May 26, 2010
George Mason senior shortstop Ryan Soares put together one of the finest seasons in Colonial Athletic Association history in 2010 and he was honored tonight for his accomplishments when he was named CAA Player of the Year. He is the fifth Mason player to win the award and the third in the past two seasons. Freshman pitcher/designated hitter Anthony Montefusco took home the CAA's Rookie of the Year award becoming the first Mason player to win that honor. This is the fourth time in CAA history that a team has won Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same season.
Other Patriots to receive All-CAA honors were Brig Tison (second-team Utility), Shane Davis (third-team designated hitter) and Chris O'Grady (All-Rookie). Montefusco was also named second-team All-CAA at relief pitcher and was chosen to the All-Rookie Team while Soares was first-team All-CAA at shortstop.
Soares, who is currently first in the nation in doubles per game, first in sacrifice flies, fifth in RBI per game, seventh in slugging percentage and eighth in batting average put his name all over the CAA record book this year. Soares, who was also one of the 50 toughest players in the nation to strikeout this season, broke the CAA record for single-season doubles, put together the fifth-best single-season batting average in CAA history and the sixth-best slugging percentage in the conference's 25 years. His 13 sacrifice flies are tied for the second-most ever in a single season nationally, one shy of the national record of 14 set by Mike Heintz of South Florida in 1996. Soares is seeking to become just the second Mason player to lead the nation in a statistical category following Jeff Palumbo who led the country in runs in 2004.
This year, Soares hit .438 with 29 doubles, 13 homers, 13 sacrifice flies, 71 RBI and an .808 slugging percentage. He also had just seven errors at shortstop for a .970 fielding percentage. Soares, a native of Harwich, Mass., transferred to Mason after one season at South Florida and has been a three-year starter since. He broke the school record for single-season batting average this year and his 60 career doubles also is a school record. After playing two seasons at second base he moved to shortstop this year where he was a nominee for CAA Defensive Player of the Year. He also is on the Wallace Watch List for the nation's top shortstop. Semifinalists for that award will be announced on June 10.
Soares follows former teammates Chris Henderson and Scott Krieger in winning the award. The pair shared the award last season. This is the first time since East Carolina in 1990-91 that a school had different players win the Player of the Year award in back-to-back seasons. Other Mason players to win the CAA Player of the Year award are Chris Burr in 1992 and Ryan Johnston in 1987.
Montefusco became the first Patriot to win the Baseball Rookie of the Year award thanks to his spectacular two-way play. As a designated hitter/outfielder, he hit .317 with a homer, 13 RBI and 16 runs scored in 60 at-bats. He had a .400 slugging percentage and a .425 on-base percentage. His greater impact came out of the bullpen where he set several school records. In 16 appearances spanning 30.2 innings, he allowed 20 hits and three walks with 25 strikeouts and just four earned runs. He was 3-1 with four saves, a 1.17 ERA and a .194 opposing batting average. He set the Mason single-season school records for lowest ERA, lowest opponent's batting average and fewest hits per nine innings and his strikeout-to-walk ratio was second-best all-time. Montefusco suffered a season-ending injury on May 1 and it is unclear if he will return in 2011 or 2012.
Tison hit .367 with 10 doubles, two triples, three HR, 33 RBI, 45 runs scored and he was 15 of 16 in stolen bases. He started 21 games in left, 17 games at second and two games in right and he had a 17-game hitting streak, tied for sixth-longest in school history. Davis, who was named second-team All-CAA last year, hit .283 with 10 doubles, nine HR, 45 RBI and 32 runs scored. O'Grady, who was among the top 10 in the CAA in ERA as a redshirt freshman, was 3-1 with a 4.06 ERA and a .264 opponent's batting average. He pitched 62 innings allowing just 64 hits, 28 earned runs, 19 walks and 47 strikeouts.
