With help from area players, the 2016 Felician University baseball team tied a program record by placing nine players on the All-Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) postseason teams. The Golden Falcons saw a school-record eight players elected to the All-CACC First Team and one on the Second Team. In addition, head coach Chris Langan, who resides in Hazlet, was named the CACC Coach of the Year.
The CACC’s all-conference teams and special award winners were voted upon by its 11 head coaches.
Felician won the regular season conference championship with a 16-4 mark. Overall, the Golden Falcons are 29-18.
“These honors are reflective of our maturity from last year,” said Langan, who collected his 300th career win during the season, in a prepared statement. “We became more acclimated to college baseball and the grind that it actually is. Our guys came in determined and driven, and they reaped the benefits.”
Junior designated hitter Brennan Price (Middlesex) earned All-CACC honors for the third time — the only Golden Falcon winner not to be a first-time selection. Price is sixth in the CACC in batting average (.357) and fourth in on-base percentage (.460). In 42 games, he has 11 doubles, two home runs, 23 runs scored and 30 runs batted in.
Junior pitcher Matt Blandino (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Central) was also named the CACC Pitcher of the Year. With a 7-3 record, he leads the conference in wins and strikeouts (85) and is second in earned-run average (2.28). He has allowed 66 hits and 14 walks in 83 innings.
Two other members of the pitching staff were elected to the First Team. Sophomore left-hander Jason Polgano (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) was chosen at the utility-pitcher spot for his two-way efforts. Polgano is batting .359 with 24 extra-base hits, including six home runs, 33 RBIs and eight stolen bases. He leads Felician with 44 runs scored and a .594 slugging percentage. Polgano is also 6-1 with a 2.52 ERA as a pitcher.
Sophomore righty Danny Naif (Jackson Liberty) was voted to the First Team relief pitcher position. In 21 appearances, he posted a 2-0 record and a CACC-leading eight saves, a 1.66 ERA and an opponent batting average of .190. He struck out 21 batters and walked five in 21.2 innings.
Junior catcher Matt Kleinstein (Colts Neck) — .385, one home run, 26 RBIs — junior outfielder Andrew LaMura (Red Bank Catholic) — .352, six home runs, 42 runs, 46 RBIs — and junior third baseman J.R. Meneses (Lake Worth, Fla./Zion Lutheran) — .290, three home runs, 24 runs, 27 RBIs — all hit more than .400 in CACC competition. Kleinstein, a Colts Neck High School graduate, is second in the CACC in hitting, while LaMura is second in hits and tied for second in RBIs. Joining LaMura in the outfield is sophomore Matt Diesel (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) — .349, five home runs, 43 runs, 38 RBIs — who is third in the league in runs and fifth in RBIs.
Sophomore shortstop Bruce Strickland (Raritan) — .289, 13 extra-base hits, 33 runs, 19 RBIs, 12 stolen bases — the 2015 CACC Rookie of the Year, was chosen to this year’s All-CACC Second Team.
Felician wins CACC Tournament
The area players were also critical to Felician’s postseason success, as they helped the Golden Falcons win the CACC Conference Tournament held in New Castle, Delaware, May 12-14.
LaMura was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament. In the tournament, he went 8-for-23 (.348) with two doubles, two home runs, a .696 slugging percentage, five runs scored and a team-high eight RBIs.
Felician, the No. 1 seed, captured its second CACC baseball championship by winning four consecutive games in the event after losing its first-round matchup. The Golden Falcons swept two games from No. 4-seed Philadelphia University, 9-2 and 13-8, in the finals.
Joining LaMura on the CACC All-Tournament Team were Kleinstein, third baseman Meneses, Polgano and Strickland.
Kleinstein caught every inning of all five games for Felician and went 8-for-16 with a .618 on-base percentage and five runs scored. He threw out a base-stealer and picked off another runner.
Meneses was 7-for-14 with a .611 on-base percentage for the weekend. He had one double, one triple, scored seven runs, drove in six and added three sacrifices.
With Felician facing elimination May 12, the left-handed Polgano pitched a four-hit shutout in a 2-0 victory against regionally-ranked Chestnut Hill College. He struck out three batters while walking one and picked two runners off at first base.
Strickland, Felician’s leadoff batter, went 10-for-22 (.455) in the tournament. He scored six runs, drove in five and stole three bases while handling 27 chances without an error at shortstop.