Posted: May 04, 2017

Baseball’s Amendola, Bird Earn Academic All-District Honors from CoSIDA

RINDGE, N.H. (May 4, 2017) – Junior right-hander John Amendola (Wallingford, Conn.) and graduate student right-hander Tanner Bird (Adams, Mass.) of the Franklin Pierce University baseball team have been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District I First Team, as announced on Thursday afternoon by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America). As a result of the selection, both Amendola and Bird will advance to the Academic All-America ballot.

To be eligible for selection, each student-athlete must own a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average or higher, be at least a sophomore in academic standing and be a starter or significant contributor athletically. The Academic All-District and All-America teams are voted on by sports information directors in the district and nation, respectively.

It is the second career CoSIDA Academic All-District selection for Bird, and the first for Amendola. It is the second straight season the baseball program has had multiple student-athletes honored by CoSIDA.

Amendola is in his second year at Franklin Pierce after transferring in from Division I Northeastern, and currently holds a 3.65 GPA as a business major. Through April 30, he ranked seventh in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.5), 11th in walks per nine innings (1.09), 23rd in ERA (1.77) and 24th in WHIP (1.00). He has logged 70 innings on the mound for the Ravens, including three complete games, two of which were shutouts. Amendola has surrendered 16 runs (13 earned) on 60 hits and walked just eight against 64 strikeouts, to put together a 6-3 record over 11 appearances (nine starts).

Meanwhile, Bird is wrapping up his eligibility with the Ravens as a graduate student this spring. He earned Academic All-America Second Team honors from CoSIDA a year ago, when he finished his marketing degree with a 3.62 GPA. Pursuing his master's degree at Franklin Pierce as well, Bird currently holds a 3.84 GPA as a graduate student. On the field, he has logged 42 innings for the crimson and grey over 15 appearances on the mound, including four starts. Bird has allowed 18 runs (13 earned) on 35 hits, walked 15 and struck out 53 on his way to a 2.79 ERA and a 4-2 record.

The Ravens (30-13) wrapped up the regular season on Wednesday, with a doubleheader sweep of Saint Michael's. The team will next play in the first round of the Northeast-10 Championship on Tuesday, May 9, with the opponent, location and time to be determined.

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). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce baseball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).