Seven Scarlet Knights Earn NJCBA All-State Honors
May 17 | Baseball
PISCATAWAY, NJ - Seven Rutgers players earned New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association Division I All-State Honors, it was announced on Wednesday. Five Scarlet Knights were named to the Association's First Team, with one more each on the Second and Rookie teams.
Center fielder Jeff Grose (Iselin, NJ), first baseman Steve Hook (Langhorne, PA), shortstop Todd Frazier (Toms River, NJ), catcher Frank Meade (Linden, NJ) and third baseman Tim Querns (Cherry Hill, NJ) were each named to the NJCBA All-State First Team, while left fielder Ryan Hill (Hillsdale, NJ) was a Second Team All-State selection and right fielder Luis Feliz (New Brunswick, NJ) was an All-Rookie pick.
Grose and Frazier are repeat selections to the All-State First Team. Grose has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games, owning a 14-game hitting streak during that span. Also during the stretch, he recorded multiple hits in eight straight games. The senior is one of three Scarlet Knights to start all 51 games. He is hitting .332 overall with 13 doubles, a pair of home runs, totaling 29 RBI overall. The outfielder has also used his speed to record 10 stolen bases on the season, while tracking down several balls hit in the gap, making diving catches. He was named BIG EAST Player of the Week earlier this season, after driving in 12 RBI in a four-game week. Grose is painted throughout the Rutgers record book, currently sitting among the leaders in at-bats, walks, runs and hits.
Frazier leads Rutgers and is among the BIG EAST leaders in nearly every offensive category. He is hitting .367 with 14 doubles, eight home runs and 39 RBI. He owns 73 hits on the season, while drawing 37 walks, leading to a .476 on-base percentage. Frazier has also stolen a team-high 21 bases on the year. The shortstop, who was recognized by the BIG EAST on two occasions this season, has started all 51 games for the Scarlet Knights.
Meade did not hit a home run in 42 at-bats as a freshman last year, but the catcher has already tied the Rutgers single-season home run mark with 13 this season. He has driven in 50 runs on the season and owns a .581 slugging percentage, placing him among the conference leaders in slugging.
Hill has been a power hitter for RU all season, fluctuating between the fourth and fifth spot in the order. He has hit 10 doubles and six home runs, while owning a .305 average overall. Hill was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week after the first week of the season, leading the Scarlet Knights to a two-game sweep of William & Mary with two home runs. The red-shirt sophomore has started all 51 games for RU in left field. He has walked a team-high 39 times, tying for eighth on the school's single-season walk list.
Hook has provided a powerful bat all season, with 10 home runs on the year, but has also played nearly flawless at first base with just one error in 444 chances. The senior has played in all 51 games, starting all but two. He is hitting .286 overall with 12 doubles and 34 RBI. He has also walked 31 times and been hit 20 more, leading to a .455 on-base percentage. An All-BIGEAST candidate, he took home NJCBA Player of the Week honors earlier this season.
Querns has been one of the most consistent hitters on the Scarlet Knights' roster. He is currently second to Frazier with a .349 batting average. He has 59 hits on the season, and despite only six of those going for extra-bases, he has driven in 32 runs on the year. Querns ranks among the top-10 in the BIG EAST in hitting, both overall and in conference play. The third baseman was named the BIG EAST and College Baseball Foundation National Player of the Week earlier this season, hitting .714 with five runs and four RBI in four games.
Feliz was selected to the 10-member All-Rookie team. A High School All-American, the right fielder was pressed into action immediately after the Scarlet Knights' starting right fielder, David Williams (Franklin, NJ) was lost for nearly the entire season with a broken scaphoid bone in his right wrist suffered in RU's sixth game of the season at Georgia Tech. He has started 42 of RU's 51 games, hitting .227 overall with three home runs and 23 RBI, while stealing five bases on the year. He has showed his tremendous arm in right field, gunning runners down at home plate on several occasions.
Monmouth University took three of the major awards. Nick Massari was named the NJCBA Player of the Year, while Brad Brach was named Pitcher of the Year and Dean Ehehalt was honored as the Coach of the Year. Rider's James Hayes and Jim Kennedy were named Rookie Player and Rookie Pitcher of the Year, respectively.
The NJCBA's Division I schools consist of Rutgers, Seton Hall, Monmouth, Princeton, Fairleigh Dickinson, Rider and St. Peter's. The Association is made up of 24 schools altogether encompassing, every four-year institution in Division I, II or III located in New Jersey.
Award winners will be honored at the annual NJCBA Banquet on Tuesday, May 30, at the Pines Manor in Edison, NJ.
All-NJCBA First Team
SP - Joe Cummings, Monmouth
SP - Christian Staehely, Princeton
SP - Dan Merklinger, Seton Hall
RP - Louie Fernandez, Seton Hall
C - Frank Meade, Rutgers
1B - Steve Hook, Rutgers
2B - Aaron Prince, Princeton
3B - Tim Querns, Rutgers
SS - Todd Frazier, Rutgers
OF - Jeff Grose, Rutgers
OF - Pat Sullivan, Monmouth
OF - Mike Poalise, Rider
DH - Dan McDonald, Seton Hall
UTL - Mike Hussa, Monmouth
All-NJCBA Second Team
SP - Will O'Connor, Rider
SP - Matt Marc-Aurele, Monmouth
SP - Corey Young, Seton Hall
RP - Brad Gemberling, Princeton
C - Zach Wendkos, Princeton
1B - Gene Crimoli, Rider
2B - Dennis Alexander, St. Peter's
3B - Tom Letizia, Rider
SS - Robbie Hine, Seton Hall
OF - Brandon Cohen, Seton Hall
OF - Andrew Salini, Princeton
OF - Ryan Hill, Rutgers
OF - Dan Lopez, Seton Hall
DH - Rick Niederhaus, Monmouth
UTL - Santo Maertz, St. Peters
NJCBA All-Rookie Team
Mark Morton, FDU
Brian Greer, FDU
Mike McGuire, St. Peter's
Chris Collazo, Monmouth
Dan DeGeorge, Princeton
Matt Smedberg, Seton Hall
Matt Maher, FDU
Luis Feliz, Rutgers
Keith Cantwell, Seton Hall
John Arciuolo, FDU
Player of the Year
Nick Massari, Monmouth
Pitcher of the Year
Brad Brach, Monmouth
Rookie Player of the Year
James Hayes, Rider
Rookie Pitcher of the Year
Jim Kennedy, Rider
Coach of the Year
Dean Ehehalt, Monmouth
