Six Trinity baseball players and head coach earn post-season honors

Date: 8/12/2009

HARTFORD, CONN. Trinity College senior RHP Jeremiah Bayer (Greenfield, Mass.) was selected as the 2009 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division III Pitcher of the Year and the D3Baseball.com National Pitcher of the Year, while Bayer and senior co-captain C Sean Killeen (Greenfield, Mass.) were each selected to the D3Baseball.com All-American First Team, the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division III All-American First Team, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III All-New England Team, and for the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Senior All-Star Game on June 4 in Brockton, Mass.

Bayer was also chosen as the NCBWA and the NEIBA Division III Pitcher of the Year, and joined Killeen and junior 1B Kent Graham (Longmeadow) on the All-NEIBA First Team. Bayer was selected as the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Pitcher of the Year, Killeen was named as the both the NCBWA New England Player of the Year and the NESCAC Player of the Year, and Graham was honored as the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year.

Bantam skipper Bill Decker (Simsbury, Conn.) was chosen as the NESCAC and the ECAC Division III New England Coach of the Year, while senior co-captain 2B Ryan Piacentini (Portland, Maine) graced the All-NESCAC First Team, and junior OF Matthew Sullivan (North Reading, Mass.) earned a spot on the All-NESCAC Second Team. In addition, junior OF Jack Abbott (Longmeadow) represented the Bantams on the NESCAC All-Sportsmanship Team.

The 2008 NCAA Champion Trinity baseball squad waged a valiant defense of its national title, posting its third consecutive 30-win season at 33-7 and advancing to the program's fourth NCAA Division III World Series. The Bantams captured a fourth NCAA Division III Regional Championship crown, breezed through the NESCAC East Division with a 12-0 mark for the second year in a row, and won a third NESCAC Championship crown. Trinity was ranked No. 6 in the Final NCBWA/D3Baseball.com National Poll.

Graham, a three-time All-New England and All-NESCAC selection and the 2007 NESCAC Rookie of the Year, started 39 games at 1B and batted .409 (second on team, eighth in NESCAC) with 61 hits (second on team) in 149 at-bats, 14 doubles (second on team), 10 homers (second on team), 44 runs (tied second on team), a team-high 54 RBI and six steals in as many attempts. He recorded 309 put-outs, 29 assists and 26 double plays recorded while committing just five errors for a .985 fielding percentage. Graham was selected as the NESCAC Player of the week once and graced the NCAA All-Tournament squad. A graduate of Longmeadow High School, Graham is majoring in American studies at Trinity. He is the son of Barbara Loh and Donald Graham.

Abbott started every game in the outfield and batted .352 with 57 hits (third on team) in a team-high 162 at-bats, six doubles, one triple, 44 runs (tied second on team), 27 RBI and a team-high 12 stolen bases in 16 attempts. A graduate of Longmeadow High School, Abbott is majoring in American studies at Trinity. He is the son of Manny and John Abbott.