Ponce De Leon Named First Team All-Big East
5/17/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BRIDGEWATER, NJ (May 16, 2000) - Senior righthander Damon Ponce de Leon (Demarest, NJ/Northern Valley Regional) of the Seton Hall baseball team was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team by the league's head coaches, it was announced Tuesday. Senior Alfie Critelli (Summit, NJ/Summit) earned second team honors at first base, while junior Joe Cuervo (Warren, NJ/Watchung Hills) joined Critelli on the second team at second base. Freshman Casey Grimm (Morristown, NJ/Seton Hall Prep) was a unanimous selection to the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team.
Ponce de Leon picked up his first career conference honor after posting a 9-2 regular season record with one save. Ponce de Leon registered a 3.03 ERA in a team-high 92 innings, holding opponents to a .233 batting average. He dominated conference opponents, going 7-1 with a 3.10 ERA in eight BIG EAST starts. Ponce de Leon has won his last seven starts, all against BIG EAST teams.
Critelli is leading the Pirates with 13 home runs, 56 RBI, 27 extra-base hits, 116 total bases and a .614 slugging percentage. He is hitting .328 this season and has developed into a solid defensive first baseman. Earlier this year, Critelli was named Most Valuable Player of the Homestead Challenge after hitting .462 with two doubles, a home run and four RBI in three games to lead the Pirates to the tournament title. He was named first team All-BIG EAST last year as a utility player.
Cuervo is enjoying a career season for the Pirates. He is hitting .355 with three home runs and 27 RBI and leads the team with 31 stolen bases. He has only been caught stealing four times this season, converting 89 percent of his stolen base attempts. In BIG EAST play, Cuervo has been just as impressive: In 24 games, he hit .345 with 14 RBI, a team-high 21 runs scored and 16 steals in 18 attempts.
Grimm hit .366 in his first season for the Pirates, knocking in 31 runs in 46 games and scoring 27 runs. In BIG EAST play, he hit .298 in 21 games with 11 RBI.
Seton Hall finished the regular season with a 36-14 record, 18-7 in the BIG EAST. The Pirates begin play in the 2000 BIG EAST Baseball Championship at Somerset Park in Bridgewater, NJ, on Wednesday, May 17, at 7:00 pm against Connecticut, the No. 4 seed. Seton Hall is the No. 3 seed.
