COUGAR BASEBALL

SAXON CHOSEN NCBWA NORTHEAST REGION ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

5-31-07
CALDWELL, N.J. - Caldwell College freshman outfielder Adric Saxon (Coral Springs, FL/Broward CC) received Northeast Region Rookie of the Year honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, the organization announced Wednesday. Saxon, who also earned the Rookie of the Year award from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, was included on the NCBWA all-Region first team. Additionally, freshman pitcher Robert Casal (Howard Beach, NY/St. Francis Prep) made the all-Region second team.

This is the third all-Region team for Saxon, who was selected to the ABCA/Rawlings and Daktronics all-Region second teams earlier this month. In his first collegiate season, Saxon led the Cougars with 13 home runs and 62 runs batted in while batting .365 in 40 games. He currently leads the nation in RBIs per game and ranks 14th in homers per game to help the Cougars rank 15th nationally in scoring. A first team all-Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference selection, Saxon had two hits, two runs and an RBI in Caldwell's 9-4 victory over UMass-Lowell in the first round of the NCAA Northeast Region Tournament on May 17. He also batted .533 with seven RBIs at the CACC Tournament to earn the conference's Rookie of the Week award and a spot on the all-Tournament team.

Casal also made the ABCA/Rawlings and Daktronics all-Region second teams, leading Caldwell in victories (10), earned run average (3.74), innings pitched (74 2/3) and strikeouts (75) as a freshman. He ranks 14th in victories and 48th in strikeouts per nine innings among all NCAA Division II pitchers. In his only start at the Northeast Region Tournament, Casal struck out 10 batters while allowing seven hits and four runs in 8 1/3 innings pitched in the win against UMass-Lowell. He also had 10 strikeouts in an 11-4 win over Felician College at the CACC Tournament on May 11. A first team all-CACC selection, Casal received the CACC Rookie of the Week award twice during the season.

The Cougars, coached by Chris Reardon,  finished 25-15 this season and captured the CACC regular-season title while making their second appearance in the NCAA Division II Northeast Region Tournament in four years.

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