Somerset, NJ – Following a four-game sweep over Central Connecticut, which has catapulted the Wagner baseball team into first place in the Northeast Conference (NEC), the Seahawks claimed Player, Pitcher and Rookie of the Week honors, as announced by the league office on Monday afternoon.
Senior C/INF
Nick Dini (Monroe Township, NJ/Monroe Township) claimed his second NEC Player of the Week award this season, sophomore right-hander
Nolan Long (Waterford, CT/Waterford [South Kent Prep]) was named Pitcher of the Week, while freshman OF
Anthony Godino (Thornwood, NY/Pleasantville) was tabbed co-Rookie of the Week along with Bryant's James Karinchak.
According to the conference website, which includes records dating back to 1998, this marks the first time that Wagner has had players take home honors in all three weekly categories.
This is the first Pitcher of the Week accolade that Long has received since being named
Rookie of the Week on May 19, 2014. As for Godino, this is his first Rookie of the Week honor.
Dini gave a boost to his team-leading batting average this past week. Powering the Green & White to a four-game sweep of conference rival, Central Connecticut, the fourth-year Seahawk recorded multiple hits and at least one RBI in all four victories while seeing his average increase to .382. Splitting time between catcher and second base, the Monroe Township product, totaled nine hits, seven runs, and six RBIs in the series sweep. He pushed across the first runs of the series opener, blasting a bases-clearing double in the first inning of Wagner's 12-0 win on Friday.
For an encore, Dini drove in a first-inning run as his RBI single opened the scoring for the Seahawks in game 2 on Saturday. He came around to score three runs in the 12-6 win, finishing 3-for-3 at the plate. In the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader, Dini helped Wagner to an 8-2 triumph by logging two hits, a walk and a RBI and capped off the weekend going 2-for-4 with two runs and a RBI in the series finale on Sunday. The Garden State native put the Seahawks on the scoreboard with a RBI single to left field in the fourth inning and came around to score the eventual winning run in the 4-1 victory.
Long was dominant in the series opener against the Blue Devils, a 12-0 victory for Wagner. The 6'10" right-hander fanned a career-high 13 batters over 6.0 scoreless innings. He allowed only three hits, all singles and one base on balls en-route to his second consecutive victory. Long retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced with a two-out walk in the second being the lone blemish. He kept CCSU hitless until a groundball single snuck through the left side in the fourth. Long exited with Wagner in complete control, handing the bullpen an 11-0 lead.
Godino recorded at least one hit in each of Wagner's four victories and his performance in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader was equally impressive. Powering the Seahawks to a 12-6 victory, Godino went 4-for-4 at the plate with two doubles, two runs and a career-high six RBIs. The freshman outfielder blasted a two-run double during Wagner's seven-run first inning and drove in two more runs with another two-bagger one inning later. Over the last five games, Godino is batting .500 (8-for-16) with two doubles, eight RBIs, three runs scored and an on-base percentage of .600.
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