BOSTON – Six members of the Hartford baseball team collected All-Conference honors from the America East, the organization announced on Tuesday evening at the Championship Dinner and Awards Reception.
Highlighting the list of honorees was junior
Zachary Ardito, who was named to the America East All-Conference First Team. It is the second time in his career that he has earned all-conference honors after being named to the second team in 2018.
Freshmen
Devin Kellogg and
Will Nowak were each named to the America East All-Rookie Team, while sophomore
Drew DeMartino, junior
Jackson Olson and senior
Chris Sullivan each took home All-Academic Team accolades.
One of the top third basemen in the region, Ardito led the Hawks to their sixth straight 20-win season. A native of Ansonia, Conn., Ardito was Hartford's top hitter during conference play, batting .338 with 23 hits, five doubles, 10 RBI and 14 runs. He also registered a perfect fielding percentage against America East opponents.
Ranking among the league's leader in multiple categories during conference play, Ardito finished the regular season ranked seventh in batting average, seventh in on-base percentage (.430), seventh in stolen bases (6), second in steals per game (2.6) and eighth in assists (47).
Nowak burst onto the scene this season for Hartford, anchoring the Hawks' bullpen with a team-high five saves. He paced the team with a 6-1 record, while registering a 2.34 ERA with 31 strikeouts. Nowak earned America East Rookie of the Week Honors three times this year — the most of any America East freshman this season — and is one save away from tying Jeremy Charles (2013) for the fifth most in a single-season in program history.
Kellogg appeared in 38 games, starting 28 during his rookie campaign. The Florence, Mass., native finished the regular season batting .252, adding 26 hits, 14 RBI and 13 runs scored. Kellogg blasted his first career home run — a grand slam — in a 7-4 win against UMBC, tallying a career-high four RBI.
Olson is Hartford's only repeat member of the All-Academic Team, while DeMartino and Sullivan receive the distinction for the first time in their careers. A marketing major, Olson owns the fourth-highest GPA — a 3.83 mark — on the 10-member team. DeMartino, a business major, earned a spot on the team with a 3.77 GPA, while Sullivan, who is also a management major, received the honor with a 3.56 GPA.
Earning the No. 6 seed, Hartford opens up the America East Tournament in Vestal, N.Y., on Wednesday against tournament hosts, No. 3 Binghamton. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m.
Championship Central
Championship Bracket
