June 7, 2012

PHILADELPHIA  – Saint Joseph’s junior right hander Kyle Mullen (Berwyn, Pa. / St. Joseph’s Prep) was named the Philadelphia Big 5 Baseball Pitcher of the Year, in voting conducted by the city’s head coaches and sports information offices.

In that same vote, Temple freshman Nick Lustrino (Spring Lake, N.J. / Manasquan) was named the Rookie of the Year, La Salle junior Pat Christensen (La Jolla, CA / La Jolla) repeated as the Student-Athletes of the Year, and Saint Joseph’s Fritz Hamburg was named the Coach of the Year. Saint  Joseph’s, which won 25 games and qualified for the Atlantic 10 Tournament for the first time, was named the Team of the Year.

Mullen, also a first team All-Atlantic  10 pick, was 6-4 with a 3.07 ERA in a school record 105.2 innings. He struck out 90 batters and was 5-0 with a 1.99 ERA in A-10 play.

Lustrino was Temple’s starting shortstop as a freshman, batting .291 with 16 RBI. He also fielded as a .954 clip.

Christensen saved nine games and posted a 2.66 ERA for La Salle, while earning a 3.60 GPA in the classroom as an business administration major.

Hamburg is the Big 5 Coach of the Year after leading the Hawks to 25 wins and their first appearance in the A-10 Tournament. Saint Joseph’s also won the Liberty Bell Classic.

Villanova Senior Second baseman Tyler Sciacca was named Big 5 Player of the Year. Sciacca was a second team All-Big East selection and led the Big 5 in batting at .359 and steals (17) while hitting 16 doubles and driving in 39. He batted .492 in non-conference games for the Wildcats.

Also on the All-Big 5 team are La Salle’s Christensen, Kevin Christy (Hatfield, Pa. / North Penn), and George Smith, Jr. (Mt. Airy, Md. / Good Counsel);  Penn’s Ryan Deitrich (Spring City, Pa. / The Hill School), Vince Voiro (Cherry Hill, N.J. / Cherry Hill West) and Greg Zebrack (Northridge, Calif. / Campbell Hall); Saint Joseph’s Mullen, Brian O’Keefe (Albany, N.Y. / South Colonie) and Kevin Taylor (Catonsville, Md. / Mt. St. Joseph’s); Temple’s Lustrino and Steve Nikorak (Stroudsburg, Pa. / Stroudsburg); and Villanova’s Sciacca, Matt Fleishman (East Northport, N.Y. / Commack), Kevin Wager (Holden, Mo. / Oakton (Va.)), and Pat Young (The Woodlands, Texas / College Park).

 The Big 5 Academic Team is comprised of Christensen, Mullen, Zebrack, Temple’s Matt Elko (Parsippany, N.J. / Parsippany Hills) and Villanova’s Matt Meurer (Katy, Texas / Cinco Ranch).

 

2012 PHILADELPHIA BIG 5 TEAM

Players

Name	School	Pos	Hometown	AVG	HR	RBI
Brian O’Keefe	Saint Joseph’s	C	Albany, N.Y.	.250	2	18
Kevin Taylor	Saint Joseph’s	1B	Catonsville, Md.	.251	8	32
Tyler Sciacca	Villanova	2B	Staten Island, N.Y.	.359	1	39
Nick Lustrino	Temple	SS	Spring Lake, N.J.	.291	0	16
Steve Nikorak	Temple	3B	Stroudsburg, Pa.	.302	7	42
Kevin Wager	Villanova	3B	Holden, Mo.	.350	0	47
Ryan Deitrich	Penn	OF	Spring City, Pa.	.350	4	22
George Smith, Jr.	La Salle	OF	Mt. Airy, Md.	.291	2	26
Greg Zebrack	Penn	OF	Northridge, Calif.	.343	7	28
Matt Fleishman	Villanova	DH	East Northport, N.Y.	.320	5	42

Pitchers

Name	School	Pos.	Hometown	ERA	W-L	K
Kevin Christy	La Salle	SP	Hatfield, Pa.	2.95	2-5	85
Kyle Mullen	Saint Joseph’s	SP	Berwyn, Pa.	3.07	6-4	90
Vince Voiro	Penn	SP	Cherry Hill, N.J.	2.45	5-3	59
Pat Young	Villanova	SP	The Woodlands, Texas	4.39	6-5	61
Pat Christensen	La Salle	RP	La Jolla, Calif.	2.66	4-3	9SV

Player of the Year: Tyler Sciacca, Villanova
Pitcher of the Year: Kyle Mullen, Saint Joseph’s
Rookie of the Year: Nick Lustrino, Temple
Student-Athlete of the Year: Pat Christensen, La Salle
Coach of the Year: Fritz Hamburg, Saint Joseph’s
Team of the Year: Saint Joseph’s

2012 PHILADELPHIA BIG 5 ACADEMIC TEAM

Name	School	Major	GPA	AVG	HR	RBI
Matt Elko	Temple	Engineering	3.14	.282	1	32
Greg Zebrack	Penn	Communication	3.27	.343	7	28
Name	School	Major	GPA	ERA	W-L	K
Pat Christensen	La Salle	Business	3.60	2.66	4-3	9 SV
Kyle Mullen	Saint Joseph’s	Food Marketing	3.11	3.07	6-4	90
Matt Meurer	Villanova	Mechanical Engineering	3.76	4.11	3-2	27