Vazquez lands on Third Team; Cote, Nicholas garner Honorable Mention

NCBWA All-America Teams

RINDGE, N.H. (June 8, 2009) – Junior right-hander Kyle Vazquez (Berlin, Conn./Berlin) of the Franklin Pierce University has been named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-America Third Team. In addition, senior left-hander Tom Cote (Swanzey, N.H./Univ. of Massachusetts) and sophomore right-hander Rob Nicholas (Northboro, Mass./Algonquin Regional) collected NCBWA All-America Honorable Mention honors.

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 and 11th in the nation. He also finished sixth in the nation in strikeouts (112) and 12th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.8). In addition to earned-run average, Vazquez also finished 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.

Vazquez was named Northeast-10 Conference Pitcher of the Year earlier this spring and received All-America honors from both Daktronics (Second Team) and Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association (Third Team). He has also garnered Daktronics All-East Region First Team, ABCA All-East Region First Team, NCBWA All-East Region First Team, Eastern College Athletic Conference Division II Baseball All-Star First Team, New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association All-Star Team and All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team accolades this spring.

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 placed 12th in the nation in earned-run average (1.94), 21st in strikeouts (91), 24th in hits allowed per nine innings (6.93) and 52nd 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. Cote has picked up a trio of All-East Region selections this spring, as he collected First Team honors from Daktronics and the NCBWA, as well as Second Team honors from the ABCA. In addition, the left-hander garnered Daktronics All-America Second Team and All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team honors as well as an NEIBA All-Star Team selection earlier this spring.

Nicholas served as Franklin Pierce’s top arm out of the bullpen this season and finished the year second in the Northeast-10 and tied for 15th in the nation with nine saves. Over 36 innings in 22 appearances out of the bullpen, he put together a 2-2 record with a 1.25 earned-run average. Nicholas allowed just eight runs (five earned) on 24 hits, walked 15 and struck out 30, while holding opponents to a .192 batting average. Earlier this spring, he was named NCBWA All-East Region First Team, ABCA All-East Region Second Team and All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team and also collected an NEIBA All-Star Team selection.

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.