FIVE DOLPHINS EARN AMERICAN BASEBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION EAST REGION HONORS
Mt. Pleasant, Mich. – Le Moyne College senior right-handed pitcher Ed Kohout (Clarence, N.Y./Clarence/Genesee C.C.), junior right fielder Zack Wiley (Toluca Woods, Calif./Crespi) and junior right-handed pitcher Casey Cannon (Manasquan, N.J./Saint Rose/U. of Delaware) lead a group of five Dolphins to receive American Baseball Coaches Association East Region honors, as announced by the association.
Kohout, Wiley and Cannon earned East Region First Team honors, while senior center fielder Brett Botsford (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) and senior third baseman Matt Marra (Brewerton, N.Y./Central Square) were recognized with spots on the second team. Le Moyne's five selections were the most in the East Region, while the three first-team selections trailed just Franklin Pierce's four.
Kohout, who earned Northeast-10 Conference First Team and NCBWA East Region Second Team honors in his second year with the program, went 9-3 with a 1.90 earned run average (ninth-best in the NE-10) and 73 strikeouts in 85 and one-third innings over 14 appearances. He finished in a three-way tie for the team-lead in wins, while being a part of a four-way tie for the East Region-lead. He posted a team-best four complete games (tied for sixth in the NE-10), including a shutout against Wayne State (Neb.) on March 8. In 11 starts, Kohout went 9-1 with a 1.65 earned run average and 65 strikeouts over 76 and one-third innings. In five conference starts, he was 4-1 with a 0.92 earned run average (third in the NE-10) and 29 strikeouts in 39 and one-third innings, while posting two complete games. In four postseason starts, Kohout went 3-0 with 21 strikeouts in 23 innings pitched.
Wiley, a Northeast-10 Conference First Team and NCBWA East Region Second Team selection, led the team in batting average by hitting at a .344 clip, while also recording the most doubles (15, tied for 10th in the East Region), driving in the most runs (48, tied for fifth in the East Region) and having the highest on-base percentage (.458, fifth in the East Region) on the team. Wiley, who slugged a team-best .481, had 74 hits (tied for sixth in the East Region), scored 52 runs (tied for fifth in the East Region), walked 38 times (fifth in the East Region) and stole 25 bases (tied for third in the NE-10) to rank second on the team, while registering four home runs, the third-most on the team. Wiley registered multiple hits in 23 contests, including a pair of games with four hits, while leading the team with eight games of at least three runs batted in.
Cannon, named a semifinalist for the Tino Martinez Award as the most outstanding player in Division II and selected to the Northeast-10 Conference Second Team, went 9-0 with a 1.42 earned run average, three shutouts and 61 strikeouts in 82 and one-third innings of work over 14 appearances, while adding one save. Cannon ranks fifth in the region and ninth nationally with his 1.42 ERA, while leading the conference and ranking third in the nation in fewest hits allowed per nine innings at 5.20. In 10 starts, Cannon went 8-0 with a conference-best three shutouts, a 1.39 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 71 innings. The only pitcher in the region and one of only 10 in the country with at least nine wins without a loss, Cannon was 6-0 in conference action with a league-best 0.34 earned run average, three shutouts, one save and 42 strikeouts in 53 innings.
Botsford, a Northeast-10 Conference First Team and NCBWA East Region Second Team selection, finished the season as the team leader in hits with a career-high 82 (the second-most on the program's single-season list and third in the East Region and 15th nationally this year), runs scored with a career-best 56 (fifth-most on the program's single-season chart and third in the region this season), stolen bases with a conference-best 30 (third-most in Le Moyne's history) and walks with a program-record 41 (third in the region), while tying for the team lead in triples with four. He registered the team's second-highest batting average (.339) and on-base percentage (.444, sixth in NE-10), while ranking third with a .442 slugging percentage. Botsford, the program's career leader in games played (214), games started (211), hits (269) and walks (119), drove in 34 runs to rank in a tie for fourth on the team, while posting eight doubles and blasting three home runs. In conference play, Botsford stole 15 bases, tied for the second-most in the league. Botsford, the team leader in multi-hit games with 26, including seven games with at least three hits, registered a 19-game hit streak from February 18 to March 25 and closed out the regular season with a hit in the final nine games.
Marra, one of only three players on the team to start all 59 games, finished the season tied with Wiley for second on the team and sixth in the region in hits with 74. Marra, who ranks only behind Botsford in career games (210) and games started (208), ranked third on the team in batting average (.323), on-base percentage (.405), doubles (10), home runs (4), runs batted in (47, seventh in the East Region) and walks (30), while placing fourth in slugging percentage (.419) and fifth in runs scored (36). Marra picked up multiple hits 20 times, including six games with three hits and one game with four hits, while posting a 13-game hit streak from March 20 to April 5. He also added 12 games with multiple runs batted in, including five games with at least three RBI. Marra also took the mound five times, tossing eight and one-third innings, striking out nine batters and allowing just four hits, while earning a win and a save. His win came after pitching the final two innings of a 10-6, 11-inning win over Wayne State (Neb.) on March 9, while he earned his save by tossing the final three innings of Le Moyne's 4-2 victory over Franklin Pierce on May 13 to win the Northeast-10 Championship.
Le Moyne, which won the Northeast-10 Conference Championship and advanced to the East Region championship game, finished its first season back at the Division II level with a record of 43-15-1. The 43 wins are a program record, eclipsing the previous record of 38 set in 2006.
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2012 ABCA East Region Teams
First Team
Catcher – Matt Walsh (Franklin Pierce)
First Base – Zach Mathieu (Franklin Pierce)
Second Base – James Katsiroubas (UMass Lowell)
Third Base – Cam Kneeland (UMass Lowell)
Shortstop – Matt Boulter (So. New Hampshire)
Outfield – Joe Harbach (Wilmington), James Roche (Franklin Pierce), Zack Wiley (Le Moyne), Nick LaCroix (Franklin Pierce)
Designated Hitter – Mike Russo (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Utility – Robert Kelly (St. Anselm)
Starting Pitcher – Tim Flight (So. New Hampshire), John Healy (Saint Anselm), Casey Cannon (Le Moyne), Ed Kohout (Le Moyne)
Relief Pitcher – Jordan Oncay (Wilmington)
Second Team
Catcher – George Wargo (St. Thomas Aquinas)
First Base – Anthony Zarrella (Adelphi)
Second Base – Dan Fratus (Stonehill)
Third Base – Matt Marra (Le Moyne)
Shortstop – Shane Keddy (Assumption)
Outfield – Emilio Fernandez (Bloomfield), John Kennedy (Nyack), Tony Blake (Dominican), Brett Botsford (Le Moyne)
Designated Hitter – Andrew Camardella (Dominican)
Utility – Michael White (Stonehill)
Starting Pitcher – Matt Marotta (St. Thomas Aquinas), Rob Finneran (Bentley), Mike Tamburino (Pace), Jamie Treml (Wilmington)
Relief Pitcher – Alex Powers (So. New Hampshire)
Player of the Year: Zach Mathieu – Franklin Pierce
Pitcher of the Year: Timothy Flight – So. New Hampshire
Rookie of the Year: John Kennedy – Nyack

