Delaware's Jimmy Yezzo Named Most Outstanding Performer for CAA Baseball Tournament; Long, Maruri & Young Named to All-Tournament Team
May 29, 2012
Photo Courtesy of University of Delaware
HARRISONBURG, Va. –University of Delaware sophomore first baseman Jimmy Yezzo was named the Colonial Athletic Association’s Baseball Tournament’s Most Outstanding Performer following his record-breaking performance in the championship this past week at James Madison.
In addition to Yezzo, the Delaware baseball team was honored by the CAA with the selections of junior second baseman DJ Long, junior designated hitter Alex Maruri, and senior starting right-handed pitcher Eric Young to the All-Tournament team.
Delaware (31-27), which entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed, won four games to advance to the tournament championship game but fell top-seed UNCW 10-8 to end the season on Saturday.
Yezzo (at right), an All-CAA third team selection this spring, broke a CAA record with 15 hits as the left-handed slugger batted collected a hit in every game the Blue Hens played in the tournament. He led UD with a .625 (15-24) batting average with seven extra-base hits (four doubles, one triple and two home runs). He also collected double-digit RBI and runs scored with 11 and 10 respectively.
The Cherry Hill, N.J. native (Bishop Eustace HS), led Delaware this season with a .358 (67-187) batting average, eight home runs and 45 RBI in 50 games played. His 67 hits ranked second among UD players this spring.
Long (at left) tallied a multi-hit game in all six UD tournament games as the right-handed leadoff hitter batted .467 (14-30). During the six games, he amassed two doubles. one home run, five RBI, and seven runs scored.
The Millsboro, Del. native (Sussex Central HS) paced the Blue Hens by starting all 58 games played this season. He led the UD offense with 68 base hits, 48 runs scored, 28 extra-base hits (21 doubles, three triples and four home runs) and 32 walks.
Maruri (at right), an All-CAA second team selection, batted .444 (12-27) with a six-game hitting streak during the tournament. The right-handed, who was UD’s designated hitter in all six games, pocketed three doubles and one home run with seven RBI and four runs scored.
The Bronx, N.Y. native (Stepinac HS), had the team’s highest on-base percentage (.448) this season and ranked second on the club with a .355 (55-155) batting average. In 50 games, he posted the second-highest slugging percentage (.523) on the team as well.
Young earned a complete-game victory on May 24 over Hofstra when he yielded three earned runs on 10 hits and had seven strikeouts in the victory. He finished the tournament with a 1-1 record, a 4.50 ERA in 10 innings, and eight strikeouts.
The Redlands Calif. native (Redlands East Valley HS) made a team-high 14 starts for the Blue Hens with a 6-5 record. The right-hander had the second-most strikeouts (62) and innings pitched (89.1) on the team as a senior.
Delaware, led by head coach Jim Sherman, returns every starting position player in addition to two starting pitchers for the 2013 campaign.
2012 CAA Baseball All-Tournament Team
Mat Batts, UNCW; Matt Campbell, UNCW; Zach Fisher, Towson; Zach Helgeson, George Mason; DJ Long, Delaware; Alex Maruri, Delaware; Tyler McSwain UNCW; Brent Mikionis, VCU; Tyler Molinaro, UNCW; Thomas Pope, UNCW; Jimmy Yezzo, Delaware; Eric Young Delaware
Most Outstanding Performer: Jimmy Yezzo, Delaware
