Baseball Trio Collect All-East Region Accolades
ABCA All-Region Teams
D2CCA All-East Region Teams (PDF)
NCBWA All-Region Teams (PDF)
RINDGE, N.H. (June 7, 2022) – A troika of sophomores from the Franklin Pierce University baseball team have all been tabbed as consensus All-East Region picks, as announced over the course of the spring. Shortstop Ian Battipaglia (Cheshire, Conn.), second baseman Randy Flores (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and starting pitcher Kyle Roche (Braintree, Mass.) were honored on multiple occasions.
There are three organizations which select All-Region and All-America baseball teams at the Division II level: the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA), and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). The ABCA is nominated and voted on by collegiate baseball coaches, the D2CCA is organized by Athletic Communication professionals, and the NCBWA consists of dues-paying media members covering college baseball.
By virtue of earning All-East Region plaudits from each of the three organizations, all three Ravens are consensus All-East picks. Battipaglia collected All-East Region First Team honors from the D2CCA and NCBWA, to go with Second Team laurels from the ABCA. Flores was a consensus All-East Region Second Team selection. Roche collected First Team accolades from both the ABCA and the NCBWA, in addition to a Second Team nod from the D2CCA.
All three were All-NE10 First Team selections earlier in the year. It marks Battipaglia's second straight All-Region campaign at shortstop, as he was a consensus Second Team pick a year ago. Flores and Roche both earned the first All-Region honors of their respective careers.
Battipaglia and Flores were one-two on the Ravens, in varying orders, in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, as the former slashed .342/.436/.554 in 184 at-bats (63-for-184), while the latter put together a .346/.427/.585 line over 159 at-bats (55-for-159). Battipaglia hit 13 doubles and clubbed eight home runs, while scoring 45 runs and driving in 49. Meanwhile, Flores knocked 13 doubles, two triples and seven home runs, scored 38 times, drove in 42, and stole 20 bases in 24 attempts.
Among NE10 leaders, Battipaglia is inside the top 15 in on-base percentage and slugging percentage, while Flores is inside the top 15 in slugging as well. The pair are both inside the top 15 in the league in runs scored, while Battipaglia cracked the top 10 in hits and runs batted in.
Meanwhile, Roche pitched his way into the ace role for the Ravens this spring. Over 14 appearances, including 13 starts, totaling a team-best 78.1 innings, he allowed 24 runs (18 earned) on 54 hits and walked just 26 against 96 strikeouts (11.03 strikeouts per nine innings). It all added up to a 2.07 earned-run average and a 6-2 record for the right-hander, with one complete game. Roche is second in the NE10 in ERA, and also ranks third in strikeouts per nine innings, fourth in strikeouts and sixth in innings pitched.
Franklin Pierce (31-17) reached the 30-win plateau for the 18th time in program history, and advanced to the final game of the Molloy East Regional site, in the program's 17th all-time NCAA Championship berth.