Santomauro Ivy Player of the Year; Sclafani Top Rookie

PRINCETON, N.J. — Dartmouth junior outfielder Nick Santomauro (North Caldwell, N.J.) was selected as the Ivy League Player of the Year, headlining a group of nine Big Green student-athletes to earn All-Ivy honors, more than any other school in the league. Also taking home one of the top awards was freshman shortstop Joe Sclafani (Palm City, Fla.), who was tabbed as the conference Rookie of the Year.

“I am very happy for our guys to attain these deserved honors,” stated head coach Bob Whalen. “These awards are a testament to all of the hard work each and every player has done to help us win an Ivy League championship.”

In addition to his Player of the Year award, Santomauro was the Blair Bat Winner as the league's leading hitter in Ivy League contests with a whopping .473 batting average. Overall, the right-fielder has posted a .377 average with eight home runs, 37 RBIs and 13 doubles while ranking among the league's top 10 in eight separate offensive categories. Three times during the season he delivered a hit that either tied the game or put Dartmouth in the lead during the Big Green's final at-bat. Back on April 1 he was selected as the Ivy League's Player of the Week after hitting .688 with three homers in four Ivy games. Santomauro has been on the All-Ivy first team each of his three seasons at Dartmouth, and was a unanimous selection for the second straight year. He is the third Big Green player to be the Player of the Year, joining Brian Nickerson (2000) and Ed Lucas (2004).

Sclafani needed just a handful of games to acclimate himself to the college game, and he's been on a tear ever since. Since the beginning of April, he sports a .396 batting average, and his .354 mark is eighth best among Ivy Leaguers. He is tied for the Ivy League lead with 56 hits this year, plus tops the loop with six triples and 47 runs scored. Since his insertion at the top of the lineup, Dartmouth has thrived with an incredible 24-4 record. Sclafani is also tied for the team lead with 17 multi-hit games, plus owns a .935 fielding percentage while helping Dartmouth set a school record for double plays turned this year (45). Four other Big Green players have been the league's Rookie of the Year — Brian Nickerson (1997), Mike Mileusnic (2000), Scott Shirrell (2001) and Stephen Perry (2004).

Joining Santomauro and Sclafani on the All-Ivy first team were junior outfielder Jim Wren (Granbury, Texas) and senior designated hitter Ray Allen (Longwood, Fla.). Wren, a .329 hitter with 10 doubles, five home runs and a team-high 42 RBIs, has been an unstoppable force in clutch situations at the plate this year. With two outs and runners in scoring position, the Texan has a .522 average (12-for-23) with 21 RBIs. Wren also has driven in four runs in a game five times this year.

Allen has been a consistent performer as the team's DH all season with a .324 average, eight home runs (tied for the team lead with Santomauro) and 38 RBIs to rank sixth in the Ivy League. He is one of two Big Green hitters to go deep twice in a game this year, swatting two at Columbia in a 7-0 victory. Twice Allen has posted hitting streaks of at least nine games this year, stringing together a 10-game streak in March.

Another four Big Green players were honored with inclusion on the second team: senior first baseman Mike Pagliarulo (Winchester, Mass.), sophomore second baseman Jeff Onstott (Houston, Texas), sophomore relief pitcher Ryan Smith (Greenlawn, N.Y.) and freshman pitcher Kyle Hendricks (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.).

Pagliarulo is third on the Dartmouth squad with a .333 average and six home runs, while his 39 RBIs are the fifth-most in the league. His power stroke came late in the year as he belted five long balls in a seven-game stretch in April. It was during that span that he was named the Ivy League Player of the Week as well. From the seventh inning on, the clean-up hitter sports a .432 average. This is Pagliarulo's second All-Ivy selection, having earned first-team honors a year ago.

Onstott got off to a slow start due to an illness, but is batting over .400 over the last 23 games. For the season, the switch-hitter has a .328 average with four homers, four triples, 31 RBIs and a league-best 27 walks for an on-base percentage of .450. Currently Onstott is on a 12-game hitting streak with a .426 average (20-for-47) over that span.

The league leader in saves with 11, Smith has posted a 2-2 record and a 4.50 ERA. Some of his most impressive numbers are 27 strikeouts and just two walks in his 32 innings on the mound. During one stretch, Smith recorded a save in eight straight appearances. Those 11 saves broke his own school record set last year as a freshman, and he already owns the Dartmouth career mark with 18 saves. This is Smith's second straight selection to the second team.

Hendricks won each of his six starts against Ivy opponents and was the only pitcher in the league to win five games in the conference regular season. For the year, the rookie right-hander is tied for the Ivy lead with six victories against just two defeats and has a team-best 4.10 ERA. In 59.1 innings, Hendricks has struck out 43 batters while walking just 15. In addition, he is the only Big Green hurler to throw a complete-game shutout.

Earning honorable mention status was senior third baseman Johnathon Santopadre (Vacaville, Calif.), who is hitting .319 with five home runs and 27 RBIs. Two of those five blasts came in the deciding game of the Ivy Championship as he drove in four runs in the 10-0 triumph.

Dartmouth (26-15) is awaiting its destination in the NCAA Regionals, which will be announced on Monday, May 25 on ESPN at 12:30 p.m. Regional play begins the following Friday, May 29 at the 16 sites to be selected on May 18.

Schedules