Baseball’s Friday Named to NCBWA All-East Region Second Team
NCBWA All-East Region selections (PDF)
RINDGE, N.H. (June 5, 2018) – Senior third baseman John Friday (Southborough, Mass.) of the Franklin Pierce University baseball team has been named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-East Region Second Team, as announced earlier this spring by the NCBWA. In addition, senior center fielder Adam Chase (Bridgewater, Mass.) and junior right-hander Zach Hart (Wallingford, Conn.) each earned All-East Region Honorable Mention nods from the NCBWA.
Friday -- who was also an All-East Region Second Team selection by the Conference Commissioners Association -- played in 44 of the team’s 49 games this spring, primarily at third base, and posted a slash line of .349/.449/.548, for an OPS of .997 over 166 at-bats (58-for-166). He hit 16 doubles, five home runs and one triple, scored 30 times and drove in 23 runs. He drew 26 walks against just 16 strikeouts on the year. The 16 doubles finished tied for fourth in the NE10. Friday also ranked fourth in the league in slugging percentage, eighth in batting average and ninth in on-base percentage.
Chase played in all 49 games, splitting time between right field and center field, and posted a .314/.414/.492 slash line over 191 at-bats (60-for-191). He recorded 22 extra-base hits on 14 doubles, four triples and four home runs, scored 39 runs and drove in 40. He drew 25 walks against 32 strikeouts. Chase’s slugging percentage ranked 10th in the NE10, while the 14 doubles tied for ninth.
Hart enjoyed a breakout season in 2018. He made 12 starts, and struck out 88 batters over 82.1 innings while doing so, to register 9.62 strikeouts per nine innings. He allowed 20 runs (18 earned) on 60 hits and walked 15 against the 88 strikeouts, on his way to a 1.97 ERA and an 8-1 record, which included one complete game, which was a shutout. Hart ranked fifth in the NE10 in ERA, sixth in strikeouts, seventh in strikeouts per nine innings and tied for eighth in innings pitched.
The Ravens (33-15-1) returned to the NCAA Championship this spring for the 14th time in school history. The 2018 campaign marked 17 straight seasons of 30 or more wins for the program.
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).