Duo named among best in New England

Full NEIBA All-Star Game Rosters (PDF)

RINDGE, N.H. (May 28, 2013) – Junior right-hander Trevor Graham (Sebastian, Fla.) and junior first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) of the East Region champion Franklin Pierce University baseball team have been selected to participate in the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association All-Star Game, as announced Tuesday by the NEIBA. This year's game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, June 3 at LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Mass.

The two Ravens will join other All-Star selections from Division II and III programs from across New England to form the College Division Team. Their opponents will be the University Division Team, composed of selections from New England's Division I programs.

Named the East Region Pitcher of the Year by both Daktronics and the ABCA, Graham has been nothing short of dominant for the Ravens in his first season in Rindge after transferring in from Florida Tech. With a flock of professional scouts on-hand at every start, Graham leads a pitching staff which ranks first in the NCAA (through last weekend's regional tournaments) in both strikeouts per nine innings (9.2) and hits allowed per nine innings (6.91) by ranking among the top 50 pitchers in the nation in ERA (1.76), strikeouts per nine innings (10.03), strikeouts (114), hits allowed per nine innings (5.98), strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.33), WHIP (0.84) and wins (9). The most impressive of those numbers among his peers are strikeouts, WHIP and hits allowed per nine innings, as he ranks among the top five in the country in all three. In addition, through the East Regional, he is in the top 10 in the Northeast-10 Conference in innings pitched (102.1), strikeouts, strikeouts per nine innings, ERA and wins. Overall, in his 102.1 innings, he has allowed 28 runs (20 earned) on 69 hits and 18 walks to post a 9-2 record and hold opponents to a .191 batting average.

Graham has been named to the Daktronics All-America First Team, was a consensus All-East Region First Team selection, and is a finalist for the Tino Martinez Award and the Josh Willingham Award, both of which are awarded by College Baseball Lineup. He was also the Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Year and an All-Northeast-10 First Team selection.

Mathieu, the 2012 consensus East Region Player of the Year, was unseated by St. Thomas Aquinas senior catcher Mike Russo as consensus East Region Player of the Year in 2013, but still had an accolade-worthy season. While not featuring the same video-game offensive numbers he did a year ago -- though his on-base percentage is higher -- Mathieu has still posted a .342/.456/.544 slash line over 193 at-bats (through last weekend's regional tournament) and ranks in the top 10 in the Northeast-10 in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, home runs (6), runs scored (51), runs batted in (35), doubles (17) and walks (33). Of those categories, batting average and runs batted in are the only ones where he is not ranked in the top five as well. Overall, Mathieu is 66-for-193 with a pair of triples, has driven in 35 runs, struck out only 33 times against those 33 walks and has stolen 19 bases in 23 attempts (82.6%).

It is Mathieu's second straight selection to the NEIBA All-Star Game. He was a consensus All-East Region selection again this spring, as he landed on both the ABCA and Daktronics First Team, as well as the NCBWA Second Team. Mathieu was also an All-Northeast-10 First Team pick for the second season in a row.

The East Region champion Ravens (37-18) suffered their first loss of the NCAA Championship National Finals on Monday evening and will face elimination the rest of the week. First up is Midwest Region champion Grand Valley State on Wednesday, when first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Coleman Field at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics).