Two Suffolk University Baseball players earned recognition for the 2012 season by the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) with All-Region selections. Junior Jhonneris Mendez (Boston, Mass.) was a second team selection at the utility position, while sophomore Jake Cintolo (Wrentham, Mass.)earned third team honors as a first baseman.
It is now the second time Cintolo has earned NEIBA All-New England honors as he was also named a second-team selection in 2011 as a freshman. It is the first time Mendez has been honored by the NEIBA.
Mendez was a dual position player for the Rams this past season as he played rightfield and pitched for Suffolk. On the mound he posted a 6-3 mark with one save and a 2.11 earned run average. In 45 games he hit .317 (53-for-167) with a team-high four home runs and 26 RBI.
Mendez was a first-team All-Conference selection by the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) as a pitcher. His 2.11 earned run average was third amongst GNAC arms this season and is ranked 77th among all NCAA Division-III pitchers. Mendez made national news earlier in the season as he threw a no-hitter on April 7th, a 3-0 victory over Lasell College that earned him NCAA Division-III Pitcher of the Week honors by the National Baseball College Writer's Association of America (NBCWA). Mendez also garnered GNAC All-Tournament honors as helped lead the Rams to the GNAC Conference finals picking up two wins in the league's double-elimination tournament. Mendez pitched four innings of scoreless relief in an 8-7 extra inning victory over Albertus Magnus College and then later threw a complete game six-hit shutout over host Johnson & Wales University four days after in an 8-0 Suffolk victory. In 12 appearances on the season Mendez struck out 52 hitters, starting eight games while logging 59 2/3 innings.
Cintolo continued to be an offensive force for Suffolk as he lead the team with a .365 batting average (61-for-167) collecting team-highs in hits (61), doubles (17), total bases (90) slugging percentage (.539) and on-base percentage (.446). The sophomore started all 45 games for Suffolk bouncing around the infield playing every position with the exception of shortstop. He hit safely in 36 of 45 contests on the year for the Rams, with multiple hits in 16 of those games. Cintolo was also a first-team All Conference selection by the GNAC as well as being named to the All-Tournament team. His 61 season hits were the most by any player in the GNAC, while he was second in the league in doubles. His 17 two-base knocks rank him third among all Division-III players in the New England region and 27th in the nation. He also tied the Suffolk single season program mark that was previously set by Joe Duca in the 2000 season. Last year Cintolo collected 77 hits on the year, also a new Suffolk single season record as he passed Mike Maguire's 2003 total of 69 hits. Cintolo also scored a team-high 38 runs (2nd in the GNAC) in 2012, while he hit two home runs and had 30 RBI. Through two seasons Cintolo is hitting at a .402 clip (138-for-343) with 33 doubles, 86 runs scored and 138 hits in 90 games played.
Both players will be representing Suffolk University this summer in NCAA-sactioned wood bat summer leagues. Mendez will pitch for the Holyoke Blue Sox of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL). Cintolo will head west to upstate New York to play for the Syracuse Salt Cats of the New York College Baseball League (NYCBL).