May 19, 2010
FELICIAN PUTS THREE PITCHERS ON ALL-NJCBA TEAMS
Courtesy of Mark Mentone, Felician SID
RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Three Felician College players have been voted onto the 2010 New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association Division II/III all-state teams, which the NJCBA released on March 19. Junior pitcher Joel Sanchez (Hialeah, FL/Monsignor Pace) made the First Team, senior Phil Messerian (Fair Lawn, NJ/Fair Lawn) was chosen for the second team as a utility player, and senior relief pitcher John Calise (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter’s Boys) was a Third Team selection. All 17 head coaches of the non-Division I four-year baseball programs in the state were eligible to vote.
Sanchez, also a First-Team All-Central Atlantic Collegiate
Conference honoree, went 7-0 with a 2.61 earned-run average
and a save in 13 appearances (10 starts) for Felician. In 69
innings, the 5-foot-10 right-hander allowed 62 hits, struck out 58
batters and walked 17. He earned a complete-game victory over NCAA
Regional qualifier Dominican (N.Y.) College in March and defeated
Chestnut Hill College in the CACC playoffs.
Messerian was a two-way threat for the Golden Falcons. As a
pitcher, he went 6-4 and set school records with a 1.42 ERA and 75
strikeouts. Opponents hit .213 off of him in 69 2/3 innings. Also
an outfielder, he batted .309 with 11 extra base hits, 26 runs
scored, 21 runs batted in, and 16 stolen bases. He was also a
Second-Team All-CACC and second-team Daktronics Division II
All-East Region selection at utility player.
Calise enjoyed the best season of his four-year Felician
career. The 5-foot-10 lefthander, who broke his own Felician record
with 26 appearances, had a 1-1 record and a 1.93 ERA out of the
Golden Falcon bullpen. In 23 1/3 innings, he allowed 25 hits,
including no home runs, struck out 24 batters, and walked 12. He is
Felician’s all-time appearance leader with 85.
Two Golden Falcon freshmen – relief pitcher
Vince Kossak (Lake Worth, FL/Trinity Christian
Academy) (2-2, 2 SV, 2.57 ERA, 21 IP, 20 H, 9 BB, 23
SO), and outfielder Joe Petosa (Spotswood,
NJ/Spotswood) .(.333, 6 2B, 7 3B, 2 HR, 37 R, 28 RBI)
– were chosen for the 2010 NJCBA All-Rookie Team.
Felician tied the second-highest win total in program history
in 2010 with a 26-24 overall record. The Golden Falcons finished in
third place in the CACC and earned their fourth league playoff
berth in the last five years.
