WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester State University's Ben Palatino (Hudson, Mass.) and Jake Breton (Wilbraham, Mass.) were named to the 2018 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) baseball first and second teams, respectively, as announced by the league Wednesday (May 9) afternoon.
Palatino, a sophomore first baseman who was named the MASCAC Rookie of the Year last season, was named to the first team this season, leading his team in batting average (.356), on base percentage (.433), runs scored (31) and hits (47). He recorded six doubles, one triple and two home runs while collecting 17 RBI and going 16-for-18 on stolen bases. Defensively, he marked a .982 fielding percentage (1.000 in MASCAC competition) with 262 putouts and 14 assists. Once throughout the season, he was named the MASCAC baseball player of the week.
Breton, a freshman utility player, was named to the second team for his efforts at second base, third base, and designated hitter. He was named the MASCAC baseball rookie of the week once throughout the season and was tabbed the Worcester State Rookie Athlete of the Year this season. He was in the top-3 on his team in batting average (.333), on base percentage (.402), runs scored (19), hits (36), doubles (14), triples (2), home run (2) and RBI (18).
The Lancers baseball team completed the 2018 season at 12-26 under the direction of 23rd year head coach Dirk Baker.
Westfield State took home three major awards as junior outfielder, Anthony Crowley (Bellingham, Mass.) was named the Baseball Player of the Year, John Gegetskas (Windsor, Conn.), was named the Baseball Pitcher of the Year, and head coach Nathan Bashaw was tabbed the Champion's Choice Coach of the Year. Massachusetts Maritime's freshman pitcher, John Teehan (Hyde Park, Mass.) earned the Rookie of the Year honors.