Kruger, Serro, O'Reilly & Cagwin Earn Franklin & Marshall Baseball Awards

by Sports Information
6/6/05

LANCASTER, PA – The Franklin & Marshall College baseball team has handed out Most Valuable Player, CY Young, Rookie of the Year and Mr. Hustle awards for the 2005 season.

Third baseman Gary Kruger (Jr., East Islip, NY/East Islip) was named the Most Valuable Player for the second straight season as the junior hit .350 (42-for-120) with 34 runs scored, six doubles, two triples, two home runs, 24 RBI, a .487 on-base percentage and was 29-for-32 in stolen bases.

An All-Centennial Conference honorable mention selection this year and the all-time leader in stolen bases at the College with 72, Kruger ranks 12th in hits (109), seventh in runs (85), second in triples (10), fourth in home runs (7) and 11th in RBI (57) in school history.
Pitcher Ted Serro (Jr., Brooklyn, NY/Xavier) was named the Diplomats’ CY Young Award winner. The Centennial Conference Pitcher of the Year, he recorded a 6-3 mark with a 1.92 earned run average and 75 strikeouts In 70.1 innings of work while holding opponents to a .182 batting average.

In his last 25 innings of work, Serro did not allow a run and recorded 24 strikeouts as he lead the Diplomats to a 3-0 victory over Dickinson College, a 1-0 victory over Johns Hopkins University in the opening game of the Centennial Conference Championships and threw nine innings of shutout baseball in the opening game of the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional against #6 nationally ranked Rowan University.

A selection to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Mid-Atlantic All-Region second team, for his performance against Rowan at the NCAA Regional Tournament in Boyertown he was named to the All-Tournament team.

The Rookie of the Year award went to Pat O’Reilly (Fr., Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) who hit.280 (35-for-125) with 25 runs scored, eight doubles, two home runs and 15 RBI out of the leadoff spot as he platooned at first base and designated hitter throughout the 2005 season and was in the line-up from opening day.

The March 28 Centennial Conference Player of the Week, he hit .429 (six-for-14) in a 4-0 week for the Diplomats with four runs scored, one double, one home run and seven RBI with a .467 on-base percentage.

In a 10-6 victory over Messiah College, O’Reilly went two-for-five with a run scored, three RBI and a homerun. At The College of New Jersey in a 13-8 win, he went three-for-six with two runs scored and three RBI.

Pitcher Todd Cagwin (Sr., Fayetteville, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) received the “Mr. Hustle” Award as he went 2-0 with a 2.61 earned run average in 20.2 innings of work.

A 2004 and 2005 team captain, Cagwin recorded a complete game 8-4 victory over Cazenovia College in Florida on March 15 to earn a spot on the Centennial Conference Honor Roll.

Franklin & Marshall finished the 2005 season with a 25-16 record while capturing the Centennial Conference regular season and tournament titles.