Cote, Vazquez named to Second Team; Dowd Honorable Mention

Daktronics All-America Release

RINDGE, N.H. (May 22, 2009) – Senior left-hander Tom Cote (Swanzey, N.H./Univ. of Massachusetts) and junior right-hander Kyle Vazquez (Berlin, Conn./Berlin) of the Franklin Pierce University baseball team have been selected to the Daktronics All-America Second Team, as announced Friday. In addition, freshman catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) has collected Daktronics All-America Honorable Mention honors.

Cote and Vazquez teamed up to give the Ravens a fierce one-two punch at the top of the rotation throughout the season. Cote finished with a 9-2 record and the nine wins were the most of any pitcher in the Northeast-10. The southpaw currently ranks 21st in the nation in strikeouts (91) and 53rd in strikeouts per nine innings (9.28). Cote finished the season second in the Northeast-10 in innings pitched (88.1), third in opposing batting average (.211) and strikeouts and fourth in earned-run average (1.94). Cote has already collected Daktronics All-East Region First Team, ABCA All-East Region Second Team and All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team honors this spring.

Vazquez served as the Franklin Pierce ace all season long, to the tune of an 8-1 record and a 1.93 earned-run average, which was good for third in the conference. Currently, he ranks fifth in the nation in strikeouts (112) and 12th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.8). In addition to earned-run average, Vazquez is also among Northeast-10 leaders in four significant pitching categories, as he finished first in innings pitched (93.1) and strike outs, placed third in wins and ranked fifth in opposing batting average (.217). Vazquez threw three shutouts on the season, including a 10-inning, three-hit shutout with a career-high 15 strikeouts against Massachusetts Lowell on May 2 to clinch the Northeast-10 regular season title. He was named Northeast-10 Conference Pitcher of the Year earlier this month and has garnered Daktronics All-East Region First Team, ABCA All-East Region First Team and All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team accolades this spring.

Dowd, a true freshman, led the Ravens in hitting by 24 points this season, with a .380 batting average (78-for-205) which was also good for fourth in the Northeast-10 Conference. He led the Northeast-10 in on-base percentage (.450) and also ranked in the top 10 in the conference in seven other categories. Dowd finished the season tied for second in the Northeast-10 in hits, ranked fourth total bases (116), tied for fourth in doubles (15), tied for fifth in runs scored (47), ranked seventh in slugging percentage (.566) and tied for seventh in runs batted in (43) and home runs (7). It has been an award-filled spring for Dowd, who has already been selected ABCA East Region Rookie of the Year, ABCA All-East Region First Team, Daktronics All-East Region First Team, Northeast-10 Conference Co-Freshman of the Year, All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team and Northeast-10 Conference All-Rookie Team.

The Ravens (37-18) captured their third Northeast-10 Conference regular season title in four years earlier this spring and followed that with their third consecutive Northeast-10 Championship title, which was the program’s fourth in five years. Franklin Pierce earned the second seed in the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship East Regional and hosted an NCAA regional for the fifth consecutive season.