Michael Vaitkunas
  • Civil Engineering
  • Class of 2020
  • Auburn, MA

Michael Vaitkunas of Auburn, MA, Earns NEWMAC Baseball Accolades

2016 May 11

Michael Vaitkunas is one of six members of the WPI baseball team, including head coach Mike Callahan, to have earned recognition from the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) for effort on the field in 2016.

Senior Alex Venditti, freshman Steven Gallagher and head coach Mike Callahan earned NEWMAC Baseball postseason awards as voted upon by the league's head coaches.

Venditti becomes the first athlete of the year from WPI since Scott McNee in 2008 while Gallagher is the latest rookie of the year. Oddly enough, Venditti was the most recent Boynton Hiller in 2013. Callahan, meanwhile, becomes the first WPI baseball head coach to be named coach of the year. Venditti was also named to the All-NEWMAC first team while senior Vinny D'Ambrosio, junior Mike Vaitkunas and senior John Mulready represented the Engineers on the second team.

Venditti, a 2015 first teamer and 2013 second teamer, leads the conference with 15 home runs, 58 RBI, 114 total bases, five sacrifice flies and an .844 slugging percentage while ranking second in batting average (.430), walks (28) and on base percentage (.534). On a national level, Venditti is second in home runs, home runs per game and RBI in addition to being in the top 50 in RBI per game (seventh), total bases (10th), on base percentage (17th) and batting average (29th). The two-time NEWMAC Co-Player of the Week in 2016 belted a pair of home runs in a single game against Worcester State, Babson and Becker. He also went yard to lift the Engineers to a 4-2 victory in their semifinal series opener with Wheaton. Venditti enjoyed a 15-game hitting streak and has 18 multi-hit games to his credit this season. Defensively, he has a fielding percentage of .994 (327-of-329) and been a part of 32 double plays.

Gallagher hit .325 and appeared in 37 of 39 contests thus far. The newcomer ranks second on the team with seven home runs on the season, including twice in a doubleheader versus Springfield. He also cleared the fence in the Crimson and Gray victory over Wheaton in the first game of the NEWMAC semifinal series. Gallagher has doubled four times, driven in 31 RBI and struck out only 11 times, which is tied for the fewest among players appearing in more than 30 games. He has also crossed home plate 25 times and sports a .524 slugging percentage.

D'Ambrosio is batting .366 with 56 hits, including 12 doubles and two triples, 19 walks, 20 RBI, 44 runs scored and 15 stolen bases on 17 attempts in 38 games played. His runs and stolen base totals rank first on the team while he is one of three Boynton Hillers with a pair of triples. The NEWMAC Co-Player of the Week for his performance in Florida, registered 15 multi-hit games including a four against Coast Guard on April 16 and five against Springfield a week later. He also produced the walk off RBI single against the Bears on April 15.

Vaitkunas paces the team with six wins, four complete games, a 1.59 ERA and 62 1/3 innings pitched. The local product struck out 29 and walked only 12 while surrendering only 11 earned runs in 10 appearances. Vaitkunas held NEWMAC opponents to a .208 batting average compared to an overall average of .218. He went the distance twice against Wheaton, including the NEWMAC Championship semifinal series opening win.

Mulready batted .395 with 49 hits, including a team-best 14 doubles to go with three home runs, 35 RBI, 20 runs scored and a .581 slugging percentage. He currently boasts a season-best 14-game hitting streak and has put together at least two in half of them, including three each against Becker and MIT. Overall he has a hit in 30 of 35 games played and 13 with two or more, which features a 4-for-4 performance in the opener versus Worcester State.

The trio of D'Ambrosio, Vaitkunas and Mulready were also recently named Academic All-District I by CoSIDA.

Callahan becomes the first WPI baseball coach to earn conference postseason accolades. His club has amassed its second-consecutive 20-plus win season, and its sixth in 11 campaigns, while the skipper came back from Florida with career win 200 following a sweep of Wentworth. The four All-NEWMAC selections tie the 2009 team, which featured two first teamers (Conor Fahey, Scott McNee) and a pair of second teamers (Nick Bean, Mitch McClune), for the most in a single season.

The Crimson and Gray drew a quarterfinal bye in the ECAC Division III New England Championship and will open tournament play Friday versus the winner of Wednesday's contest between third-seeded Nichols and six-seeded Elms at the New England Baseball Complex at a time to be determined.

About Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI is one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. WPI's talented faculty work with students on interdisciplinary research that seeks solutions to important and socially relevant problems in fields as diverse as the life sciences and bioengineering, energy, information security, materials processing, and robotics. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Projects Program. There are more than 45 WPI project centers throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.