May 7, 2012

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Fordham’s Ryan Phelan and Mike Vigliarolo of Saint Louis were named the Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, the league office announced on Monday. Leif Sorenson of Massachusetts and Alex Pracher of Saint Joseph’s were also honored as Co-Pitchers of the Week honor. All four student-athletes were recognized for games played during the week of April 30-May 6.

Phelan had his best weekend as a Ram, hitting .500 (5-10) during Fordham’s series win over first-place Rhode Island. The West Windsor, N.J., native had a career day in the series finale on May 6, finishing a single short of the cycle. He was 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, his first career home run, two runs scored, and a career-best four RBI. Phelan is the only Ram to register a four-RBI game this season.

Sorenson pitched four perfect innings to log his seventh, eighth and ninth saves of the season, helping Massachusetts to a 3-1 record last week and a series win over Richmond. The Haverhill, Mass., native retired all 12 batters he faced, striking out three over three appearances. He tied the UMass single season record with his eighth save of the year and broke the record on May 6 against with his ninth against the Spiders.

Pracher tossed a two-hit shutout on May 5 as Saint Joseph’s clinched the weekend series with a 4-0 win over George Washington. After pitching out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first, Pracher kept the Colonials off balance all day, striking out 10 batters en route to his third complete game and first shutout of the season. The Marlton, N.J., native ranks among the league leaders in innings pitched and strikeouts and lowered his earned run average by half a run with the shutout.

Vigliarolo powered the Billikens to four wins last week, including a conference sweep of St. Bonaventure to put Saint Louis in a tie for first place in the A-10. On the week, he hit .375 with a .725 slugging percentage. Against the Bonnies, the Smithtown, N.Y., native hit .500 (5-10) with a .600 slugging percentage and .545 on-base percentage. In addition to his balanced production at the plate, he showed prowess in the field, going error-free in 26 chances on the week. On the season, he has only one error in 243 chances. He has 232 putouts on the season, the most ever for a Billiken freshman.