
BOSTON – For the first time in Suffolk baseball history, three Rams garnered all-region first-team accolades as the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) in conjunction with the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Rawlings honored Matt Brenner, Brady Chant and Chuck Gibson for their stand up 2017 seasons.
The trio of upperclassmen led the Rams to a historic run at the NCAA New England Regionals over the weekend after helping the blue-and-gold hoist their third consecutive GNAC Trophy on May 7 that punched Suffolk's third consecutive ticket to the NCAA Division III Championship and the program's seventh overall.
Brenner, Chant and Gibson were crucial ingredients to push the Rams' into the NCAA regional winner's bracket for the first time in seven trips with a 4-0 shutout over #22/17 St. John Fisher May 18. The triumph also went down as the first NCAA tournament win under three-year head coach Anthony Del Prete, the first shutout by Suffolk in the Big Dance and the first time the Rams found themselves in the win column at the regionals since 2005. The threesome continued to excel the next night in a thrilling 1-0, 11-inning walk-off win over #25 Arcadia to secure its spot in Championship Sunday. Suffolk ended up falling to eventual regional winner, #17/19 UMass Boston and was eliminated by fifth-seeded Babson to complete its electrifying season 28-17 overall.
A total of 49 players from 27 different schools were recognized on the first, second and third teams. Chant took home his second first-team nod in as many years, while Brenner and Gibson received the recognition for the first time in their careers.
Earlier today, the triad was named to D3Baseball.com All-New England team with Brenner and Chant on the first team and Gibson representing the Rams on the second team.
2017 New England-ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Teams |
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NCAA Div. III New England All-Region First Team |
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Pos. |
Player |
Cl. |
School |
State |
C |
Sr. |
Suffolk |
MA |
|
1B |
Chris Fowler |
Jr. |
UMass Boston |
MA |
2B |
Kyle Hartenstein |
Jr. |
Mitchell |
CT |
3B |
Taylor Black |
Sr. |
St. Joseph's |
ME |
SS |
Austin Filiere |
Jr. |
MIT |
MA |
SS |
Kyle Bonicki |
Jr. |
Clark |
MA |
OF |
Alex Zachary |
Sr. |
Eastern Connecticut State |
CT |
OF |
Jr. |
Suffolk |
MA |
|
OF |
Ryan Tropeano |
So. |
WPI |
MA |
DH |
Ryan Arena |
Jr. |
Babson |
MA |
UT |
Jake Dexter |
So. |
Southern Maine |
ME |
P |
Speros Varinos |
Sr. |
Tufts |
MA |
P |
Devin Hayes |
Sr. |
Castleton State |
VT |
P |
Patrick Maybach |
Fr. |
Salve Regina |
RI |
P |
Sr. |
Suffolk |
MA |
|
|
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NCAA Div. III New England All-Region Second Team |
||||
Pos. |
Player |
Cl. |
School |
State |
C |
Christian Vargas |
Jr. |
Salve Regina |
RI |
1B |
Matt Howard |
Jr. |
WPI |
MA |
1B |
Taylor Cacciola |
Sr. |
UMass Dartmouth |
MA |
2B |
Cam Cook |
Jr. |
Nichols |
MA |
3B |
Alex Parkos |
So. |
Eastern Connecticut State |
CT |
3B |
Tom O'Hara |
Jr. |
Tufts |
MA |
SS |
Garrett Griffin |
Jr. |
Mitchell |
CT |
OF |
Dylan Hapworth |
Fr. |
Southern Maine |
ME |
OF |
Evan Delaney |
So. |
New England College |
NH |
OF |
Yanni Thanopoulos |
Sr. |
Amherst |
MA |
OF |
Anthony Crowley |
So. |
Westfield State |
MA |
DH |
Adam Barry |
Sr. |
Worcester State |
MA |
UT |
Davis Mikell |
Fr. |
Castleton State |
VT |
P |
Ethan Forrest |
Sr. |
Newbury |
MA |
P |
Jimmy Fitzgerald |
Jr. |
Salve Regina |
RI |
P |
Matt Nunes |
Sr. |
Westfield State |
MA |
RP |
Josh Partridge |
Jr. |
St. Joseph's |
ME |