Felician Athletics - 5/8/07 BASEBALL - Quintana Voted CACC Player Of The Year; Five Named All-League

RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Felician College senior Frank Quintana (Miami, FL/South Miami) has been named the 2007 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Baseball Player of the Year, according to balloting released today. Quintana’s selection highlights five Golden Falcons who were named to the All-CACC Teams, including four to the First Team.

Quintana, a first-baseman, was a three-time conference Player of the Week in 2007, and leads the CACC in seven statistical categories. Heading into today’s regular-season finale at Kean University, he is batting .413 with 18 doubles, school records of 16 homeruns and 59 runs batted in, 56 runs scored, and 23 stolen bases in 46 games. He is the Golden Falcons’ all-time leader in homers (35) and RBI (146), and becomes the program’s first Player of the Year. In the 16 conference games, Quintana hit .458 with nine homers and 28 RBI.

Joining Quintana on the All-CACC First Team were senior outfielder Ray Rose (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway), freshman second-baseman Richard Melendez (Miami, FL/South Miami), and freshman relief pitcher Jeff Calabrese (Freehold, NJ/Christian Brothers). Rose, in 45 games, is batting .368 with 12 doubles, five homers, 30 runs, and 38 RBI. Melendez, a two-time CACC Rookie of the Week, is hitting .362 with 14 doubles, a homer, 19 runs and 29 RBI in 39 contests. Calabrese, a 6-foot-4 right-hander, is 4-1 with a 2.64 earned-run average and four saves in a school-record 22 appearances. In 30 2/3 innings, he has struck out 30 batters while walking 12, and opponents are hitting .181 against him.

Senior designated hitter Chris Flynn (Keyport, NJ/Keyport) was voted to the All-CACC Second Team by the league’s head coaches. In 39 games, Flynn is batting .369 (second only to Quintana on Felician), with eight doubles, three homers, 23 runs, 28 RBI and a .470 on-base percentage.

The Golden Falcons have a won-lost record of 23-23, and finished tied for second in the CACC with a 10-6 league mark. They reached the CACC playoffs for the second consecutive season, and play at Wilmington (Del.) College on Thursday at noon. Felician has had 16 student-athletes attain all-CACC status this academic year.

Click here to view the complete 2007 All-CACC Baseball Teams.