Felician Athletics - 5/5/09 BASEBALL - Felician Puts Six On All-CACC Teams

RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Six Felician College baseball players have been elected to the All-Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Baseball Teams, the CACC released today. Juniors Danny Conti (Aberdeen, NJ/Matawan Regional) and Marcos Torres (Miami, FL/South Miami) and sophomore Mickey Zudonyi (Holmdel, NJ/Holmdel) were named to the First Team. The conference’s 10 head coaches voted on the award winners.

Conti, a 5-foot-10 left-handed pitcher, was honored for the first time. He went 4-2 with a save and a league-leading 1.95 earned-run average. In 15 appearances (10 starts), he had four complete games, including a shutout of Nyack on Apr. 28, and an opponent batting average of .211, good for second in the CACC. In 73 2/3 innings, he allowed 56 hits, struck out 47 batters, and walked 21.

Torres earns his second consecutive first-team nod at catcher. In 2009, he had only one passed ball in 37 starts behind the plate. In 48 overall games, he batted .335 with 14 doubles, one triple, four home runs, 27 runs scored, and 36 runs batted in. He is second in the league in hits (60) and tied for third in doubles.

Zudonyi, a 5-foot-9 second-baseman, was named to his first all-conference team after hitting .307 with 42 runs scored and 27 RBI in 47 games as the Golden Falcons’ leadoff man. He had 18 extra-base hits, including three homers, and tied for fifth in the CACC with 20 stolen bases.

Senior center-fielder Vinnie DiBenedetti (Forked River, NJ/Lacey Township) was selected to the All-CACC Second Team for the second straight year. Felician’s all-time leader in games played, runs scored, and triples, DiBenedetti hit a career-best .314 as a senior, with 11 doubles, three triples, two homers, 37 runs, and 31 RBI, starting all 48 games.

Senior right-fielder Mike Libretta (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) and junior shortstop Alex Del Valle (Miami, FL/Christopher Columbus) were Honorable Mention All-CACC honorees. Libretta enjoyed the best season of his four-year career, batting .328 with a team-high .457 on-base percentage in 44 games. Del Valle, a transfer from Division I Le Moyne College, led Felician with a .339 average, .532 slugging percentage, 47 runs scored, and 39 RBI.

The NCAA Division II Golden Falcons completed the 2009 season with a 24-24 won-lost record. They tied for fifth place in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference with a 14-13 league mark. The complete 2009 All-CACC Baseball Teams can be viewed at www.caccathletics.org/sports/bsb/2008-09/News/All-CACC.5-5-09.