2012 All-MASCAC Baseball Team (PDF)

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Bridgewater State University junior second baseman Sean Riley (Fairhaven, Mass.) has been selected as the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Player of the Year.  Riley headlines the Bears' five representatives on the 2012 All-MASCAC   Baseball Team.

Joining Riley on the All-MASCAC First Team are junior first baseman David Pierce (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and junior catcher Keane Costa (Fairhaven, Mass.).  Second Team selections are senior left fielder Ian Williams (Taunton, Mass.) and junior third baseman Craig Stewart (Brockton, Mass.).

Riley helped led the Bears' to the MASCAC regular season and tournament championships in 2012, his first season in a BSU uniform.  Bridgewater will compete in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the 14th time in program history next week with regional play getting underway on Wednesday, May 16th.

Heading into the NCAAs, Riley is batting .390 (62-159) with eight home runs, 25 doubles, six triples, 52 runs scored and 40 runs batted in over 43 games.  He currently leads the MASCAC in hits (62), runs, doubles, triples, home runs, total bases (123), extra base hits (39) and slugging percentage (.774), while ranking second in RBI, third in batting, fourth in on base percentage (.462) and sixth in walks (21).

Riley also leads all of Division III in doubles and is second in totals bases, 12th in slugging percentage and 18th in runs scored.

So far in 2012, Riley has eclipsed BSU single-season records for doubles, extra base hits and totals bases. He is also within two of the Bears' runs scored mark of 54 set by Ed Nadeau in 1997.  Riley and fellow all-conference teammates Costa and Pierce as well as junior centerfielder John Garabedian (Mansfield, Mass.) tied the school record for games played with 43.

Pierce is currently batting .381 (61-160) with 12 doubles, two triples, a home run, 13 stolen bases, 25 runs scored and 40 RBI, while playing a stellar first base (.997 fielding percentage).  He ranks second in the MASCAC in both hits and RBI, fourth in batting and total bases (80), fifth in stolen bases, eighth in slugging percentage (.500) and ninth in doubles.

Costa drove in 27 runs on the season and scored 20 as he was behind the plate for all but 16 innings.  Costa rapped eight doubles and a home run and committed just one error in 278 chances for a .996 fielding percentage.  He also picked off four base runners.

Williams is batting .358 (48-134) with a home run, six doubles, 22 runs and 24 RBI.  He is ninth in the MASCAC in batting and tenth in on base percentage (.431).

Steward is tied for second among the conference leaders in home runs with four.  He has also added eight doubles, scored 27 runs and driven in 17 in 41 games which include 39 starts at third base.