Eight Pioneer Baseball Players Honored

Eight members of the Alfred State College baseball team have been named to the Region III Division II All-Region team.  Kevin Underhill (Somers), Derek Speaker (Starpoint), and Bruno Saraceno (Binghamton) were first team selections while Andrew Foster (Clarkson, ONT.), Craig Kosnikowski (N. Tonawanda), Kelvin Espinosa (George Washington), Adalberto Vargas (Norman Thomas), and Yordis Veras (Newtown) were second team selections.

Underhill hit .412 (54 for 131) this spring as he played 1B, 3B, RF, LF, and even pitched for the Pioneers.  He collected ten doubles, drove in a team high 35 runs, and scored 28 runs.  He was 11 for 12 stealing bases and committed just one error in 223 chances in the field.  On the mound he tossed 2.2 innings of scoreless work.  Underhill started in all 39 games for the Blue and Gold.

Speaker hit .365 (46 for 126) in the leadoff spot for A-State.  He started in all 39 games and collected eight doubles, a homerun, and 23 RBI while scoring a team high 34 runs.  Speaker led the team with 26 stolen bases in 28 attempts.  On the mound, Speaker was 1-0 with a 4.00 ERA in nine innings of work.

Saraceno played in 33 games in LF for the Pioneers.  He finished the year with a .443 (39 for 88) batting average and 24 RBI.  He collected three doubles, a triple, and scored 28 runs.  He was 7 for 8 on the year stealing bases.  Saraceno also led the team with a .524 on base percentage.

Foster was 3-4 on the mound with a 3.18 ERA in 51 innings of work this spring.  Opponents hit just .202 versus him on the season.  He allowed just 38 hits on the year while striking out a team high 56 batters.

Kosnikowski was 5-2 this spring with a 3.78 ERA in 47.2 inning of work.  He made eight starts and tossed three complete games.  He allowed 41 hits, 20 earned runs, and opponents hit .228 versus him on the year.  He finished with 28 strikeouts.

Espinosa was behind the plate in 36 of the Pioneers 39 games on the year.  He finished the year with a .343 (34 for 99) batting average and a .476 on-base percentage.  He collected nine doubles, a triple, and a homer while driving in 27 runs.  Behind the plate he threw out eight base runners.

Vargas hit .340 (35 for 103) with ten doubles, a triple, and a team high two homeruns this spring.  He saw action in 38 games and scored 27 runs, drove in 21 runs, and was 6 for 6 in stolen bases.

Veras started 38 games in the middle infield for the Pioneers.  He hit .303 (30 for 99) with eight doubles, three triples, 11 RBI and 32 runs scored.  He drew a team high 29 walks and was hit by a pitch nine times.  On the base paths, Veras stole 19 bases in 23 attempts.

The Pioneers concluded the spring season with a 23-15-1 mark and was the #2 seed in the Regional Tournament where they lost two heart breaking games in the 9th inning.