BOSTON – A pair of Suffolk baseball players have picked up one of the highest honors from Suffolk Athletics this morning as Blase Cormier and Shane Lake were named the 2021-22 Carol Maggio Department Recognition Award recipients, Director of Athletics Cary McConnell announced Wednesday.
The award is dedicated in honor of Carol Maggio, the department's former longtime Administrative Assistant, who served the Rams for over 18 years and is given to a person(s) who has been a valuable asset in the day-to-day operations of the Athletic Department.
Lake is the first-ever two-time honoree dating back to 2008-09 with his second nod in as many years, while Cormier collected the distinction for the first time. The duo from the diamond is the fourth pair dating back to 2008-09 to share the accolade and first-ever twosome from the same sport to be acknowledged in the same season.
Since 2008-09, 17 Suffolk students have picked up the feat, with four of them representing the baseball team, joining Sean Cameron '17 (2016-17) and Jon Lapolla '16 (2015-16). The quartet of baseball players to receive the accolade have come over the last season years.
"Blase and Shane have been some of, if not the most, dependable assets throughout the course of their careers as Suffolk student-athletes," Sports Information Director Amy Barry said. "A lot goes into running a collegiate athletic department on game days and without their help the high-quality, game-day experience that Suffolk University strives to provide its student-athletes, families and fans, would be unobtainable."
Barry continued, "In a time when the Athletic Department is at the largest in its existence, they [Blase and Shane] exceeded all expectations, proving to be incredibly reliable, responsible and diligent. It's hard to put into words my gratitude towards each of them. Their presence will be greatly missed."
Away from aiding in the behind-the-scenes of game-days for Ram Nation, they have aided in the success of the Suffolk baseball team over the last five years, which includes a NCAA Regional run in 2018 following a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship.
Cormier, a three-time all-league and two-time conference defensive team honoree, has been a staple on first base since his freshman campaign in 2018. Over 163 games played, the left-handed hitter finished his career just 14 hits away from the coveted 200 mark behind a career slash line of .329/.429/.404. Of his 186 hits, 37 of them were good for extra bases knocks highlighted by 33 doubles. He brought in 111 runs over the course of his career including 34 as a senior this season and scored 101 himself. In the field he was near perfect with just 12 errors over his 1,323 changes for a .991 field percentage.
Lake saved his best for last with a standout senior season. The backstop had career-high numbers in every offensive category in 2022 with 22 hits on a .344 average with 12 RBI to go along with 11 runs scored en route to his first all-league recognition, the first Suffolk catcher acknowledged with a spot on the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC)'s all-conference team. Over his four seasons, the right-handed batter has amassed 40 hits, neared 30 RBI and crossed home 32 times. Defensively, he has caught 15 runners stealing and assembled a .988 fielding percentage.
CAROL MAGGIO DEPARTMENT RECOGNITION AWARD
2008-09 Bryan Meyers, Men's Hockey
2009-10 Abdel Ouedrago, Photograher
2010-11 Alex Hernandez-Vallant, Women's Tennis / Paul Weisser, Men's Hockey
2011-12 Karina Bolster, Softball
2012-13 Chris Cercone, Videographer
2013-14 Djibril Niang, Men's Soccer
2014-15 Brett Roman, Men's Hockey
2015-16 Meredith Ball, Softball / Jon Lapolla, Baseball
2016-17 Sean Cameron, Baseball / Lindsay Pagano, Softball
2017-18 Delaney Sylvester, Softball
2018-19 Donny Porcaro, Public Address Announcer
2019-20 Samantha Jacques, Softball
2020-21 Shane Lake, Baseball
2021-22 Blase Cormier, Baseball / Shane Lake, Baseball