HARRISBURG, Pa. (August 2, 2010) – Former Centenary pitcher Cole Kimball was promoted to the Washington National’s Double-A affiliate, the Harrisburg Senators, on May 27, the team announced.

Kimball began the season with the Single-A Potomac Nationals, going 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA. He gave up five earned runs in 24.2 innings pitched while making 19 appearances. Since his call up to Double-A, Kimball is 2-1 with a 1.35 ERA, giving up just three earned runs in 20 innings pitched. He is limiting opponents to a .143 batting average (10-for-70) in 12 appearances.

Kimball was a 12th-round pick by the Nationals in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft. In his two years at Centenary, he went 11-9 with a 3.70 ERA, striking out 139 in 136.1 innings. He ranks third in program history in strikeouts and fourth in ERA.

In his second year with the Centenary baseball team, Scott Kushner recorded his first 20-win season as a head coach while guiding the team to its seventh-consecutive conference tournament. He also guided a young pitching staff to rank first in the CSAC and second nationally in strikeouts. Although the team was eliminated in two games in the CSAC Tournament, the pieces are in place for sustained success in the future.

The 2010 squad was led by a group of seniors, as Michael Fasano and Mark DeMaio continued their assault on Centenary’s all-time records book. Fasano had one of the best years in program history, batting .458 (60-for-131) with 53 runs, 15 doubles, one triple, nine home runs and 37 RBI. He recorded 104 total bases, slugged .794, walked 28 times, was hit by a pitch 10 times and recorded an on-base percentage of .576. Defensively, he finished with a .983 fielding percentage on 281 putouts, 14 assists and just five errors. He also stole 14 bases in 17 attempts. He set Centenary single-season records in doubles and runs and finished his career first in games played, doubles, at bats, runs and hit by pitches and second in batting average, home runs, RBI and hits. He was named All-CSAC First Team First Base, Second Team All-ECAC South All Star, NJCBA Second Team All-State and ABCA Third Team All-Region.

DeMaio was named Second Team All-CSAC Outfield after batting .338 (44-for-130) with 38 runs, five doubles and 12 RBI. He set a program record with a CSAC-high 34 stolen bases in 35 attempts, putting him in eighth-place nationally in steals. He is CC’s all-time leader in stolen bases and sacrifice hits and ranks third in runs, hits and at bats.

Anthony DeSomma had a breakout year during his sophomore campaign, batting .391 (43-for-110) with 24 runs, nine doubles, seven home runs and a team-high 42 RBI. He was named Second Team All-CSAC Designated Hitter. Classmate Chris Sisco led the pitching staff with a 5-3 record and a team-high 58 strikeouts. He was named to the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove First Team after posting a fielding percentage of 1.000 with two putouts and six assists.

CC opened its season 4-8, including a 2-4 mark in its Spring Break trip to Fort Myers, Fla., before rebounding to sweep Immaculata in its CSAC opening set. After losing conference series to Neumann and Gwynedd-Mercy, the Cyclones rebounded with a three-game sweep of Baptist Bible, scoring 51 runs in the three contests. They continued their hot play with a victory over USMMA and a three-game sweep of Marywood that vaulted them into fourth-place in the conference.

After a non-conference loss to Alvernia, Centenary swept Philadelphia Biblical to clinch a playoff berth. After an 11-1 loss to eventual champion Keystone in the opening round, Centenary was eliminated by Neumann, 8-5, despite opening up a 5-0 lead.

The team also saw success off the field, as 16 Cyclones were named to the CSAC All-Academic Team. Moreover, DeSomma was named to the ESPN the Magazine/Cosida College Division Academic All-District 2 First Team as a designated hitter.

Although the team loses two starting infielders and two starting outfielders, as well as one of the starting pitchers, everyone else returns as Kushner and the Cyclones look to continue to improve in 2011.

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (June 4, 2010) – Centenary baseball senior Michael Fasano (Hawthorne, N.J./St. Joseph’s Regional) was named Second Team ECAC South All-Star, the organization announced Friday. It marks the fourth postseason honor for Fasano, who has also earned American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Mid-Atlantic-Region Third Team, All-Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) First Team and New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association (NJCBA) All-State Second Team honors.

The senior had one of the best years in school history, batting a team-best .458 (60-for-131) while leading the squad with 53 runs, 15 doubles, nine home runs, a .794 slugging percentage, 28 walks and a .576 on-base percentage. He also stole 14 bases in 17 attempts and finished with 281 putouts, 14 assists and a .983 fielding percentage.

In the latest national statistics, Fasano ranks fourth in on-base percentage, 16th in batting average and 31st in slugging percentage. He stands in first-place in the CSAC in hits and runs scored, second in doubles and total bases and ninth in batting average.

2010 ECAC South All-Stars

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (June 1, 2010) – The Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) named 74 Centenary student-athletes to its Winter/Spring All-Academic Teams, the league announced. All eight Winter and Spring sports received academic awards, as men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, baseball, softball and golf are listed in the CSAC awards and wrestling was named a Scholar-Academic Team after posting the 17th-best GPA in the nation.

“It is my pleasure to announce that 483 Colonial States Athletic Conference student-athletes have achieved the level of academic success necessary to be named to the Spring 2010 CSAC All-Academic Team,” said CSAC Commissioner Amy Friedman. “These student-athletes have assumed leadership roles on their campuses by demonstrating that a complete education includes both academics and athletics.”

The CSAC All Academic Award is earned by each student-athlete that meets the NCAA Division III eligibility requirements, earns varsity status in their respective sport, and earns a minimum semester grade point average (GPA) of 3.2. The team consists of student-athletes from men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s golf, men's lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, men's tennis, baseball and softball.

Baseball 2010 Winter/Spring All-Academic Team
Matthew Andrews, Business Administration, Sports Management, So., Washington, N.J.
Christopher Campbell, Accounting, So., Cranford, N.J.
Randy Castillo, Accounting, So., West New York, N.J.
Mark Cerrachio, Business Administration, Sport Management, Sr., Brick, N.J.
Jose Cordova, Business Administration, Management, Jr., Brentwood, N.Y.
Mark Delannoy, Criminal Justice, So., New Egypt, N.J.
Mark DeMaio, Business Administration, Sports Management, Sr., Morris Plains, N.J.
Anthony DeSomma, Business Administration, Sports Management, So., Clifton, N.J.
Matthew Devenny, History, Sr., Middletown, N.J.
Michael Fasano, Business Administration, Management, Sr., Hawthorne, N.J.
Andrew Granozio, Business Administration, Sports Management, Sr., Liverpool, N.Y.
Brian Lemay, English, Jr., Southbury, Conn.
JP Palmer, History/Teacher of Social Studies, Jr., Belvidere, N.J.
Sal Prestigiacomo, Business Administration, Sports Management, Sr., Staten Island, N.Y.
Mark Tanis, Accounting, So., Pequannock, N.J.
Patrick Williams, Criminal Justice, Fr., Bedminster, N.J.

2010 CSAC Winter/Spring All-Academic Team

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (May 24, 2010) – Centenary baseball senior Michael Fasano (Hawthorne, N.J./St. Joseph’s Regional) was named to the 2010 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Mid-Atlantic-Region Third Team and sophomore pitcher Chris Sisco (Monmouth Junction, N.J./South Brunswick) took home 2010 ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove First Team honors, the organization announced Monday.

This season, Fasano has also earned First Team All-Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) and New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association (NJCBA) All-State Second Team honors. The senior batted a team-best .458 (60-for-131) while leading the squad with 53 runs, 15 doubles, nine home runs, a .794 slugging percentage, 28 walks and a .576 on-base percentage. He also stole 14 bases in 17 attempts and finished with 281 putouts, 14 assists and a .983 fielding percentage.

In the latest national statistics, Fasano ranks fourth in on-base percentage, 16th in batting average and 31st in slugging percentage. He stands in first-place in the CSAC in hits and runs scored, second in doubles and total bases and ninth in batting average.

Sisco led the team with five victories on the season while posting a 4.25 ERA and a team-high 58 strikeouts. He led CSAC in strikeouts and ranked 87th in the country in strikeouts per nine innings. His five wins put him in a tie for sixth-place in the conference. Defensively, the sophomore posted a 1.000 fielding percentage with two putouts and six assists.

2010 ABCA All-Mid-Atlantic-Region Awards