D3baseball.com All-Region Team Features Six Landmark Performers
MADISON, N.J. - Six Landmark Conference baseball performers were honored with selection to the D3baseball.com All-Mid-Atlantic Region Team. The honorees were nominated and selected by the Sports Information Directors in the region.
Moravian senior Dave Zubia was the lone first-team selection, and his teammate senior Brendan Close was a second-team honoree. Moravian added senior Austin Rock on the third team, which also featured Catholic senior Tommy Little and sophomore Marc Hanna along with Juniata junior Ben Mersky.
Zubia, who was honored as the 2012 Landmark Conference Player of the Year and on the All-Conference First Team, hit .432 from the plate with a season record of 67 hits. He lead the team with a .613 slugging percentage, .536 on-base percentage, 54 runs scored, 22 walks and 20 stolen bases to go with his 39 RBIs, 13 doubles, three triples and three home runs. Zubia was also named to the Landmark All-Conference Second Team in 2010.
Close, who was a 2011 D3baseball.com First Team All-American, went 8-1 on the year with a 2.18 ERA in 66 innings. He had 53 strikeouts while allowing six walks and holding his opponents to a .247 batting average. Close, the 2012 Landmark Conference Pitcher of the Year and All-Conference First Team selection, also had eight complete games and one shutout. Close was named Landmark Pitcher of the Year in 2011 as well, and he was a four-time All-Conference selection with First Team honors in 2011, 2009 and Second Team honors in 2010.
Rock , who was a member of the 2012 Landmark All-Conference First Team, batted .364 (56-for-154) at the plate with 38 RBIs, 37 runs scored, 14 walks and a team-best 15 doubles and four home runs. Rock was named to the All-Conference First Team in 2011 as well.
Little earns his second All-Region honor of his career, after being named to the Second Team in 2008. He also captured Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year and First Team All-Conference accolades that season. In 2012, Little batted .357 for CUA, totaling 41 hits, five doubles and 10 RBIs during that time. The Maryland native recorded nine multi-hit games, including back-to-back four-hit performances vs. Merchant Marine Academy in mid-April. Little also stole 10 bases and posted a .947 fielding percentage with 53 putouts and only three errors.
After receiving his first career All-Conference honor earlier this month, Hanna now adds his first All-Region selection. The sophomore hit .319 with 43 hits, seven doubles and 30 RBIs in 39 games. The Cardinals' third baseman also totaled a .913 fielding percentage, to go along with 24 putouts and 81 assists. Among all Cardinals, Hanna ranked in the top-five in batting average, slugging percentage, runs scored, hits, RBIs, doubles, triples, home runs, total bases and walks. The New Jersey native registered 14 multi-hit games and seven games with two or more runs batted in.
Mersky, Juniata's lone All-Landmark Conference selection, led the team in hits (56), doubles (12), runs batted in (35) and batting average (.452). His impressive batting average earned him sixth on Juniata's single-season batting average leaders, along with a fifth place slot for single-season hits. On a national level, Mersky's batting average ranks eighth in all of Division III and sits atop all statistical leaders in the Landmark Conference.
The D3baseball.com All-Region team features three 14-player teams from eight regions, along with a Player, Pitcher, Rookie and Coach of the Year in each region.
Story provided by Catholic, Juniata, and Moravian Sports Information
