AMHERST, MA – Amherst College was well represented when the NESCAC Baseball All-Conference and New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) All-New England teams were announced today. Mike Samela '12 (Westport, CT) was named the NESCAC's Player of the Year, while Brian Hamm was tabbed Coach of the Year by his conference peers.
Joining Samela on the All-NESCAC Team are Kevin Heller '12 (Brooklyn, NY), Ryan Healy '11 (Westport, CT) and Max McKenna '11 (Lexington, MA), with Samela leading the group as the lone First Team honoree. Samela, Heller and Healy also earned All-New England recognition, with Thomas Wheeler '12 (Minnetonka, MN) taking home NEIBA honors despite missing out on the All-Conference ranks.
Looking to duplicate last year's success, Samela put together another stellar season offensively en route to his second consecutive All-NESCAC First Team selection and second NEIBA All-New England Third Team honor. As the first Lord Jeff in program history to receive NESCAC Player of the Year accolades, Samela hit .383 in 2011 while slugging .594 with a .441 on-base percentage. He finished the season ranked third in the conference in hits (49), total bases (76) and slugging percentage, also ranking fourth in doubles (14).
With 15 multi-hit games to his credit, Samela tied for third on the team in RBIs (30) and was third in runs scored (30). The junior catcher hit safely in 13 of his final 14 appearances, reaching base in all but three games on the year. Also ranking second on the team in stolen bases (10), Samela registered three or more hits in a game on five occasions, collecting a season-high four hits and four RBIs in a win over Southern Maine on May 8. Behind the plate he posted a .982 fielding percentage, committing only three errors in 171 chances.
Joining Samela on the All-New England Third Team is Heller, who was named to the All-NESCAC First Team in 2009 in addition to being tabbed Rookie of the Year. A Second Team selection as an outfielder in 2011, he leads the conference in home runs (8) while ranking second in total bases (77) and third in runs scored (39). He led Amherst in runs, homers and stolen bases (12), also finishing second in hits (46) and RBIs (32). Heller was also one of the team's most consistent fielders, as he did not commit a single error in 70 chances during the regular season.
Heller hit safely in 31 of 35 games, posting a 19-game hitting streak from Mar. 18 to Apr. 29. He hit .429 with a 1.143 slugging percentage, three home runs and nine RBIs during the NESCAC Championship, breaking a 3-3 tie with a grand slam against Middlebury in an elimination game. Heller also went 6-for-11 with three RBIs during a three-game sweep over Williams, finishing the season with 11 multi-hit games and nine multi-RBI performances. With one season to go, Heller ranks second in Amherst history in homers (17), fourth in runs scored (108) and 10th in RBIs (100).
Representing Amherst on the NEIBA All-New England Second Team is Wheeler, who was one of the region's top designated hitters in 2011. Wheeler's season began with a dominant showing in Florida, where he hit at a .351 clip and slugged .730 with four home runs and 14 RBIs. He put together an eight-game hitting streak down south and finished the season on a six-game streak, recording 14 multi-hit games on the year.
Wheeler's 33 RBIs led Amherst and are tied for the fourth most in the NESCAC, as he drove in multiple runs on 10 occasions in 2011. He also finished second in the conference in home runs (6), adding a .342 batting average and .573 slugging percentage. Wheeler's best series came against Hamilton, when he hit .538 with two homers, seven RBIs and a 1.231 slugging mark, notably going 3-for-3 with five RBIs and a pair of long balls in the opener. Wheeler has hit at least .340 in each of his first three seasons, giving him a lifetime average of .363.
Starting pitchers Healy and McKenna made up one of the best one-two punches in the conference this year, finishing their careers by leading a pitching staff that finished third in the NESCAC in ERA (4.05) and opponents' batting average (.262). Each senior landed on the All-Conference Second Team this season, marking the first time the Lord Jeffs had two or more pitchers earn postseason honors since 2006.
From Apr. 1, 2010, to the end of the 2011 season, Healy posted a 12-0 record with a 2.79 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .206 batting average. His first start in 2011 did not come until Apr. 9 due to an injury, but when he returned to the rotation he pitched at least 6.0 innings and allowed three earned runs or fewer in all six of his starts, allowing two earned runs or fewer in five of those outings.
In addition to leading the conference in wins (7-0), Healy ranks fourth in opponents' batting average (.224) and is sixth in ERA (2.58). An NEIBA All-New England Third Team selection this year, he struck out 33 batters and walked only 12 in 52.1 innings of work, giving him an average of 6.8 strikeouts per nine innings for his career. In his final appearance, Healy struck out six, walked one and allowed only two earned runs in eight innings during a 7-3 win over Middlebury in a NESCAC Championship elimination game.
McKenna posted a 4.06 ERA en route to a 5-1 mark in his final season in Purple and White, securing his first All-NESCAC honor. The senior right hander tossed a team-high 62.0 innings and finished with 42 strikeouts, marking the fifth highest K total in the league. The Lexington native went the distance on three occasions this season, recording a conference-best two shutouts. Holding batters to a .242 average, he limited opponents to three or fewer earned runs in each of his first seven starts, recording a 2.5-to-1 K/BB ratio.
McKenna allowed just one earned run in his first two starts, striking out 13 in his first 13.1 innings to earn the Lord Jeffs a pair of victories. McKenna notably threw a complete-game shutout against Hamilton on Apr. 15, scattering just five hits and striking out five. He also went the distance in a win over archrival Williams, surrendering just two runs on four hits. For his career, McKenna posted a 13-4 record with a 3.90 ERA and .271 opponents' batting average.
Hamm was voted the conference's top coach by his peers after leading Amherst to a 25-10 record, the best season since the 1999 Lord Jeffs finished with the same mark. Amherst is 46-21 (.687) since Hamm took over head coaching duties, as the Jeffs bumped their record from 16-13 in 2009 to 21-11 in 2010, before this year's squad became only the fourth group in program history to win at least 25 games.
The Lord Jeffs finished at 10-2 in conference play, giving them the top seed in the NESCAC West while marking the team's best league record since 2003. Amherst earned its first postseason berth since 2008 and was selected to host the conference tournament for the first time since 2005. The Jeffs went 19-6 after returning from their annual trip to Florida, putting together a dominant 18-3 stretch that featured the team's first three-game sweep of Williams since 2000.
Hamm's Lord Jeffs are currently ranked seventh in the NCAA's regional rankings, but they climbed as high as No. 3 during the final stretch of the season. Amherst picked up notable wins over other regionally-ranked teams, including an 11-4 victory at No. 4 Eastern Connecticut, which earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Jeffs also picked up a pair of wins against sixth-ranked Bowdoin and split a doubleheader with 10th-ranked Endicott.
View the complete NESCAC All-Conference and NEIBA All-New England teams.
C Mike Samela '12 – NESCAC Player of the Year; All-NESCAC 1st Team; NEIBA All-New England 3rd Team
OF Kevin Heller '12 – All-NESCAC 2nd Team; NEIBA All-New England 3rd Team
DH Thomas Wheeler '12 – NEIBA All-New England 2nd Team
RHP Ryan Healy '11 – All-NESCAC 2nd Team; NEIBA All-New England 3rd Team
RHP Max McKenna '11 – All-NESCAC 2nd Team
