Michael Vaitkunas of Auburn, MA, Named Worcester Area Baseball All-Star

2016 Jun 13

Michael Vaitkunas garnered Worcester Area Baseball All-Star status.

Senior Alex Venditti repeated as the Worcester Area Baseball Player of the Year as voted upon by the sports information directors representing nine Worcester area colleges and universities, including Division I Holy Cross and Division II Assumption. The entire sixth annual Worcester Area Baseball All-Star team was revealed in today's Telegram & Gazette.

Venditti, the 2013 rookie of the year and second team selection, also takes home first team honors for the second year in-a-row. He was joined on the top team by classmates Vinny D'Ambrosio and John Mulready, in addition to junior Mike Vaitkunas. Freshman Steven Gallagher and sophomore Steven D'Agostino represented the Engineers on the second team.

Venditti led the NEWMAC with 16 home runs, 62 RBI, 122 total bases and an .853 slugging percentage while ranking second in batting average (.434) and walks (30), and third on base percentage (.538). On a national level, the NEWMAC Player of the Year, 2013 NEWMAC Rookie of the Year and two-time NEWMAC All-Conference honoree, is second in home runs, home runs per game, batting average and slugging percentage in addition to being third in RBI per game.

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 and grand slams versus Wentworth, Coast Guard and Elms. 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 had a fielding percentage of .994 (348-of-350) and took part in 36 double plays.

Venditti will don the Crimson and Gray for last time on June 5 as he is one of 18 Division III seniors selected to take part in 2016 New England All-Star game. This year's all-star contest will be held at Fitton Field on the campus of Holy Cross at 6pm.

D'Ambrosio, a second teamer in 2014, batted .369 with 59 hits, including 12 doubles and two triples, 21 walks, 21 RBI, 46 runs scored and 16 stolen bases on 18 attempts in 40 games played. His runs and stolen base totals ranked first on the team and was one of three Boynton Hillers with a pair of triples. The NEWMAC Co-Player of the Week for his performance in Florida, registered 16 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. In the postseason, D'Ambrosio went 10-for-21 (.476) with three multi-hit games.

Mulready batted .412 with 54 hits, including a team-best 15 doubles to go with three home runs, 38 RBI, 20 runs scored and a .595 slugging percentage. He currently boasts a season-best 16-game hitting streak and has put together at least two in half of them, including three each against Becker and MIT, and a 4-for-4 day versus MIT in the ECAC title game. Overall he has a hit in 32 of 37 games played and 14 with two or more, which features a 4-for-4 performance in the opener versus Worcester State and the aforementioned finale versus MIT.

Vaitkunas paced the team with four complete games, a 2.62 ERA and 68 2/3 innings pitched. The local product won six games, struck out 33 and walked only 14 in 11 appearances. Vaitkunas held NEWMAC opponents to a .208 batting average compared to an overall average of .228. He went the distance twice against Wheaton, including the NEWMAC Championship semifinal series opening win.

Gallagher hit .319 and appeared in 39 of 41 contests. The newcomer ranked 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 doubled four times, drove in 32 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 26 times and sported a .504 slugging percentage.

D'Agostino led the Engineers with seven wins and 47 strikeouts and was second in innings pitched (58 1/3). He averaged 7.25 punch outs per game and ended the season with a 4.01 ERA. D'Agostino struck out five went the distance in his debut against Waynesburg and matched his career-high with eight Ks at Springfield. He also totaled seven against Wentworth and Coast Guard.

Holy Cross Junior Brendan King (Brookline, MA) earned Worcester Area Pitcher of the Year honors while Becker sophomore Josiah Shepherd (Providence, RI) was recognized as the Worcester Area Rookie of the Year. Fitchburg State head coach Kevin Barnaby and Nichols head coach Nick Puccio shared Worcester Area Coach of the Year accolades.

WPI (27-14) captured the NEWMAC West Division for the second consecutive season and were tabbed as the second seed in the ECAC Division III New England Baseball Championship. It is the second year in-a-row the Boynton Hillers have won 20-plus games, and sixth overall, for 11th-year head coach Mike Callahan. The home run happy Engineers were upended in the NEWMAC semifinals by eventual champion Wheaton and fell to MIT in the ECAC finals.

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.