Five Generals on All-Conference Team; DeCarlo Player of Year
HERKIMER, NY – The Herkimer Generals baseball team, fresh off a Region III Championship, had five players make it to the 2014 Mountain Valley All-Conference team. Heading that team was sophomore Michael DeCarlo (Wynantskill, NY) as the Player of the Year.
DeCarlo currently has an undefeated record at 8-0. It has him in the Top 10 in the nation in wins and shutouts (4), appearing in 10 games this season for the Generals. Known as 'Big Mike', DeCarlo has only allowed six earned runs this season, making his earned run average 1.20 which is seventh best in the nation. Added to this, DeCarlo has 35 total strike outs, averaging seven per game.
Joining DeCarlo in the infield was Tyler Phillips (Hancock, NY) and John Boland (Rhinebeck, NY). Phillips hit a team-leading .430 in 2014 with two home runs, 23 RBIs and a .569 slugging percentage. The short stop also has 9 doubles which is currently ranked sixth in the nation. As for Boland, who was also named Region III Tournament MVP, the freshman is batting .404 with a team-high four home runs. Playing from the catcher position, Boland has 33 RBIs and a team-high .626 slugging percentage.
Sophomore A.J. Fabrizio (Palm City, FL) was the lone General to make it in the outfield. Hitting in the clean-up spot all season has given Fabrizio a team-high 12 stolen bases and 40 RBIs. Fabrizio has one of two walkoff hits for the Generals this season, defeating conference rival Mohawk Valley at home 2-1 in the eighth inning of a doubleheader. It scored Phillips who is 11th in the nation with 49 runs scored. Fabrizio's 48 runs scored has him at 12th in the nation.
The final General to make it was Christopher Burns III (Endicott, NY). The sophomore made it as the designated hitter thanks to a .412 average with 36 total RBIs which is second best on the team. Burns III is tied for the team-lead currently with three triples.
-Giorgio Varlaro