Westfield, MA --- Senior teammates Zach George (Attleboro, MA) and David Ruggiero (Peabody, MA) along with sophomore Adam Barry (Auburn, MA/Holy Name) were each recognized on the All-MASCAC Baseball Second-team as announced by league publicist Emily Diekelmann.
George, who earned a spot on the team as a utility player, has been a spark plug at the top of the order with a .383 batting average. In addition to topping the MASCAC in runs (41), he is tied for third in both doubles (12) and hits (49) while he's fourth in on-base percentage (.452) and fifth in slugging (.547).
On the campaign George has played four different positions on the diamond including double-digit sums at designated hitter, in the outfield and at first base. Among MASCAC opponents he had the second-highest clip in the league (.442 – 19-for-43) to go with 13 runs, six doubles, two triples and six RBI.
Over the course of his four-year career, George has put up a .341 batting average and he is just one single away from 100 solo knocks. With the third-most swipes in the league (16) he now has 36 in 135 games. George was also recognized with all-conference honors in his sophomore year in the outfield.
Ruggiero collects his second consecutive All-MASCAC accolade, this time at second base after being lauded for outstanding play at shortstop in 2014. In another strong season that started off with a 20-game hitting streak, Ruggiero has 49 hits, nine doubles, 20 runs, 16 RBI and seven stolen bases and a .380 batting average.
After making the switch to second base midway through the year, Ruggiero has been solid, making just two miscues in 62 chances over a stretch of 16 games. Ruggiero recently became the programs all-time leader in singles (134) and he is a lifetime .332 hitter.
Barry, who earned an all-conference plaque last year starting in right field as a freshman, clubbed .366 with 45 hits, five doubles and two home runs to go with 34 RBI for the second-highest sum in the MASCAC.
Among 22 in the league with over 100 at-bats, Barry is the only one with ten or fewer strikeouts as he has only fanned six times in 123 appearances at the plate. In 75 contests over the last two years, Barry has 62 RBIs.
Under the direction of 20th year head coach Dr. Dirk Baker, the Lancers posted a 23-14 mark and claimed a share of their eighth MASCAC Regular Season title. The Blue and Gold, who are the third seed in this week's conference tournament, host sixth-seeded Fitchburg State today at 3 PM.
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