CONTACT: Athletic Department (518) 629-7328
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Wednesday, May 14, 2008
TROY, NY- Five Hudson Valley Community College baseball players were selected as Mountain Valley Conference performers, including Rich Guillod (goo LOD) (Closter, NJ/Northern Valley) and Justin Shannon (East Greenbush, NY/Columbia), who were chosen as the conference player of the year and co-pitcher of the year, respectively, in a vote of the conference's nine head coaches. Additionally, head coach Dave Hennessey was also named as the league's coach of the year.
Guillod was also named to the all-conference team along with first baseman John Barna (Troy, NY/Troy), third baseman Scott Robinson (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen) and right fielder Max Keado (Troy, NY/Catholic Central).
In 38 games this season, Guillod batted .457 with nine home runs and 57 RBI. He led the team in batting average, hits (59), triples (7), home runs, RBI and slugging percentage (.853).
Guillod went 2-for-5 with 4 RBI in Sunday's win over Niagara County Community College to help the Vikings capture the Region III championship. In four games in the tournament, he batted .388, with two doubles, one triple, two home runs and 11 runs batted in while earning tournament MVP honors.
In 39 games, Barna batted .356, with nine doubles, one triple, five home runs and 34 RBI. The team's cleanup hitter, he ranked tied for second in RBI, tied for third in doubles and fifth in batting average. Barna batted .411, with a double and two RBI in four tournament games last week, earning Region III All-Tournament team honors.
In 38 games, Keado batted .418 with 56 hits, including six doubles, three triples, one home run and 31 RBI. The team's leadoff hitter, he led the team with 28 stolen bases. Keado finished second on the team in hits, batting average and was tied for fourth in RBI.
Robinson appeared in 35 games, batting .370, with five home runs and 34 RBI. He ranked second on the team in home runs, slugging percentage (.652) and was tied for second in RBI.
In 11 appearances, Shannon posted a record of 6-1, with four complete games, two saves and an earned run average of 2.53. He started nine games, allowing 15 runs, 41 hits and struck out 68 hitters in 53 1/3 innings.
Hennessey guided the Vikings to a 31-8 record this season and a berth in the NJCAA Division III JUCO World Series. Hudson Valley, which was ranked No. 1 in Region III in team offense (.347 batting average) and pitching (4.60 era) during the regular season, won its first Region III Tournament championship since 2001 after posting a 3-0 record in regional play last weekend at Batavia.
In three seasons as head coach, Hennessey has a record of 83-43 (.658 winning percentage), including back-to-back Mountain Valley Conference championships.
Prior to being named head coach, Hennessey served as an assistant coach under Tom Reinisch from 2003 to 2005, helping the Vikings to a 107-38-1 record. He has also been an assistant coach at Columbia High School and the University at Albany.
The Nassau native coached the Melvin Roads' American Legion team in East Greenbush for 12 seasons and posted a record of 257-147 (.636 winning percentage).
A 1982 graduate of Amsterdam High School, Hennessey was a catcher at the University at Albany for three years.
Hudson Valley (31-8) will play Ridgewater College (33-4-1) in the first round of the NJCAA Division III JUCO World Series on Saturday (May 17) at 7 p.m. at Mike Carter Field in Tyler, Texas.
The 2008 Mountain Valley Conference Baseball team is listed below.
Founded in 1953, Hudson Valley Community College offers more than 70 associate's degree and certificate programs in four schools: Business; Engineering and Industrial Technologies; Health Sciences; and Liberal Arts and Sciences; and workforce and academic preparation programs offered through the Educational Opportunity Center. One of 30 community colleges in the State University of New York system, it has an enrollment of more than 12,000 students, and it is known as a leader in distance learning initiatives and worker retraining. Hudson Valley has more than 60,000 alumni.
2008 Mountain Valley Conference Baseball Team
First Base - John Barna (HVCC) Second Base (Tie) - Mike Thompson (SCCC) and Matt Greene (COBLESKILL) Third Base - Scott Robinson (HVCC) Shortstop - Rich Guillod (HVCC) Catcher - Garrett Duross (MVCC) Designated Hitter - Tom Wiener (COBLESKILL) Outfield - Max Keado (HVCC) Outfield - Yahya Khatari (FMCC) Outfield - Josh Danis (SCCC) Pitcher - Pat Corbin (MVCC) Pitcher (Tie) - Andrew Howlan (FMCC) and Justin Shannon (HVCC) Player of the Year - Rich Guillod (HVCC) Coach of the Year - Dave Hennessey (HVCC)
