HANOVER, N.H.
? Senior captains Russell Young (Cleburne, Texas) and Damon Wright (Dallas,
Texas) took home the highest honors of the
night as Young was named the Pitcher of the Year, while Wright was Dartmouth's Most Valuable
Player.
In addition to being the Pitcher of the Year, Young also was
named the recipient of the James A. Cook Award, which is given to a four-year
letter-winner who has done the most for Big Green baseball during his career.
This season, he was named Ivy League Pitcher of the Year and a first team
All-Ivy performer. He was the key to each Ivy League weekend as he got the ball
to open every series and didn't disappoint with a 4-1 mark in conference play.
Overall, he posted six complete games and 65.1 innings pitched with a team-high
55 strikeouts.
Wright was also a first team All-Ivy selection. He played in
41-of-42 games for the Big Green and led the team with a .397 batting average and
60 hits. He finished his four-year career with a .348 batting average which is
eighth all-time in Dartmouth history and after his 60 hit output this season,
Wright collected 172 hits for eighth all-time as well. The highlight of the
season for Wright was his first two-homer game against Big 12 foe Kansas on the spring
trip.
Freshman infielder Jeff Onstott (Houston, Texas)
was named the Rookie of the Year after starting in 40 games at second base for
the Big Green. He hit at a .356 clip for fifth on the team and recorded 11
doubles for tops on the team. Onstott had the second longest hitting streak on
the team with a 10-gamer and began the streak with four-straight games with at
least two hits. His breakout game can in a midweek matchup at Quinnipiac. He
went 5-for-6 with his first collegiate homer to lead Dartmouth past the Bobcats, 7-5.
The team's most improved player went to junior Michael Pagliarulo (Winchester, Mass.), who was a first team All-Ivy
selection and led the team during Ivy play with a .423 batting average, hits
with 33 and doubles with six. He also had a knack for getting in the way of
pitches as he led the league with 13 hit by pitches. Overall, he hit 150 points
over his career average this season and his 54 hits were 14 more than his last
two years combined. He also posted six long balls and 30 runs batted in for the
Big Green.
Sophomore outfielder Nick Santomauro (North Caldwell, N.J.)
was voted the team's best offensive player and a first team All-Ivy player for
the second consecutive season. He tied the school record for homers in a season
with 11 after a four homerun outburst in the Ivy Championship series against Columbia. He led Dartmouth in multiple
offensive categories, including runs scored (44), RBI (45), triples (5), walks
(30), total bases (112) and slugging percentage (.691).
The final award of the night went to senior shortstop Erik Bell (Sierra Madre, Calif.) as he was voted teammate of the
year. Bell,
like the rest of this year's team, had a breakout season. He was named a
unanimous first team All-Ivy selection after starting 41-of-42 games at
shortstop for the Big Green and held the longest hitting streak of the season
at 12 games. He joined Wright and Santomauro as the three to have multi-homer
games this season. Bell
hit two homers in the second game of two with Army in a 19-18 marathon win. He
was a great fielder this season as well with just 12 errors in 136 chances for
a .946 fielding percentage. Bell
and Onstott were the best double play combination in recent memory as they
helped turn 42 double plays this season to lead the Ivy League.
Head coach Bob Whalen also announced the captains for the
2009 squad. Senior catcher Jack Monahan (Overland Park,
Kan.) and junior pitcher Robert Young (Cleburne, Texas) were
voted as the 2009 Dartmouth
baseball captains by their teammates.
