Willey, Celenza lead the way in All-South Region honors for Salisbury University
MT. PLEASANT, Mich. - Senior pitcher Eric Willey and junior first baseman Mike Celenza were named American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division III South Region Pitcher and Player of the Year, respectively, this week. This is the first time during SU coach Doug Fleetwood's era that a Sea Gull baseball player has won either one of the region awards.
SU had four players named to the all-region first team in Willey, Celenza, sophomore pitcher Kyle Judson and sophomore outfielder Andrew Miller. Junior catcher Ryan Smith was the lone SU representative on the second Region team. Celenza and Miller were both named to the Rawlings Gold Glove South Region team for their great defensive play in the field.
Celenza wrapped up his junior season as one of the most dangerous hitters in the region in '09. The Gaithersburg, Md., native played in 44 contests and started 43 where he batted a team best .469 at the plate. Celenza led the team in several other offensive categories including slugging percentage (.781), on-base percentage (.576), hits (75), home runs (12), total bases (125) and walks (38). The left-handed hitting first baseman scored 62 runs, drove in 57 RBIs and hit 12 doubles. Defensively, Celenza had a strong season as the right-hander posted a fielding percentage of .997 with 372 putouts and 25 assists. Last season, Celenza was named to the all-region second team. This is the second big award for Celenza this season as he was named the Capital Athletic Conference Player of the Year earlier this month.
Willey had a standout senior season for the third-ranked Sea Gulls (38-8) on the mound. The Cambridge, Md., native finished his final season in the maroon and gold with a record of 10-3, two complete games, an ERA of 2.45 in 91.2 innings pitched. Willey struck out a team-high 77 batters and limited opposing teams to a .237 batting average. In addition to being named South Region Pitcher of the Year, Willey was named Salisbury University Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. This is Willey's second straight year on the all-region first team.
Miller returns to the All-Region team after being named to the second team in '08. The Schwenksville, Pa., native played and started in 43 games for SU and led the team in runs scored (67) doubles (13), hit by pitches (15) and stolen bases (28). Heading into the next season, Miller will enter with a streak of 32 consecutive bases stolen since his freshman year, which is one of the longest current streaks in all NCAA baseball (any division). Miller boasts the second best batting average (.406), slugging percentage (.648), hits (67) and total bases (107) for the Sea Gulls. He finished the season with 46 RBIs and nine home runs. In the field, Miller recorded 106 putouts, 10 assists, two errors with a .983 fielding percentage in 43 games.
Judson had a breakout season for the Sea Gulls as the sophomore pitcher posted a record of 9-0 with two complete games. The Gaithersburg, Md., native finished with an ERA of 3.16 as he pitched 79.2 innings, struck out 71 and limited opposing batters to a .233 batting average.
Smith had a strong first season with the Sea Gulls after he transferred into the program from University of Virginia. This is Smith's first-ever all-region honor. The Waldorf, Md., native played and started in 43 contests for SU where he served as the primary catcher. Smith finished with a .356 batting average, 43 runs scored, 58 hits, 10 doubles, 10 home runs, 61 RBIs, 98 total bases, .601 slugging percentage, 17 walks and a .427 on-base percentage. Smith was a defensive stalwart for the Gulls as he had 232 putouts, 24 assists, one error and a fielding percentage of .996.
There were some familiar faces on the All-South Region teams as three CAC institutions were represented. Ryan Poff from York (Pa.) College was on the first team, Wade Keenan of Stevenson University was on the second team and Andrew Cox of University of Mary Washington was on the third team.
The five All-South Region honorees now brings the SU program total to 41. Fleetwood has coached 30 of the 41 since he took over the program at his Alma Mater in 2001.
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