DiRocco, Rogers, Prosinski Earn All-NJCBA Honors
5/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - Seton Hall baseball's Joe DiRocco (East Hanover, N.J.) earned first team honors for the All-NJCBA (New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association) while teammates Michael Rogers (Portland, Ore.) and Jon Prosinski (Skillman, N.J.) took home Second Team honors.
In addition, freshmen, Mike Genovese (Livingston, N.J.), Chase Gray (Toms River, N.J.), Frank Morris (Levittown, Pa.), and Giuseppe Papaccio (Nutley, N.J.) each earned a place on the All-Rookie Team.
DiRocco is the only player on this year's list of Pirates to have earned an NJCBA honor prior to 2010 as he was named to the Second Team in 2009. He finished his junior campaign 5-7 with 62 strikeouts in 82 innings of work, posting an ERA of 5.05. His 14 starts were the most of any pitcher this season for the Hall, tying his mark from last season and earning a four-way tie for fourth place all-time in the Seton Hall single-season record books. The right-handed ace of the pitching staff also led the team with a .250 opposing batting average, 28 called third strikes, and three pick-offs.
The East Hanover native jump started the Pirates in their first BIG EAST game this season with a complete-game shutout against West Virginia, en route to being named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. After tossing 7.1 strong innings in a losing effort against #11 Louisville, he came back a week later to out duel the conference's pre-season favorite Randy Fontanez by allowing one run on three hits in eight innings at USF earning the win and the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week award.
Rogers picked up his first NJCBA award with the Second Team honor. The senior outfielder finished his final season leading the Pirates in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, total bases, walks, hit-by-pitches, and stolen bases propelling him to be named the Seton Hall Senior Male Athlete of the Year. The Portland, Ore. native played and started in 49 of the team's 50 games hitting .316. He finished second on the team with three triples, including a three-bagger at home against Cincinnati on April 9 that cracked the top 10 list for most triples in a career placing him in a 10-way tie for 10th place with eight.
Prosinski finished his first season as a Pirate with a 3-3 record in 14 appearances and 13 starts. The freshman right-hander recorded a team-leading ERA of 4.04 and struck out 45 batters in 75.2 innings of work. In just the season's second weekend, Prosinski had earned 2010 Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge All-Tournament Team Honorable Mention with his stellar performance against Northwestern tossing six scoreless innings striking out six batters earning his first collegiate win, and the team's first win of the season. From February 28 through March 21, Prosinski had not allowed an earned run in 17 straight innings, including 15 scoreless innings from February 28 through March 16. In addition, he picked up the win against #11 Louisville as the Pirates avoided the sweep and he tossed seven innings allowing one earned run in a no-decision against #19 Connecticut to receive a place on the Collegebaseball360.com Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll.
Genovese made 21 appearances out of the bullpen posting a 2-1 record with a 3.19 ERA in 31 innings of work. After earning his first collegiate victory with two scoreless innings against Stony Brook on March 16, the right-hander made 12 straight appearances allowing only two runs. During that span, the Livingston native tossed 15.1 innings against teams such as St. John's Cincinnati, Notre Dame, and #11 Louisville.
Red-shirt freshman Chase Gray earned his appearances on the All-Rookie Team by batting .328 in 58 at-bats, and seven walks. Of his 19 hits, three were doubles, and he drove in eight RBI including a pinch-hit walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth against in-state and conference rival Rutgers on Sunday, May 16. As a second baseman, Gray recorded six putouts and six assists without making a single error.
Morris received his honor by tossing 51.2 innings in 12 appearances and nine starts. He ended his freshman season second on the team with a 4.70 ERA tossing a complete game and striking out 27 batters. After allowing only one earned run in two innings of work in his first collegiate start against Texas A&M, the right-hander pitched 8.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen before earning his next start and never looked back. His complete game came in a losing effort against #11 Louisville despite surrendering only three runs on five hits in eight innings of work. Prior to that start, the Levittown, Pa. native yielded only five earned runs in 17.2 innings as a starter against St. John's, Cincinnati, and Notre Dame.
Papaccio finished the 2010 season with a .239 batting average picking up 34 hits, driving in 16 runs and scoring 15. Playing at third base this season, he posted 30 putouts and 72 assists, including two assists at home plate in the Pirates one-run win against Rutgers on May 16. In his 41 games played, he recorded 11 multi-hit games and was named the 2010 Rawlings Strike Out Cancer Most Outstanding Player.
