CONTACT: Steve Mullen (518) 629-8063
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Thursday, May 22, 2003
The National Junior College Athletic Association recognized Daniel Barbero (Bronx/Lehman High School), a sophomore on the Hudson Valley Community College baseball team, as a First-Team All-American. Barbero, along with four other Hudson Valley baseball players, also were named to the All-Mountain Valley Conference Team.
After being named Region III Player of the Year last week, Barbero was named the Mountain Valley Conference Player of the Year and an All-American today. He is the third All-American in as many years for the Hudson Valley baseball program. Jason Martin earned Second Team All-American accolades a year ago, and Silvestre Castro garnered Third Team honors in 2001.
Barbero set five school single-season records this year including batting average (.503), hits (78), triples (11), home runs (9) and runs batted in (50). He also had 11 doubles, 27 walks, 14 stolen bases, a .570 on base percentage and an .890 slugging percentage.
Sophomores Matt Nobles (Rensselaer/Bishop Maginn High School) and Mike Harrington (Troy/Troy High School), and freshmen Ryan Gijon-Owen (Puebla, Mexico/Bowie, TX high School) and Jeremy Gulich (Horseheads/Horseheads High School) also received All-Mountain Valley Conference honors for the Vikings.
Nobles batted .342 (38-for-111) with seven home runs and 42 RBI. Harrington hit .416 (42-for-101) with seven doubles and 31 RBI. Gijon-Owen finished with a .476 (60-for-126) batting average, a school-record 17 doubles, and 48 RBI. Gulich was 6-0 on the mound with a team-best 3.46 earned run average. He struck out 53 batters in 65 innings pitched.
Hudson Valley finished the 2003 season with a 27-17 record and advanced to the Region III tournament finals before falling to Erie Community College.