Baseball

YORK, Pa. - The Capital Athletic Conference released its 2008 All-CAC baseball team and for the first time since 1999 the conference felt there were two players talented enough to warrant a split of the player of the year award. Both recipients play for the fourth-ranked Salisbury University Sea Gulls as senior third baseman Justin Armiger (Brandywine, Md./Thomas Stone) and junior pitcher Eric Willey (Cambridge, Md./Cambridge) were named Co-CAC Players of the Year.

Since the start of the CAC in 1991 there have only been 14 co-players of the year awarded out among the 18 varsity sports. Only once have both co-players of the year winners been members of the same team, it happened in 2006 when SU softball standouts Lacey Lister and Erin Ruest accomplished the rare feat.

In total, seven Sea Gulls landed on the first team as Salisbury swept the annual postseason awards for Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year. Three Sea Gulls earned their second consecutive first team honors as Armiger, senior pitcher Ryan Bennick (Wind Gap, Pa./Nazareth Area), and sophomore first baseman Mike Celenza (Gaithersburg, Md./Quince Orchard) made repeat appearances on the all-star team.

Freshman pitcher Dustin Herbert (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown) earned the rookie of the year honor for SU for the first time 2003 when Greg Lemon took home the award for the maroon and gold.

Junior second baseman Randy Boyle (Jarrettsville, Md./Centennial) and freshman outfielder/catcher Andrew Miller (Schewnksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) joined Willey and Herbert on the first team for the first time in their careers at Salisbury University. SU had no one on the all-conference second team.

Coach Doug Fleetwood won his seventh CAC Coach of the Year honor as he has claimed the award every year as head coach of the Sea Gulls with the exception of 2005. Fleetwood led the maroon and gold to another CAC title in '08, his sixth in his eight seasons with SU.

Also see:

• 2008 All-CAC Baseball teams (PDF)