Six Lasell College baseball players earned seven total awards from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) in Monday's release of conference honors. Joshua Sullivan (Rockland, MA) earned first team all-conference as an infielder and second team honors as a pitcher while Conor Cavanagh (Quincy, MA) joined Sullivan on the first team and Carlton Lentini (Wilmington, MA) joined him on the second team. Eric Howard (Newton, MA), Christopher Pittman (Brockton, MA), and Bobby Stachura (Middletown, CT) made the ranks on the third team all-GNAC.
This is Sullivan's third year being selected by the GNAC for conference recognition having earned third team as a freshman in 2009 and second team as a sophomore in 2010. This season, Sullivan broke onto the first team after an outstanding season as Lasell's second baseman, leading the team in batting average (.403), hits (50), runs (32), triples (4), and on-base percentage (.469) and finishing second in doubles (11), slugging percentage (.581), total bases (72), and stolen bases (5). Sullivan also made 111 outs in the field and finished the year with a .958 fielding percentage.
Sullivan started in 34 games this season, had 16 multi-hit games, started the season with an 11-game hitting streak, reached the 100 hit milestone, and finished the season ranked nationally in the top 100 in two offensive categories; triples (46th) and triples per game (62nd). In the GNAC, Sullivan ranked 2nd in triples, 4th in batting average, and 5th in on-base percentage.
On the mound, Sullivan made 11 appearances, starting in eight, with one complete game. He pitched 51.0 innings and finished the year with a 4.24 ERA and a 3-3 record. Sullivan also made three saves this season, a new Lasell All-Time record, and struck out 45 batters, allowing just 24 earned runs and an opponent batting average of .293. He finished 3rd in the league in saves.
Cavanagh had an incredible season, becoming one of the national leaders in RBI, doubles, slugging percentage, and total bases throughout the season. The senior outfielder finished the year ranked 1st in the GNAC and 56th nationally in slugging percentage (.672), 1st in the GNAC and 18th in the NCAA in RBI (48), 2nd in the GNAC and 7th in the NCAA in doubles (19), and 2nd in the GNAC and 83rd in total bases (84).
Cavanagh completed the year with 49 hits, 23 runs, 48 RBI, 84 total bases, 19 doubles, two triples, and four home runs. He produced a batting average of .392, a slugging percentage of .672, and an on-base percentage of .448. He walked 13 times, hit four sacrifice flies, and went 2-2 in stolen bases. He went on a ten-game hitting streak through the start of conference play and had 14 multi-hit games. In the field, Cavanagh had two errors on 102 total chances, good for a .981 fielding percentage. He was once recognized by the GNAC as the Player of the Week.
Cavanagh holds multiple single-game, season, and career Lasell College all-time records, including RBI in a single game (9) and season records of slugging percentage, RBI, doubles, and home runs. This is his second GNAC All-Conference recognition.
Making ranks on the second team is Lasell's shortstop, Carlton Lentini. The junior infielder finished 4th in the conference overall in total assists with 99, also setting a new single-season record at Lasell. He finished the 2011 campaign with 35 hits, 31 runs, 19 RBI, six doubles, two home runs, eight walks, five hit-by-pitch, three sacrifice hits, and going 6-for-7 in stolen bases. Lentini hit a .310 batting average with a .378 on-base percentage for the season and had 14 multi-hit games.
Howard finished his initial season as a Laser with a 4-1 record on the mound, including a 2-0 slate in GNAC play, with nine total appearances, three complete games, a 3.94 ERA and a .203 opponent batting average. He struck out 46 batters this season, setting a new season record at Lasell, and yielded just 20 earned runs on 35 hits in 45.2 innings pitched. Howard tossed one complete game shutout (13-0) against Norwich University on April 9th and was named GNAC Pitcher of the Week twice during the season.
Howard picked up wins this season over Nichols, MCLA, Norwich, and Emerson.
Pittman produced a stat line of 32 hits, 17 runs, 24 RBI, 42 total bases, six doubles, two triples, six walks, with nine multi-hit games and two stolen bases while hitting .267 this season. He finished second on the team in total RBI and triples. In the field, He made 104 put outs and 23 assists with a .955 fielding percentage, while in conference play he had no errors.
Pittman also finished the season ranked 2nd in the conference in caught stealing by, making the play count on 12 occasions. In addition, the freshman also pitched 11.0 innings this season for the Lasers earning one win against Eastern Nazarene College in five innings of work.
Rounding out the Lasers all-conference honors was third baseman, Bobby Stachura. Stachura led the team in runs scored with 33 and finished 4th on the team in batting average with a .339 while producing 39 hits, 15 RBI, six doubles, 11 walks, nine hit-by-pitch, and a .434 on-base percentage. In conference play, Stachura hit .420 with 21 hits, 14 runs, and eight RBI. He also made 69 outs in the field over the course of the season.
Lasell's baseball team completed their 2011 season with the best record in program history, 21-15, a first time appearance in the GNAC quarter finals, and a 4th place finish overall.