DiRocco Named to All-BIG EAST First Team

CLEARWATER, FLA.  - Seton Hall baseball's starting pitcher Joe DiRocco (East Hanover, N.J.) was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team as announced by the conference during the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament Opening Ceremonies at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla.

The right-hander finished the BIG EAST regular-season posting a 3-1 record with a 1.63 ERA striking out 49 batters in 66.1 innings of work.  He enters the 2011 post-season tournament ranked second in the conference with a .208 opposing batting average, third in innings pitched, fourth in ERA, strikeouts-looking (19), and pick-offs (2), seventh in earned runs allowed (12), and eighth in strikeouts.

Of his no-decisions in conference play, he struck out six batters and allowed only one hit before being removed after nine scoreless innings of an 18-inning marathon against Louisville on May 5.  The Pirates won the game, 1-0.  This past weekend against Georgetown, the 2011 NJCBA Pitcher of the Year lasted nine innings surrendering only two runs on five hits.  The Pirates came back to tie the score in the bottom of the ninth to force extra-innings where they eventually won, 3-2.

Overall this season, the senior was 6-1 with a 1.54 ERA fanning 71 batters in 99.2 innings.  He began his season with a two-hit eight inning shutout against Iowa in the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge pitching the Pirates to their first win of the season.  The outing earned the senior a place on the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge All-Tournament Team, and the InsidePitching.com Northeast Regional Performance of the Week.  It also gave him his first of three BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week awards, which was the most awarded to a pitcher in one season since 2003.

One week removed from the Iowa performance, the four-year weekend starter threw 6.1 innings yielding only one run on four hits while striking out four to defeat then-number 24 North Carolina in Chapel Hill.  He was later named to his second conference Pitcher of the Week award for the outing.

The place on the All-BIG EAST Team is DiRocco's first in his four years in a Pirate uniform.  He ends his career at the Hall with six BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week awards tying him for second place among all conference pitchers dating back to 1985.

2011 BIG EAST CONFERENCE BASEBALL AWARDS

BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE YEAR
George Springer, OF, Connecticut (Jr., New Britain, Conn.) *

BIG EAST PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Matt Barnes, RHP, Connecticut (Jr., Bethel, Conn.)

BIG EAST ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Trey Mancini, 1B, Notre Dame (Fr., Winter Haven, Fla.)

BIG EAST COACH OF THE YEAR
Jim Penders, Connecticut

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
Pos.	Player	School	Cl	Hometown
P	Matt Barnes *	Connecticut	Jr.	Bethel, Conn.
P	Justin Amlung	Louisville	So.	Louisville, Ky.
P	Kyle Hansen	St. John's	So.	Glen Gove, N.Y.
P	Joe DiRocco	Seton Hall	Sr.	East Hanover, N.J.
C	Kevan Smith *	Pittsburgh	Sr.	Cranberry Township, Pa.
1B	David Chester	Pittsburgh	Sr.	Collinsville, Okla.
2B	Ryan Wright	Louisville	Jr.	Fort Wayne, Ind.
3B	Jonathan Koscso	USF	Sr.	Tampa, Fla.
SS	Joe Panik	St. John's	Jr.	Hopewell Junction, N.Y.
OF	Justin Riddell	Cincinnati	Sr.	Lexington, Ky.
OF	George Springer *	Connecticut	Jr.	New Britain, Conn.
OF	Rand Ravnaas	Georgetown	Jr.	Fort Worth, Texas
OF	Jeremy Baltz	St. John's	So.	Vestal, N.Y.
DH	Jeremy Gum	West Virginia	Sr.	Bridgeport, W.Va.
	* unanimous selection

ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM
Pos.	Player	School	Cl	Hometown
P	Greg Nappo	Connecticut	Sr.	Madison, Conn.
P	Matt Iannazzo	Pittsburgh	Jr.	Norwalk, Conn.
P	Randy Fontanez	USF	Sr.	Oviedo, Fla.
P	Kevin Quackenbush	USF	Sr.	Tampa, Fla.
C	Doug Elliot	Connecticut	Sr.	Rocky Hill, Conn.
1B	Mike Nemeth	Connecticut	Sr.	Washington, N.J.
2B	LJ Mazzilli	Connecticut	So.	Greenwich, Conn.
3B	Ryan Fuller	Connecticut	Jr.	Old Lyme, Conn.
SS	Nick Ahmed	Connecticut	Jr.	East Longmeadow, Mass.
OF	Stewart Ijames	Louisville	Jr.	Louisville, Ky.
OF	John Schultz	Pittsburgh	Sr.	West Lawn, Pa.
OF	Michael Lang	Rutgers	Sr.	Dumont, N.J.
DH	Justin Glass	Cincinnati	Fr.	Fort Wayne, Ind.

ALL-BIG EAST THIRD TEAM
Pos.	Player	School	Cl	Hometown
P	Kevin Vance	Connecticut	Jr.	Solana Beach, Calif.
P	Tony Zych	Louisville	Jr.	Monee, Ill.
P	Brian Dupra	Notre Dame	Sr.	Rochester, N.Y.
C	Erick Fernandez	Georgetown	Sr.	Hialeah, Fla.
1B	Trey Mancini	Notre Dame	Fr.	Winter Haven, Fla.
1B	Paul Karmas	St. John's	Sr.	Douglaston, N.Y.
3B	Sean Lamont	Georgetown	Sr.	Houston, Texas
SS	Grant Buckner	West Virginia	Sr.	Elkview W.Va.
OF	Braden Kline	Cincinnati	Fr.	Warsaw, Ind.
OF	John Andreoli	Connecticut	Jr.	Shrewsbury, Mass.
OF	Casey Roche	Pittsburgh	Fr.	Downingtown, Pa.
DH	Tim Martin	Connecticut	Jr.	Stratford, Conn.
DH	Anthony Defabio	Pittsburgh	Jr.	Pittsburgh, Pa.

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