Northeast-10 Conference baseball awards

MANSFIELD, Mass. (May 12, 2021) -- For the first time since 2015, the Franklin Pierce University baseball team has collected multiple major end-of-season awards from the Northeast-10 Conference. Senior catcher Dylan Jones (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) has been selected as the Northeast Division Player of the Year, while sophomore shortstop Ian Battipaglia (Cheshire, Conn.) picked up divisional Rookie of the Year honors. In addition, the Ravens put eight players on the leagues All-Conference teams and two on the All-Rookie Team, as nine individuals earned recognition from the conference office.

Jones and Battipaglia highlighted the haul for Franklin Pierce, as both were named to the All-NE10 First Team, in addition to their more-significant awards. Jones is the eighth all-time NE10 Player of the Year selection for the Ravens, and the first since Jay Jabs took the award in back-to-back years in 2015 and 2016. Battipaglia is the fourth Raven to collect Rookie of the Year plaudits, and the first since Matt Walsh did so in 2012. Franklin Pierce has had at least one All-NE10 First Team selection every season since 2001, and has now had multiple First Team honorees in 18 of the 20 seasons during that stretch.

Behind the pair of First Team accolades, the Ravens piled up five All-NE10 Second Team awards, which went to senior first baseman Jonel Ozuna (New York, N.Y.), junior second baseman Randy Flores (Brooklyn, N.Y.), graduate student third baseman Tyler Patane (Lake Gove, N.Y.), junior left fielder Jake Miller (Waltham, Mass.) and graduate student right-hander Seb Gruszecki (Dudley, Mass.). Junior center fielder Joel Lara (Boston, Mass.) landed on the All-NE10 Third Team, while Battipaglia and freshman right-hander Sean Foody (Tappan, N.Y.) picked up All-Rookie Team honors.

Jones has put together a staggering .430/.471/.757 slash line for a 1.228 OPS over 107 at-bats (46-for-107), with a team-leading 15 doubles, one triple and six home runs. He has scored 34 runs, driven in 32 and stolen nine bases without being caught. Jones leads the NE10 in slugging, is second in runs scored, is third in runs batted in and is fourth in batting average.

Battipaglia missed some time earlier in the year, but has been red-hot over 17 games since, as he has a .462/.539/.677 slash line and a 1.216 OPS over 65 at-bats (30-for-65), with five doubles and three home runs. He has scored 22 runs and driven in 25.

As for the Second Team honorees, Ozuna leads the team with seven home runs, is second in the NE10 only to Jones with a .750 slugging percentage, and leads the league with 44 RBIs. Flores has a .459 on-base percentage, has scored an NE10-best 38 runs and has stolen a team-best 13 bases without getting caught. Patane has a 1.124 OPS with the NE10’s third-best on-base percentage (.536) and has drawn 25 walks against just 14 strikeouts. Miller has posted a .468 OBP, scored 19 times and driven in 23. Gruszecki has made six starts on the mound and struck out 28 over 33.2 innings, on the way to a 2.67 ERA and a 4-0 record.

The lone Franklin Pierce representative on the Third Team, Lara has a .439 on-base percentage and has stolen 12 bases in 15 attempts.

The Ravens’ other rep on the All-Rookie Team, Foody, has made three late-season starts on the hill. He has struck out nine over 13 innings to post a 2.08 ERA and a 2-0 record.