Ziznewski named NEC Player of Year

LIU-Brooklyn Shortstop Takes Home League’s Top Honor

May 22, 2014 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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Senior John Ziznewski, LIU-Brooklyn’s star shortstop, was named the Northeast Conference’s Player of the Year on Wednesday evening at the league’s annual tournament banquet.

Though the Blackbirds (25-25-1, 11-13 NEC) just missed out on reaching the NEC Championships after losing a tiebreaker to Wagner College, Ziznewski played a pivotal role in the team completing its first non-losing season since 2011.

After earning All-NEC second team and All-Tournament Team honors at shortstop in 2013, Ziznewski and classmate Pete Leonello, the school’s all-time hits leader, were both selected to the All-NEC first team this year.

Ziznewski, who was tabbed NEC Player of the Week on three occasions this season, became the first Blackbird to take home the league’s top individual honor since Joe Zeccardi in 1999.

The Staten Island native, who transferred to LIU in time for the 2013 season after earning Mid-Hudson Conference MVP honors at Rockland County College.

An alum of St. Peter’s High School (S.I.), Ziznewski was also recognized as a Top Performer of the Week by NCAA.com and was Corvias/ECAC Baseball Player of the Week for NCAA Division I in the Metro-Upstate Region.

In 2014, Ziznewski led the NEC in five offensive categories, including hits (72), home runs (nine), runs batted in (55), slugging percentage (.589) and total bases (116).

He was also second in the conference in stolen bases (18), on-base percentage (.431) and runs scored (50), while coming in third overall in the league in batting average (.365).

With the Major League amateur draft set to commence here in New York on June 5, Ziznewski’s name is likely to be called at some point.

Stay tuned.

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A pair of Staten Islanders who thrived on the diamond here in Brooklyn this past season were St. Joseph’s College standouts Joe Mendez and Mike Cundari.

The seniors named to the 2014 ABCA/Rawlings All-New York Regions Teams this week, with Mendez earning a spot as a first-team outfielder while Cundari was tabbed a third-team first baseman.

It marked the first time either was recognized by the American Baseball Coaches Association. The duo joins Paul Piccirillo, who also received the honor as a member of the Bears in 2012.

Mendez and Cundari were also named to the D3Baseball.com All-New York Region Team this week.

Mendez had a monster season for the Bears, setting school records in home runs (11), RBIs (50) and slugging percentage (.734) during his farewell campaign. The one-time NCBWA Division III Hitter of the Week, D3Baseball.com Team of the Week and USCAA Player of the Week selection also led the team with 12 doubles and had 39 runs scored in 128 at-bats.

The USCAA Second Team All-American had a career day at Maritime on March 29, hitting four home runs during the doubleheader, including a school record-tying three in the opener. The outfielder became the Bears’ all-time hits leader against Vaughn on April 18 and finished his career with a school-record 20 home runs.

Cundari was a steady force for the Bears in the lineup and at first base, starting all 40 games.

The senior hit a team-high .375 on the year with 36 runs scored and 34 RBIs. The one-time AD3I Player of the Week had 10 doubles and 10 steals on the year while playing a solid first base, going errorless in 327 chances and becoming just the second player in school history to record 100 hits, 100 runs and 100 RBIs during his career.

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Over at Brooklyn College, senior first baseman Stephanie Caravello, a product of Leon Goldstein High School, was named to the 2014 Capital One/College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) NCAA Division III Academic All-America Softball First Team.

The 2014 campaign marked a career year for the two-time Capital One Academic All-District (District 3) NCAA Division III Softball Team selection.

Playing in 37 games and making 35 starts this season, Caravello batted .417 (48-for-115) with 31 RBIs and 33 runs scored to go with 10 doubles, three triples and a homer.

She also posted a .583 slugging percentage, a .472 on-base percentage and a .984 fielding percentage at first base en route to being named a City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) First Team All-Star.

During the regular season, Caravello played a key role in helping the Bulldogs secure the No.2 seed in the CUNYAC Championships and a first-round bye for the first time in program history.

BC would go on to advance to day two of the conference championships for a third straight season and earn selection into the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Metro Championships for a third straight year.

As a four-year member of the BC Softball team, Caravello appeared in 145 career games (143 starts), posting a .342 batting average (148-for-433), to go with 100 RBIs and 111 runs scored.

An Exercise Science major with a minor in Health & Nutrition, Caravello, who is also a four-year member of the BC Women’s Swimming & Diving team, has also excelled in the classroom, boasting a near-perfect 3.96 GPA.

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Though the Cyclones are just a few weeks away from opening their 14th campaign on Coney Island, MCU Park will be hosting this weekend’s Big East Baseball Championships for the first time since 2007.

Tickets to the contests are available through the brooklyncyclones.com, at the MCU Box Office, or over the phone at 718-507-TIXX.

The tournament will begin on Thursday at 4:00 p.m., and feature the conference’s four top teams vying for a spot in Sunday’s final.

Creighton University, St. John’s University and Seton Hall University have all clinched qualifying births, leaving Xavier, Butler, Georgetown and Villanova to play for the final spot.

“We are excited to bring the Big East Baseball Championships back to Brooklyn, and to such an iconic location as MCU Park and the Coney Island Boardwalk,” said Big East Conference Commissioner Val Ackerman.

“The sport of baseball has enjoyed a long and rich history in Brooklyn, and the conference is thrilled to bring our schools to NYC to be a part of the tradition. Be a part of the NYC tradition. We look forward to collaborating with the Cyclones for what promises to be a spirited, action-packed event for area fans and families.”

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Off the diamond and onto the track, the St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers set a pair of school records at the 2014 IC4A/ECAC Championships, which were held this past weekend at Princeton University.

Adian Ewart set a new standard in the semifinals of the 100-meter dash, blazing through the finish line in 10.67. He went on to place fifth overall with a time of 10.81.

Ewart later joined teammates Akeem Brooks, Shawn Carrington, and Sherwayne Kenton to establish a new school mark in the 4×100 relay. The foursome, which took the silver medal at the NEC Championships, placed 10th with a time of 41.36.

On the women’s side, Kristal Williams was 10th overall in the 100 meters with a time of 11.98.