Hamel, Loparco & Cassella Earn All-Region Honors from ABCA & D3Baseball.com
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (May 22, 2018) – Juniors Bob Hamel (Southwick, Mass.), Alex Loparco (Riverside, Conn.) and Joe Cassella (Wallingford, Conn.) of the Western New England University baseball team have earned All-Region honors from both D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), the organizations announced this week.
Hamel received All-New England first team accolades, while Loparco and Cassella landed on the second team.
An All-Region honoree for the third time in his career, Hamel was spectacular throughout his junior campaign. The junior left-handed pitcher set Western New England's single-season program record and currently leads NCAA Division III with a 0.95 earned run average in 57.0 innings pitched.
Western New England posted a perfect 12-0 record in the games that Hamel stepped on the mound, as he went 7-0 in his starts with four complete games and also picked up four saves early in the season. Hamel issued a career-low 16 walks and struck out 53 batters while limiting opposing hitters to a .227 batting average.
Hamel, who was named the 2018 CCC Pitcher of the Year, is 21-3 in 24 career starts with a 1.67 earned run average and 139 strikeouts in 166.2 innings of work.
Loparco collects All-Region accolades for the first time following a breakout junior season in which he was named the CCC Player of the Year. Loparco hit .382 (63-for-165) and got on base at a .525 clip while totaling 12 doubles, two triples, 37 RBI, 40 walks, 55 runs scored and 19 stolen bases.
Cassella is also a first time All-Region honoree after posting career-high numbers across the board. The All-CCC first team selection batted .378 (62-for-164) with ten doubles, 42 RBI, 26 walks, 21 stolen bases and 48 runs scored. Cassella posted a 15-game hitting streak from March 11th-April 7th and closed out the season with base hits in the Golden Bears' final nine contests.
Western New England (32-15, 11-5 CCC) captured the program's sixth CCC title this spring before appearing in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the 11th time.
