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Contact: Dave Gosselin, Christopher Newport
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May 22, 2006


Read, Boothe Highlight College Division All-State Baseball Team

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Bridgewater College’s Ricky Read has been named the 2006 Virginia Sports Information Director College Division State Player of the Year and Virginia Wesleyan College’s Nick Boothe has been named the Coach of the Year.

2006 VaSID College Division Baseball All-State Team

Read, a junior from Goode, VA, hit .337 with eight home runs and 47 runs driven in. He is the First Team Utility All-State choice in 2006. He led the team in RBI and home runs and was named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Player of the Year. He was also a Second Team All-ODAC selection at DH and a First Team All-ODAC pitcher. He was 9-1 on the mound with a 2.76 ERA and three saves and held opponents to a .220 batting average.

Boothe, who just completed his 20th season at VA Wesleyan, was named the state’s Coach of the Year in 2004 as well. He is a six-time recipient of the same award in the ODAC and is the most successful coach in school history. Led his team to the ODAC tournament championship and a successful showing in the NCAA regionals.

Joining Read on the First Team is catcher Matt Hudgins from VA Wesleyan. Hudgins, a junior from VA Beach hit .312 with 48 hits, eight home runs and 45 RBI. He led the Marlins in putouts, fielding percentage, home runs and RBI. He was a First Team All-ODAC selection.

At First Base, earning co-1st Team honors were Christopher Newport’s John Corbin and Emory & Henry’s Adam Hall. Corbin, a senior from Williamsburg, VA, hit .352 with 44 hits, 20 runs, two home runs and 24 runs driven in. He was a 2006 Honorable Mention All-USA South choice and was an Honorable Mention All-State selection last year. Hall, a junior from Abingdon, VA, hit .386 with 35 runs scored and 61 hits with 10 home runs and 58 RBI. He was a 2nd Team All-ODAC selection and ranks sixth in the nation in RBI per game and 20th in the nation in slugging percentage.

Randolph-Macon’s Greg Meleski also earned First Team All-State honors at second base. Meleski, a Weston, FL native, hit .364 with 52 hits, 12 doubles and 29 RBI. He was the ODAC’s Rookie of the Year and a 2nd Team All-ODAC choice.

Lucas Jones of Lynchburg College earned First Team All-State honors at third base. Jones hit .367 with 45 runs scored, 51 hits, 25 RBI and three home runs. He was an Honorable Mention All-ODAC selection in 2006 and was named the State’s and the South Region’s Player of the Year in 2005.

At shortstop, Bridgewater’s Jono Brooks took home First Team honors. Brooks, a junior from Milford, VA, led his team with a .390 average with 71 hits, 53 runs scored and 16 steals. Led the ODAC in hits, runs, triples (10) and total bases (120). He was a First Team All-ODAC choice as well.

In the outfield, Shenandoah’s Ryan Anderson, Lynchburg’s Steve Scott and Mary Washington’s Eric Fitzgerald were each named to the First Team All-State.

Anderson, a junior from Winchester, VA, hit .419 with 72 hits, 13 doubles, six triples and 57 runs driven in. He also stole 16 bases, and was a First Team All-USA South choice and named to the USA South’s All-Tournament Team. He led the league in average, hits and triples.

Scott, a senior from Chesterfield, VA, hit .441 with 36 runs, 60 hits, five home runs and 41 RBI. He slugged .699 and had an on-base percentage of .538. Led the ODAC in batting and on-base percentage. First Team All-ODAC choice in 2006 and closed his career tops on the school’s and the ODAC’s all-time RBI leader and also Lynchburg’s career leader in hits, walks and doubles.

Fitzgerald, a junior from Linwood, NJ, set a new school record for hits in a career in just three seasons. He hit .401 with three home runs and 42 RBI with 15 doubles and 23 steals. He was a First Team All-CAC selection and named to the 2005 All-Region squad.

Randolph-Macon’s Travis Beazley and Mary Washington’s Kevin Foeman, both pitchers, round out the First Team All-State selections.

Beazley, a senior from Beaverdam, PA, was 9-3 with one saves in 15 appearances, including 12 starts. He had three complete games with a 1.94 ERA, 108 strikeouts and an opponent batting average of .204. He was named the ODAC’s Pitcher of the Year and a First Team All-ODAC selection on the mound. Set three new school records with 108 in a season and 216 for a career as well as 17 in a single game.

Forman, a senior from Andover, MN, finished the year 7-1 on the hill with a 2.47 ERA with 69 strikeouts and just 28 walks. He was a First Team All-CAC selection and finishes his career as the school’s all-time leader in career wins and strikeouts.

All-State teams are selected by active members of the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association.  For more information, please visit the VaSID site at http://www.ferrum.edu/athletics/vasid.

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