CACC first team this season. The sophomore right-hander from Howard Beach, NY, is tied for the conference lead in wins with seven (7-4) and he has the most strikeouts with 91. He also sported a 2.24 ERA to rank third in the conference. He allowed only 54 hits in 72.1 innings of work.
Bello emerged as one of the leading hitters in the CACC in his first collegiate season, ranking 10th with a .329 batting average to go with 27 RBI, 24 runs scored and a .394 on-base percentage. The shortstop from Miami, FL, added nine stolen bases, two home runs and five doubles this season.
Heineman led the Rams to a 21-20 overall record, including a 19-8 conference mark that tied the Rams for the regular-season championship with Caldwell. This came after Heineman's team opened the year with a 1-11 record, but saw them close the season with 20 victories in their final 29 games.
In addition to Casal, the two other repeat first team All-CACC selections are Caldwell sophomore outfielder Adric Saxon and Wilmington senior utility player, Brian Testa.
The complete All-Conference team and special award winners are listed below.
FIRST TEAM (16 members due to ties in voting)
1B Cody Levins Nyack Jr. McKinney, TX
2B Tyler Mentzer Philadelphia So. Gettysburg, PA
SS Zach Mentzer Philadelphia Sr. Gettysburg, PA
3B Corey Huffine Post Jr. Colorado Springs, CO
C Marcos Torres Felician So. Miami, FL
OF Sean Brown Dominican Sr. Massapequa, NY
OF Michael Curry USP Sr. Collegeville, PA
OF Cody Holliday Wilmington Jr. Havre de Grace, MD
OF Adric Saxon Caldwell So. Coral Springs, FL
DH Tommy Murphy Caldwell Sr. Monroe, NY
UT Brian Testa Wilmington Sr. Wilmington, DE
P Robert Casal Caldwell So. Howard Beach, NY
P Tommy Mejia Dominican Sr. Brooklyn, NY
P Michael Mondesir Dominican Sr. Jamaica, NY
P Stephen Pfeil Caldwell Jr. Hampstead, NH
RP Joe Brescia Felician Fr. Holmdel, NJ
SECOND TEAM
1B Tommy Maloney Dominican So. Massapequa Park, NY
2B Ricky Maldonado Bloomfield Jr. Lakewood, NJ
SS Hector Bello Felician Fr. Miami, FL
3B Mike Wilson Wilmington Sr. Wilmington, DE
C Chris Chiarappa Caldwell Sr. Elmont, NY
OF Vinnie DiBenedetti Felician Jr. Forked River, NJ
OF Dan Etherton Chestnut Hill Fr. Princeton, NJ
OF Raymond Keelan Caldwell So. Barnegat, NJ
DH Eric Rovinetti Post Sr. Watertown, CT
UT Phil Messerian Nyack So. Fair Lawn, NJ
P Jimmy Okoniewski Wilmington Sr. Wilmington, DE
P Kyle Noonan Philadelphia Jr. Morristown, NJ
P Ben Schoenberg Post Jr. Sugarland, TX
RP Buddy Riggs Caldwell So. Coral Springs, FL
Player of the Year: Cody Levins, Jr., 1B, Nyack
Pitcher of the Year: Robert Casal, So., RHP, Caldwell
Rookie of the Year: Hector Bello, Fr., SS, Felician
Coach of the Year: Mark Heineman, Philadelphia
Team Sportsmanship Award: Philadelphia University
Honorable Mention: George Kochu, Chestnut Hill; Alex Munoz, Bloomfield; Omar Velazquez, Caldwell; Matt Gianni, Wilmington; Nick Riker, Felician; Jared Farbman, Philadelphia; Joe Parisi, Nyack; Johnny Figueroa, Post; JungMin Lee, Philadelphia; Jason Hartley, Philadelphia; Dan Luisi, Post