Piccirillo Named AD3I Pitcher of the Year Headlining Seven Named to All-Independent Teams

OVERLAND PARK, KS – Recognizing his perfect 9-0 record on the mound, junior Paul Piccirillo was named the Association of Division III Independents (AD3I) Pitcher of the Year as the 2012 All-Independent Teams were announced last week.  In all, seven Bears received year-end recognition, with four selected to the First Team – Piccirillo, Joe Mendez, Thomas McKenna and Chris Cutrone – and three tabbed to the Second Team – Mike Cundari, Joseph Boccia and Vinny Rossi.

The seven All-Independent team selections are the most for the Bears in their five year history.  St. Joseph's finished with a program-best 18-17 record, the first winning season in school history.

Piccirillo, a two-time AD3I Player of the Week this season, becomes the first Bear to receive Pitcher of the Year honors and garners first team honors for the first time in his career, adds to USCAA All-American recognition received last week.  The Brooklyn, NY native made nine starts on the mound and tossed six complete games and two shutouts, assembling a 2.78 ERA over 71.1 innings of work, striking out 61 batters, setting a new single season Bears record.  Piccirillo finished the regular season ranked tied for 10th in Division III for victories and tied for 33rd in complete games and ranked 34th in hits allowed per nine innings.

Mendez, a sophomore outfielder, earns first team accolades for the second straight season after leading the Bears in many offensive categories including slugging (.568) home runs (3) and RBI (31) with 18 of his 45 hits going for extra bases. The Staten Island, NY native recorded a team-leading 14 multiple hit games and 10 multiple RBI games.

McKenna, a freshman shortstop, garnered first team honors after assembling a solid rookie campaign starting all 35 games at shortstop as matched the team's single-season record for hits with 49. The Bellerose, NY native who was the Bears leadoff hitter and offensive sparkplug, also led the team with 33 runs scored and 13 stolen bases without getting caught once. His .353 batting average was third best on the team. McKenna also received AD3I Player of the Week honors for a week where he batted .519 and tallied his first of two five-hit games on the season.

Cutrone, a freshman second baseman/pitcher, rounds out the four first teamers selected as a second baseman. He played in all 35 games and started in six on the mound. Hitting in the middle of the Bears lineup, Cutrone assembled a team second-best 11-game hitting streak and batted .319, also finishing second on the team in runs scored (28) and RBI (23). The Levittown, NY native drew a team-best 19 walks that helped his on-base percentage rise to .415. Cutrone was named AD3I Player of the Week on April 18th after batting .667 with eight runs and five RBI in three games.  

Cundari, a sophomore catcher, receives second team recognition as a backstop after earning it as a first-baseman last season. The Staten Island, NY native was ranked second on the team in on-base percentage (.429) and slugging (.477). Cundari, who was also a USCAA All-Academic Team member, assembled a career-high 13-hitting streak, the second-longest in team history, and finished the season batting .333 with 20 RBI and 26 runs scored.

Boccia, the Bears senior captain, receives All-Independent honors for the second time in his career, named to the third team in his freshman year and is a two-time USCAA All-Academic Team selection.  The Westwood, NJ native saw his finest season at the plate compiling a career-best .383 batting average and .459 on-base percentage. Boccia assembled a career-long 11-game hitting streak, collecting 36 hits, 19 runs, 12 RBI and nine stolen bases for the season.  Boccia finished his career as the all-time leader in games played (126), runs scored (109) and hits (142).

Rossi, a freshman outfielder, made 32 starts and played in 34 games finishing with a .308 batting average and 37 hits. The third Bear rookie to receive AD3I year-end accolades found himself in the top five in a number of offensive categories including runs (24), RBI (19), total bases (47) and stolen bases (6). The Bayside, NY native recorded 12 multiple-hit games, third-most on the team. Rossi's biggest hit of the season came on April 6th, when his two-out single in the bottom of the ninth gave the Bears a walk-off win over Baruch. 

The All-Independent baseball teams were selected by the baseball coaches from AD3I member schools.