Roche earns second All-America nod of the season

NCBWA All-America Selections (PDF)

RINDGE, N.H. (May 30, 2012) – Graduate student center fielder James Roche (Arlington, Mass.) of the Franklin Pierce University baseball team has been named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-America Second Team, as announced Tuesday by the NCBWA. In addition, sophomore first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) was an All-America Honorable Mention.

The NCBWA named three 13-player All-America teams and 23 Honorable Mentions from a pool of all players selected to All-Region First Teams across the country's eight regions. Voting for the All-America teams is done by a mix of media and Athletic Communication personnel from around the nation. Roche and Mathieu represent two of five players selected from East Region schools. Roche and Southern New Hampshire junior left-hander Tim Flight, also named NCBWA Pitcher of the Year, are the only two players from the Region to earn All-America honors from the NCBWA. Furthermore, Franklin Pierce was the only East Region team to have multiple players honored by the organization.

In his lone year in Rindge after three seasons at fellow Northeast-10 member Bentley, Roche did not miss a beat, batting primarily in the three-spot for the Ravens. Through May 20, he ranks in the top 50 in the nation in runs scored (57), hits (84), doubles (19), home runs per game (0.29), home runs (17), runs batted in per game (1.05), runs batted in (61), slugging percentage (.661) and total bases (154). Roche ranks in the top 10 in the nation in total bases (3rd), home runs (6th) and hits (10th). Through the NCAA Championship East Regional, he led the Northeast-10 in home runs and runs batted in and ranked in the top five in slugging percentage, runs scored, hits and doubles. While starting every game in center field, he hit .361/.426/.661, worked 26 walks and stole 22 bases in 30 attempts. Roche has already earned All-America Second Team honors from Daktronics as well, was a consensus All-East Region First Team pick and was named to the All-Northeast-10 First Team, the ABCA/Rawlings East Region Gold Glove First Team and the NEIBA All-Star Team earlier this spring. A three-time All-Region selection in his career, Roche caps his career with his first All-America selection.

The consensus East Region Player of the Year, the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year, and already an All-America Honorable Mention by Daktronics, Mathieu put together one of the most impressive offensive seasons in the nation, especially given that he played in a wood-bat conference. Through May 20, he ranked among the top 50 players in the country in runs scored (59), hits (87), doubles per game (0.38), doubles (22), triples (5), home runs per game (0.22), home runs (13), slugging percentage (.672) and total bases (158). His total bases, hits and doubles totals ranked second, sixth and seventh in the nation, respectively. Through the East Regional, Mathieu led the Northeast-10 in slugging percentage, runs scored, hits and doubles. In addition, he ranked among the top five players in the Conference in batting average (.370), triples, home runs and runs batted in (49).

A consensus All-East Region First Team selection, Mathieu was also selected as a semifinalist for College Baseball Lineup's Tino Martinez Division II Player of the Year Award and named to both the All-Northeast-10 First Team and the NEIBA All-Star Team this spring. He finished one hit and four doubles shy of tying the school single-season record in both categories. In addition, he finished four home runs behind Roche, who established a new school record for home runs in a season. Mathieu paced a lineup that leads the Northeast-10 in batting average (.324), on-base percentage (.390) and slugging percentage (.460).

The Ravens wrapped up the 2012 campaign at 38-19-1, reaching the 35-win plateau for the seventh straight season. The team finished as a semifinalist in the NCAA Championship East Regional for the second year in a row and made its eighth straight appearance in the NCAA Championship.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics).