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All-SSC Baseball Team
(Left to right) Freshman Lucas Luopa, junior Jimmy Gutowski and senior Chris Hanson were named as 2014 All-SSC selections.

Baseball Lauren Ely, Sports Information Assistant

Gutowski, Hanson, Luopa Garner All-SSC Baseball Recognition

WINTER PARK, Fla. – Eckerd College junior Jimmy Gutowski, senior Chris Hanson and freshman Lucas Luopa, were all recognized as members of the annual All-Sunshine State Conference Baseball Team announced earlier this afternoon by the league.

Gutowski collected First Team All-SSC honors as a starting pitcher in his first season with the Tritons as a transfer from Monroe (N.Y.) Community College, while Hanson (designated hitter) and Luopa (second base) were both named Second Team All-SSC selections.

A total of 34 student-athletes from around the league were named to the All-SSC Team. Voting was formulated through votes of the league's head coaches.

Gutowski led the Tritons' pitching staff and the SSC in wins with an 11-2 record, the most wins by an Eckerd pitcher since 1984. Gutowski also tied with three other NCAA Division II pitchers for second in the nation in victories.

"He always throws pitches for strikes in any count; he has confidence in all of his pitches," his former head coach Bill Mathews said. "To go 11-2 as an unknown in our conference is ridiculous. He pulled it off because his work ethic was unwavering week after week."

The Rochester, N.Y., native ended the season with a 2.76 ERA in 13 appearances and tallied seven complete games on the season to rank in the top 20 among all Division II pitchers in the category.

Gutowski started off the season an impressive 8-0 and picked up SSC wins over No. 25 Nova Southeastern University, No. 6 Florida Tech, Rollins College, No. 6 Lynn University, Barry University and No. 18 Florida Southern College.

Gutowski also received SSC Pitcher of the Week honors after picking up a win against Rollins to assist the Tritons in their first three-game conference sweep since 2002. He was just four votes shy in the balloting for SSC Pitcher of the Year honors.

Hanson received All-SSC recognition for the first time in his two-year career at Eckerd. Hanson finished the season with a .295 batting average and played in all of the Tritons' 49 games. He slugged a striking .426, scattering 12 doubles, one triple and three home runs.

"He was the kind of guy that when he came to the plate you had to be careful," Mathews said. "He just drove first-pitch fastballs. He was always ready to hit."

"He's so solid, and he started to open up left field which gave him the opportunity to hit better for average," Mathews added. "He loves to hit, and that's what he did well. He would just deposit mistakes."

Hanson led Eckerd in RBI with 37 and provided four RBI in a win over No. 18 Florida Southern in the Tritons' final series of the season.

Luopa, the Tritons' lone freshman to earn a starting role, batted a strong .288 in his season debut. The Keene, N.H., native also performed well against top-ranked SSC teams, batting .303 in conference games.

"He's got great instincts," Mathews said. "In the fall, he showed flashes of potential defensively. When he started to play every day you got to see just how intelligent he was."

"Offensively, he has a long way to go," Mathews added. "But he has great hands and forces you to make a play because he has above average speed. He earned that [All-SSC] through hard work and dedication."

Luopa tallied five doubles on the year and led the team with 12 stolen bases in as many attempts.

Lynn's Sal Giardina Jr. was named SSC Player of the Year, Saint Leo University's Dylan Harris was named Freshman of the Year and the University of Tampa's Preston Packrall was named Pitcher of the Year. Tampa's Joe Urso received SSC Coach the Year.


2014 All-SSC Baseball Team

FIRST TEAM
1B – Fran Whitten, Saint Leo (Sr.)
2B – Orlando Rivera, Tampa (Jr.)
3B – Dylan Harris, Saint Leo (Fr.)
SS – Giovanny Alfonzo, Tampa (Jr.)
SS – Alvin Swoope, Nova Southeastern (Fr.)
C – Sal Giardina, Jr., Lynn (Sr.)
OF – Dominic Brugnoni, Florida Southern (RSo.)
OF – Keith Curcio, Florida Southern (Jr.)
OF – Michael Danner, Tampa (Sr.)
OF – Sheehan Planas-Arteaga, Barry (Jr.)
DH – Mario Urdaneta, Nova Southeastern (Jr.)
UT – Stephen Dezzi, Tampa (Sr.)
SP – Jimmy Gutowski, Eckerd (Jr.)
SP – David Heintz, Tampa (So.)
SP – Preston Packrall, Tampa (Sr.)
SP – Jed Vandernaald, Lynn (Sr.)
RP – Bill Mendek, Lynn (Jr.)

Player of the Year – Sal Giardina Jr., Lynn
Pitcher of the Year – Preston Packrall, Tampa
Freshman of the Year – Dylan Harris, Saint Leo
Coach of the Year – Joe Urso, Tampa

SECOND TEAM
1B – Sean O'Brien, Tampa (Sr.)
2B – Lucas Luopa, Eckerd (Fr.)
3B – Thomas Kain, Lynn (Jr.)
SS – Taylor Perez, Saint Leo (So.)
C – Nick Tindall, Tampa (Jr.)
OF – Christian Coburn, Rollins (Jr.)
OF – Zach Gawrych, Tampa (Sr.)
OF – Connor Obrochta, Tampa (Sr.)
OF – Cole Stancil, Saint Leo (So.)
DH – Chris Hanson, Eckerd (Sr.)
UT – Alex Debellis, Lynn (Jr.)
SP – Clay Chapman, Florida Southern (Sr.)
SP – Brian Johnson, Florida Southern (Sr.)
SP – Trey Oest, Tampa (So.)
SP – Scotty Ward, Florida Tech (Jr.)
RP – Nate Carter, Florida Southern (Sr.)
RP – Kevin McNorton, Tampa (Sr.)
 
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