LoPrinzi and Camerada Tapped as Players to Watch in 2017

TUCSON, Ariz. — With the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) baseball team's 2017 campaign set to begin this weekend, seniors Nicholas LoPrinzi (Howard Beach, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) and Michael Camerada (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) were recently placed on the NCAA Division III Players to Watch list by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper in their January College Preview edition.

The duo helped the Bears to a 22-20 overall mark in 2016—their fourth straight 20-win season—and a third-place finish in their first Skyline Conference Championship.

LoPrinzi batted .377, slugged .548, with 34 runs batted in and five homers in his junior campaign—ranked second on the team in all three categories. The versatile utility player who split time behind the plate, in the outfield, and at designated hitter finished with 19 multi-hit games and was one of the toughest on the team to strikeout fanning just eight times in 162 plate appearances. LoPrinzi was one of the hottest hitters at the end of the season, compiling a .625 batting average over the Skyline tournament. LoPrinzi begins his senior campaign sitting fifth all- time in Bears history in hits (145) with a career .355 average that places him fourth.

Camerada capped off his junior campaign batting .323 and slugging .543 and was rewarded being named an All-Skyline Second-Team selection—one of three Bears to receive all-conference honors. His career-best five home runs placed him in a tie for second on the team with LoPrinzi. Camerada assembled a nine-game hitting streak and a 16-game reached base safely streak over the course of the season. Joining the coveted 100-hit club last season, Camerada enters his senior season ranked in the top 10 in Bears history in runs scored (70), runs batted in (63) and slugging percentage (.457).

The Bears will open their season this weekend with a three-game set against Wesley College in Dover, Delaware on March 4 and 5.